Why i picked Osinbajo as my running mate - Buhari

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor, Henry Umoru & Levinus Nwabughiogu

ABUJA—All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, unveiled his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as a man of unimpeachable integrity who he said would join him in restoring hope to the country’s citizenry.

He said Osinbajo was chosen after a rigorous process that 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.”

Buhari and Osinbajo

A national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who claimed to have been offered the position, however, said he declined not just as a sacrifice following insinuations on the dangers of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, but as his own patriotic contribution to seeing the end of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in power.

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Less than an hour after Buhari unveiled his running mate at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja, the PDP blasted the APC, saying the delay in making the choice was reflective of lethargy in the opposition party. The PDP said the choice was reflective of Buhari’s determination to surrender his powers to Tinubu.

Osinbajo, a Professor of Law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General during the Tinubu administration is also a senior pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG and a confidant of the church’s leader, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

Buhari unveils Osinbajo

Unveiling him at a brief ceremony in Abuja, 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.

“To assist me in this great task of securing Nigeria’s future, 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 Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who by the grace of God and the vote of Nigerians will be the next Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Buhari said.

In his acceptance speech as a running mate, Osinbajo expressed gratitude to Buhari and the APC for finding him worthy to serve.

He pledged to work with Buhari and the party if elected into office to restore the hope of Nigerians.

I’m honoured — Osinbajo

He said: “I am deeply honoured and grateful to have been nominated as the Vice-Presidential candidate of our party, APC, and especially the Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

“I also thank the leaders and elders of our great party 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.”

Osinbajo’s candidature was agreed by the party hierarchy in the early hours of yesterday after other possible names including Asiwaju Tinubu, Brigadier-General Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Governors Adams Oshiomhole and Rotimi Amaechi of Edo and Rivers states were respectively ticked off.

 

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Why i picked Osinbajo as my running mate - Buhari