JUST IN: APC south-west leaders hold ‘final meeting’ to nominate Buhari’s running mate. Who will it be?

Original Post By osundefender.org

Buhari

South-west leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) will meet on Sunday night to take a final decision on their nominee for the party’s vice-presidential slot, TheCable understands.

The name of the nominee will then be presented to Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate, and the national executive of the party on Monday.

Those who will be at the meeting, which will hold in Ikoyi, Lagos, include four south-west governors: Babatunde Fashola (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).

Former APC interim national chairman, Bisi Akande, is also expected to be at the meeting, which will be presided over by Bola Tinubu, national leader of the party.

As previously reported by TheCable, Buhari has conceded the choice of his running mate to Tinubu, reportedly in recognition of his contribution to Buhari’s victory in the presidential primary and also because of the voting figures in the south-west.

Following the latest calculations in the party, TheCable has installed Yemi Osibajo, a professor of law, as the favourite for the VP slot.

In August, TheCable had reported that Osibajo, who was attorney general and commissioner for justice when Tinubu was governor of Lagos from 1999-2007, was being strongly considered for the running mate position.

Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers state, had been eyeing the position, but his chances are diminishing by the day.

Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, an associate of Amaechi, issued a statement on Sunday canvassing the choice of Amaechi.

“With the myth surrounding Buhari combined with the bravery and sagacity of Gov. Amaechi, PDP’s days in the Aso Presidential Villa will surely become history by 2015. It is left to the APC power brokers to give a chance to this union if they are serious about ending the embarrassment that PDP has become in the politics of our nation,” he said.

But an APC insider told TheCable that Buhari “does not want to repeat the mistakes of the past in his choice of running mate”.

“It is very clear to Buhari now that he has to take informed political decisions if he wants to win this time around. In the past, he took the decision all by himself and the outcome was very disappointing for him. He has made the right decision by giving the slot to the second largest voting bloc in Nigeria ─ the south-west,” he said.

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