Uncertainty over S/West candidate as Buhari’s running mate

As at 11pm yesterday, there was a veil of uncertainty over who from a list of South-West candidates the All Progressives Congress (APC) would settle for as running mate to its flag bearer Muhammed Buhari, having settled for the geo-political zone for the position.

Party leader, Bola Tinubu, is believed to still be considering putting himself forward for the position. But against a groundswell of opinion against this move, it was not clear if he has decided to drop his ambition in the interest of both the party and the country.

Other South-West candidates listed are Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State; Kayode Fayemi, immediate past governor of Ekiti State; Yemi Osinbajo, a senior advocate of Nigeria and a former Lagos State attorney-general and commissioner for justice during Tinubu’s governorship of the state.

Before eventually narrowing the slot to the South-West, the media had been awash with reports over who becomes Buhari’s running mate. Those whose names came up were Babatunde Fashola, governor of Lagos State; Adams Oshiomhole, governor, Edo State; Kayode Fayemi, immediate past governor of Ekiti State; Rotimi Amaechi, governor, Rivers State, and Osinbajo.

During the party’s presidential primary and national convention in Lagos last week, Amaechi was touted as the favoured candidate. He was said to have moved in a lot of money to bankroll Buhari’s emergence at an event that was allegedly heavily dollarised.

According to analysts, the candidate of the South-West extraction was promoted by Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who strongly believes that the vice presidency must go to the zone; the North having secured the presidency and the South-South, the national chairmanship of the party.

A party man, who asked not to be mentioned, said: “Part of the calculations that retained the slot in the South-West is to accommodate the interest of the Yoruba nation.

“ Don’t forget that in the President Jonathan-government, the South-West has been alleging marginalisation. It would be foolhardy for APC that claims it will right all the wrongs of the ruling party to make the same mistake.”

Another pundit, who spoke with BusinessDay on condition of anonymity, said: “The South-South does not need a vice president, they already have the president. It is not possible for the people of Niger Delta to abandon their son who is the president and go for a vice-president in the person of either Amaechi or Oshiomhole, it does not make any sense.”

Zebulon Agomuo, Joshua Bassey & Ignatius Chukwu