Farouq Aliyu, a senior member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), revealed that the party’s presidential candidate Bola Tinubu’s substantive running mate will be chosen based on competence.
This was said by the former House Minority Leader on Sunday while appearing on Politics Today on Channels Television.
Recall that Tinubu won the APC nomination for the 2023 presidential election, beating out candidates like Rotimi Amaechi, the former transportation minister, and vice president Yemi Osinbajo, among others.
As a result of the development, the APC candidate chose Kabiru Masari to serve as a “placeholder” for the position of the vice-presidential candidate until an actual name could be submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
However, notable Nigerians and religious organisations like the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have vowed to oppose any political party that runs a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Speaking on the contentious subject, Aliyu said that competence, not religion, would be a key factor in selecting the APC’s vice presidential candidate.
If the APC runs a Muslim-Muslim or Muslim-Christian ticket, he claimed, party members would ensure that the party wins the 2023 presidential election.
The governing party and its presidential candidate are still deliberating over who will serve as the running mate, the former lawmaker revealed.
The candidate would soon be revealed, according to Aliyu, and Nigerians would know that the party had chosen wisely.
“Everyone will believe and be convinced that we have made the right choice by the time the name is out,” he said. So please be patient with us; it will be released soon.
“Choosing a running mate is not difficult for our candidate; rather, it is complicated by the nature of the nation. You realise that despite the country’s diversity, people often talk about Muslim-Muslim relations, Muslim-Christian relations, and so on without taking into account the fact that winning an election is a prerequisite for initiating action.
“We are seeking advice; we are looking at Muslim-Muslim and Muslim-Christian tickets as well. However, our party believes that what the people will get is more important than religion or who you are.
So, if our party decides to run on a Muslim-Muslim platform, so be it; we’ll make sure to win the election. We’ll make sure we win the election if the candidate chooses a Christian. Because competence is more important than religion.
