The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), led by Senator Bola Tinubu, is alleged to be in a quandary about who should be Tinubu’s running partner for the 2023 presidential election.
According to several political pundits, the campaign for eight candidates to be considered as possible running mates is being led by a variety of sects.
More than six separate APC North factions are backing various candidates, including current and past governors and ministers who played key roles in the conventions that constituted today’s APC national offices and the just-concluded presidential primary in Abuja.
An APC federal government critic was among the eight candidates who have been named so far. They include current and past governors, former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, and current SGF Boss Mustapha.
According to reports making the rounds, the Northern Governors are reportedly eyeing Professor Babagana Zulum as a possible running mate for Asiwaju Tinubu. Some claim that Tinubu’s candidacy for the APC has sparked a rethinking of the strategy of the northern political establishment to guarantee that the interests of the North in the power center are protected and safeguarded after the next general election in Nigeria.
If APC wants to win the presidential election in 2023, the power brokers have not ruled out a Muslim-Muslim ticket, according to reports.
A Muslim-Muslim agenda is reported to be in reaction to a blazing campaign in the North where many potential voters are threatening to vote against APC in the North if it fails to appoint a Muslim from the North as running mate to Tinubu.
According to them, there are only a few people who can mobilize Christian politicians from the North to support the APC, and none of them is like Atiku. Claims were made that delegates in Kaduna wanted El-Rufai to be Tinubu’s running mate when Tinubu visited them. After his term as governor expires in May of next year, they believed it was high time for him to take the big step.
