July 10, (THEWILL) – The selection of Kabiru Masari as placeholder cum tentative presidential running mate to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has made many interest groups to continue to push forward their preferred candidates.
With a few days to the deadline for replacement of placeholders with substantive vice presidential candidates, the leaders of the party are meeting and deliberating on many names. Also many individuals, who are interested in the position, are already scheming and making moves to push their ambition.
It has been settled that the vice presidential candidate should come from the northern part of the country. One contentious issue that has not been agreed upon is the issue of religion of the person who will replace Masari as the substantive vice presidential candidate. While many people are saying that since Tinubu is a Muslim, his deputy should be a Christian from the North, Tinubu and many other chieftains of the APC are however saying that the issue of religion should not be a yardstick to pick the best candidate for the position of Vice President.
Tinubu and those others who believe there is nothing wrong in having a Muslim as presidential candidate and Muslim as vice presidential candidate have expressed the opinion that the North where the VP’s slot is zoned has more Muslims than Christians.
The proponents of a Muslim-Muslim ticket are also citing the fact that Tinubu is a moderate Muslim and that his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is not only a Christian but a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG), a well known pentecostal church.
Those that are jostling to replace Masari include the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong; former Borno State Governor, Ibrahim Shettima; Borno Governor Babagana Zulum; Abubakar Bagudu and Boss Mustapha.
Simon Lalong
Lalong has come up as a likely vice presidential candidate of the APC. He is the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum and he is serving a second term as the Governor of Plateau State.
Lalong was born on May 5, 1963 in Shendam, Plateau State. He attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, graduating in 1990 with a Bachelor’s degree in Law. This was immediately followed by the Law School in Lagos, where he was also called to the Bar. He later obtained a Master’s degree in Law from the University of Jos in 1996.
He is favoured by the religious consideration, being a Christian. He however comes from the North-Central, which also produced the national chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu. His candidacy will run contrary to the fairness that the APC is known for.
The Commissioner of Lands, Survey and Town Planning in Plateau State, Mr. Yakubu Dati has stated that the Plateau State governor is the best to be chosen among Christian aspirants jostling to be Tinubu’s running mate.
Dati said the support Lalong has enjoyed from the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) and his track record for promoting peaceful coexistence in the country has distinguished him as a great leader who could be trusted with a higher responsibility.
He said that a Tinubu/Lalong ticket will bring regional and religious balance and ensure equity and justice.
“Lalong is a Catholic and a KSGG (Knight of Saint Gregory the Great). There is the possibility that pairing him with Tinubu will resonate with the predominantly Catholic South-East and probably make the ticket more appealing to those who are demanding for fairness,” he added.
Kashim Shettima
Kashim Ibrahim Shettima was born on September 2, 1966. He is currently a member of the Senate and former governor of Borno State.
Shettima is a very intelligent and outspoken Muslim politician from the Kanuri tribe of Borno State and is generally seen as extremely hospitable to other faith and ethnic groups. In the last seven years of his service as governor, some of his closest aides include an Igbo Christian from Anambra State in the South-East, an Urhobo Christian from Delta State in the South-South, a Christian from Edo State in the South-South, a Yoruba Christian from the South-West, a Fulani man from Gombe in the North-East and a Hausa man from Zamfara State in the North-West
Shettima speaks fluent English and Hausa language and enjoys a close relationship with Tinubu. He was the Director General of the Tinubu campaign during the APC primaries.
As Governor of Borno State, he has efficiently managed challenges arising from the Boko Haram insurgency which he inherited in 2011. With the approval of the National Security Adviser and the Nigerian Army in 2013, his government formalised the establishment of youth volunteers called the Civilian JTF.
Babagana Zulum
Babagana Zulum was born on August 25, 1969 in Mafa Local Government Area of Borno State. He is a professor and politician. He is the current Governor of Borno State and has won a second term ticket. He is favoured because of his youthfulness. But like Tinubu, he is a Muslim and a Muslim-Muslim ticket may be hard to sell to the majority of the APC leadership.
Abubakar Bagudu
Abubakar Atiku Bagudu was born on December 26, 1961. He is the current Governor of Kebbi State. Previously, he served as a Senator for Kebbi Central Senatorial District. He is the Chairman, Progressives Governors Forum. He wields a lot of influence among the governors.
Boss Mustapha
Mustapha was born in 1956 in Garaha, a village located in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State. He is the current Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
He is most favoured for the position of Vice President because he is an indigene of Adamawa State where the candidate of the main opposition party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, comes from. He is also a Christian and most analysts believe that Mustapha, being a vice presidential candidate will balance the religious consideration that is very necessary in the political equation in the country.
Mustapha’s internal experience of the workings of government will also come handy, if eventually the APC retains the presidency next year. His only weakness is that he is not a core politician.
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
