DailyPost investigation has revealed that the political bigwigs of the All Progressive Congress are on the search for a vice-presidential candidate who will be the running mate of the party’s consensus candidate during the 2015 presidential election.
We have gathered that stalwarts of All Progressives Congress are keen on having a popular serving governor in the south, whose image can attract massive votes, and also with the view that the presidential candidate will come from the North.
APC is made up of the Action Congress of Nigeria, All Nigeria Peoples Party, Congress for Progressive Change and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance.
Already, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; his Edo State counterpart, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole; and Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, are on the shortlist, though they have not been approached yet.
A source within the APC said, “It is true we are looking for a suitable vice-presidential candidate from the South, particularly the South–West, because unless something dramatic happens, our flag bearer is coming from the North.
“The overwhelming thinking among members of the coalition is to have a young progressive, preferably one that has a track record of performance, for the post.
“As for the presidential candidate, everything being equal, we should know who the candidate is soon.
“For now, we have not yet agreed on who it should be, but I can tell you, Fashola is one of them, however, we cannot take a final decision on this until we are able to get leaders of his primary constituency to agree.”
Just last week, the Convener of the Concerned Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, on Friday evening, also confirmed that the North was seeking a vice-presidential candidate in the South.
According to him, “In the event of the presidency returning to the North, the issue will be who will deliver the votes from the South for the prospective candidate from the North.
“As I see it, the only person I see who can do it is from the South-West even though the South-West has its own challenges. Challenge number one will be to bring out a candidate from the Christian North who will now peer up with a likely candidate who will be from the South-West. Fortunately or unfortunately, the South-West is not terribly obsessed with matters of religion,” he added.
APC has said it would hold its national convention in the coming weeks. Presently, the party is in the process of filing for registration.
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