A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babagana Kingibe, has forwarded three names to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for consideration as his running mate, Daily Trust reliably gathered.
Kingibe, who was running mate to late MKO Abiola in the June 12, 1993 presidential election, was said to have forwarded the names to the Kebbi State Governor, Atiku Bagudu, for onward transmission to Tinubu for consideration.
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The list has the names of 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.
A source close to the presidential candidate said they were shocked when the former SGF forwarded the names.
“It is true that three names have been forwarded by Ambassador Babagana Kingibe to Governor Atiku Bagudu for onward delivery to Asiwaju for consideration for the office of the vice president,” he said.
Another source said they were still trying to find out on what grounds Kingibe was nominating anyone.
“Even though he is reportedly part of the cabal, what is in the open is that they have a different candidate for the presidency who did not win… We are therefore appalled that he has nominated some people to Asiwaju considering that he is not holding any position. We suspect that he is not alone in the move,” the source said.
Since the conclusion of the APC primary which was held at the Eagle Square in Abuja, attention has since been shifted to the selection of running mates of the two leading political parties in the country – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the APC.
Analysts say the choice of the running mates will determine the victory or otherwise of the candidates in the February 25, 2023, presidential election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed June 17, as the deadline for the submission of candidates for the presidential positions.