By Ehi Ekhator, Naija Center News
The fear that a Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) would go for Muslim/Muslim ticket ended on Tuesday after a several unsuccessful marathon meeting to pick a running mate.
A former Attorney General of Lagos, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has been chosen as a running mate after one of the leaders of the party, and a former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, with the support of the party chairman, Mr. Bisi kande and south west governors, pushed himself forward for the slot.
Osinbajo is one of the top cleric in Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, and also the Chairman of the governing board of the Redeemer’s University. The decision to choose him as the running mate is a strategy to match Jonathan’s ticket that is said to be playing to a christian constituency through serial pilgrimages, also a check on the elevation of the status of the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria to a virtual presidential adviser’s status.
Mr. Yemi Osinbja, 55 was a two time attorney-general of the state who according to information, helped rebuild the Lagos State Judiciary as a national reference point. He is connected to Awolowo political dynasty by marriage as his wife is the Late Chief Awolowo’s grand daughter.
According to an online medium, Premium Times who quoted a source said B uhari express open preference to have someone from South West and Tinubu gave a three man list including Mr. Osinbajo and himself, plus Fashola, the current governor of Lagos State.
The Tinubu gambit, according to his aides, was a strategic ploy to reinforce Mr. Osinbajo’s candidature and dim Mr. Fashola’s prospective choice since it seemed Mr. Buhari had a soft preference for him. “In essence Tinubu, while promoting claims to his own candidature, was actually playing a wedge politics to fend off opposition to Osinbajo,” remarked one of his closest aides in Abuja Tuesday night.
Party leaders, offering insight on the vice presidential pick, said “Yes, it has been agreed that Osinbajo should be the one, it was finally agreed last night. There is going to be a press conference to present him today.
Professor Osinbajo who is also the resident minister at the Olive Tree Redeemed Church is one of the closest aides to Church’s General Overseer and revered clergyman, Enoch Adeboye. He has at various times been Master of Ceremony at the church’s Holy Ghost Convention and Congreses usually held at its Camp Ground along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
By the choice of Osinbajo, Mr. Buhari is making history to run with another cleric. Tunde Bakare, the iconoclastic cleric who ministers at the Latter Rain Assembly was his running mate in the 2011 presidential election.
Before settling for Mr. Osinbajo, the leadership of the APC had first resolved either Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State or Adams Oshiomhole of Edo in the South-South geo-political zone by narrowing its search to the South West region.
In line with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010, political parties have up till Thursday to submit names of their presidential and vice presidential candidates to the Independent National Electoral Commission [INEC].
The National Chairman of the APC, John Odigie-Oyegun, had told journalists on Tuesday that the party would announce its presidential running mate today in keeping with the nation’s electoral law.
Many Nigerians had though that the governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi would be picked as the running mate even an online medium, Sahara Reporters published a poll showing Nigerians prefer Amaechi as a running mate.
NAIJA CENTER NEWS could recall that Peoples Democratic Party (PD) in the state had accused Rotimi of spending state income on APC campaign in order to secure a VP post, and Amaechi had struggled by series of support and outspokenness to show he was capable.
2015: Buhri picks Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as running mate
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