By Ogochukwu Isioma
With the presidential primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) now concluded, and a winner known, the next agenda for the ruling party would be to nominate a running mate for the flag bearer, Bola Tinubu, ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The APC is expected to beat the midnight June 9 deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for political parties to select running mates for their flag bearers.
With Tinubu, a Southern Muslim as the APC flag bearer, it is expected that the ruling party would nominate a Northern Christian for the former Lagos governor, especially as there has been loud opposition to a Muslim-Muslim ticket by most Nigerians.
Going by this permutation, there are about four ‘strong’ and popular northern Christians in the APC who the ruling party may most likely zero their searchlight on.
They include:
1. Boss Mustapha
Mustapha, 66, is a Christian lawyer from Adamawa state and the current Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). Many say he is likely to be selected because his relationship with Tinubu dates as far back as 1992 in their days in the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He is highly respected within the APC and wields a lot of influence among powerbrokers in the party.
2. Hon. Yakubu Dogara
Dogara, 54, is a former Speaker of the House of Representatives and a Christian. The Bauchi-born politician is seen as a strong politician in the North, especially with the way northern lawmakers rallied round him in 2015 even with the party hierarchy rooting for Femi Gbajabiamila at the time. He fits the bill for a popular, politically relevant, and vibrant running mate to a much older Tinubu.
3. Babachir Lawal
Lawal, 67, is from Adamawa state. The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) is a strong long-time ally of Tinubu who also backed the former Lagos governor’s life-long ambition. His relationship with Tinubu might pave the way for him to clinch the position, but his limited popularity, coupled with his corruption case currently in court, might affect his chances.
4. Simon Lalong
Lalong, 59, is the incumbent governor of Plateau state and former Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly. Perhaps the most experienced among the potential running mates because of his executive and legislative background, Lalong is also the current chairman of the Northern Governors Forum. However, there are doubts about his popularity in the north. But, his candidacy might be backed by his colleagues in the Governors Forum, especially as they are now perceived as a strong and influential bloc within the ruling party.
