Reactions have continued to greet the selection of Yemi Osibajo, a lawyer and former attorney-general and commissioner of justice in Lagos, as Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate for the 2015 presidential mate.
Buhari announced Osinbajo’s at a press conference in Abuja yesterday, after days of meeting and deliberations by top party stalwarts, saying “Osibajo will be the next vice president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Reacting to the development, Tam David-West, a former minister of Petroleum Resources in the military era, who hailed the decision, described the process as democratic.
David-West expressed optimism that the alliance would result in APC’s victory in February 2015.
“General Buhari has the goodwill of Nigerians across the country. I have no doubt in my mind that the Buhari/Osibajo combination will win the election. If APC gets South-West, North-West and North-East, they cannot be stopped. The presidential primary will even be tougher than the main election the way I am seeing it.
“So, I have no doubt about the ability of the team to win the election,” the professor of Virology at the University of Ibadan said.
In his reaction, Ayo Opadokun, convener, Coalition of Democrats for Electoral Reform, said that Osibajo had tremendous electoral value that would work in the APC’s favour.
Said Opadokun, “If you have followed Professor Osinbajo’s activities while he was the attorney-general in Lagos State, you would agree with me that he is an accomplished technocrat. Apart from his high achievements in public office, he is also a highly accomplished man of God.
“So, if the church supports him, and I know that they will, he will be a huge asset to the APC in the election. Again, the Christian community will not only be satisfied but will assist in ensuring that the party wins the election.
“No one should make a mistake in comparing him with the other man that came up in 2011. That person had no constituency beyond his church; Yemi has constituency outside his church. I am comfortable with the choice Buhari has made,” he further said.
A staunch member of the party, who craved anonymity, said: “I am impressed with the turn of events. If nothing else, the pairing should be able to convince those who had believed that General Buhari would just change everything about Nigeria to Islam. “With Prof. Osinbajo coming from the Redeemed Church background, no one should be in doubt of the kind of person he is. Unless the Christian community is not committed to seeing righteousness in government, otherwise, Osinbajo represents a practical Christian that should massively receive the votes of his brethren across party and ethnic lines.”
Another member of the party from a ward in Surulere Lagos, who simply introduced herself as Yewande, said: “I think it is the best thing that has happened to the country. We now have a true Christian going at the seat of power. It is said that when the righteous is in power, the people rejoice.
My appeal is that Nigerians should be wise this time around.”
Presenting Osinbajo to the media, Buhari said: “The challenging process of rescuing our country and changing Nigeria for good has commenced. One of the first decisions that I have to make is the choice of the Vice-Presidential candidate and my running mate. “The method employed in this choice was quite meticulous but yet rigorous. It involved the establishment of objective criteria, broad consultations with party leaders and a few opinion leaders outside the party and interactions with a number of nominees.
“I have chosen a man of unimpeachable integrity, an excellent professional, a man of faith, a devoted family man and a role model to our fellow countrymen and women. He is a professor of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; an alumnus of the University of Lagos and the London School of Economics. “He is a prodigious author who has to his credit several books on civil procedure in Nigerian superior courts.
“The vice-presidential candidate is a friend of the less-privileged, compassionate and zealous in service; a man of uncommon humility, a loyal, dependable and selfless patriot.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I present Prof. Yemi Osibajo, who by the grace of God and the vote of Nigerians will be the next Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
While thanking his supporters for the goodwill messages he received after his emergence as the APC Presidential candidate, Buhari reiterated that he was poised to run an efficient government and fight corruption if elected president.
“In my acceptance speech, I pledged to run an efficient government, fight corruption and indiscipline in our national life. I promised to end the current regime of fear and uncertainty in our country and place priority on national security. I also pledged to rebuild our battered economy and reduce poverty by deliberate policies to create jobs”.
While giving his acceptance speech, Osibajo said he was honoured to be considered for the vice presidential ticket of the party, promising that he was ready to lead what he termed as a “common sense revolution Nigeria urgently needs” if his party wins in the 2015 Presidential elections.
“I am deeply honoured and grateful to have been nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of our party, the APC, I also thank the leaders and elders of our great party, APC for the trust reposed in me. The task of rebuilding this nation is one to which I am fully committed.
“ There can be no other president, leader and commander that can lead that common sense revolution Nigeria urgently needs than General Muhammadu Buhari. I will proudly serve this country with him.
“General Buhari’s uprightness and fierce commitment to good governance is well known. It will be a privilege to work with him. I come to this assignment with lots of hope and a resolve to be a part of this movement to bring Nigeria back to its lost glory.
“ With the support of all Nigerians and the help of God, we shall make Nigeria work again. I will work with him (Buhari) and the party to restore hope and confidence in millions of our youth and provide comfort and security for millions of our countrymen and women”.
Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos and leader of the APC, under whom Osibajo served for eight years, said on Wednesday that he declined the vice-presidential ticket of the party because of his love for Nigerians and their yearnings for change.
Tinubu in a press statement said he stepped aside to give way to Osibajo’s candidacy, adding that winning the 2015 election by the APC was more important to him than personal ambition.
He said: “I am a Nigerian who loves his country and am hopeful about what it can become. I have seen and conducted myself as a patriot long before I thought of myself as a politician. I shall always walk this line and no other.
“After all the political calculations are made and the dust of competition has settled, it must be this nation and its people who stand first and foremost,” he said.
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