Mr Tunde Rahman, media aide to the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has clarified that his principal nominated a Vice-Presidential candidate and not a ‘place holder’ as reported in the media.
Rahman said former National Welfare Secretary of the APC, Kabiru Ibrahim Masari, was duly nominated as Tinubu’s running mate after consultation involving several stakeholders in the party.
The aide while speaking during an interview session with Arise TV said Masari was his principal’s choice of vice-presidential candidate for 2023 general election and the situation will remained so barring any future occurrence.
He said: “Without taking issues with the INEC National Commissioner, I just like to state the situation as it relates to the presidential candidate of the APC, Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“And it is that Asíwájú Tinubu has duly completed his nomination forms, including giving the particulars of his running mate. He has returned the completed nomination forms to INEC. He even returned the forms two days ahead of schedule.
“I don’t know about a placeholder. This is the coinage of the media. I know he has picked a running mate.”
Speaking further, Rahman noted that while Tinubu has made the choice of his running mate, the situation might change as consultations were still ongoing between President Muhammadu Buhari, Tinubu, his running mate, Masari and the APC national leadership.
Rahman hinted that, if Masari, on his own volition, decides to step down as vice presidential candidate within the stipulated time frame given by INEC, no provisions of the constitution and the electoral laws could be viewed to have been observed in the breach.
“I must add, however, that there are ongoing consultations involving President Buhari, the party’s governors and the APC leadership with Asíwájú Tinubu and his running mate. If following these consultations, the running mate decides, for instance, that he wants to stand down in the interest of the party and the country, I think it’s only fair and appropriate to allow him deal with that as long as it is done within the spheres of the electoral law and the timeframe for that, given by INEC.
“I think it’s within the prerogative of the running mate to take his own decision and to say, for instance, that he would like to stand down because he feels doing so will serve the candidate and the party better than he remaining on the ticket. And that this is done in line with the provision of the law and INEC guidelines and timetable. This is the way it is,” he added.
This is coming after INEC National Electoral Commissioner for information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye had said as far as the electoral commission is concerned, the political parties have nominated their respective associates for their presidential candidates.
He explained that political parties in the nomination forms they submitted to INEC didn’t indicate whether their running mates are acting as a placeholder or a vacuum holder.
“As far as the Independent National Electoral Commission is concerned, the political parties have nominated an associate to run with them as presidential candidates. So as far as we are concerned, there is no form submitted by any of the political parties in terms of their nomination where they said, we are submitting this person’s name as a placeholder or a vacuum holder. The issue of this placeholder is a unique Nigera innovation that has no place in our position, our legal framework. What is in issue is that the political parties have nominated an associate to run with them as their vice presidential candidates and that is the position of the law as of today,” Okoye had said.
