President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with the governors of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State led his colleagues to the meeting. On Tuesday.
Although the governors declined to speak with journalists, it was gathered that top on the agenda of the meeting was the high-level consultations on the choice of running mate to APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Those at the meeting are the Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, governors Babagana Zulum, Borno, Nasir el-Rufai, Kaduna, Mohammed Badaru, Jigawa, Abdullahi Sule, Nasarawa, Simon Lalong, Plateau, Yahaya Bello, Kogi, Dave Unahi, Ebonyi and Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.
It was gathered that Bola Tinubu has pencilled down the name of Kassim Shettima, who played a critical role in his campaign as his running mate.
However, some elements of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) are said to be planning to approach President Buhari to recommend Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice or the Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, for the position of the vice president.
Daily Trust equally gathered that a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babagana Kingibe, who was running mate to late MKO Abiola in the June 12, 1993, presidential election, has forwarded three names to the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku for onward transmission to Tinubu for consideration.
The list has the name of the Borno State governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum; the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J. Mohammed and a liaison officer to the National Assembly during Olusegun Obasanjo’s first tenure, Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, for consideration.
The trio, Daily Trust reports, are Muslims from the North East geopolitical zone. The nomination came amid agitation over the moves by the APC to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
This move has elicited opposition from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and some stakeholders in the APC.
Comments are closed.