Appoint El-Rufai Or Zulum APC’s Vice Presidential Candidate To Win Northern Votes – Forum
Members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Stakeholders Forum have asked the leadership of the party to choose either the governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, or his Kaduna State counterpart, Nasir El Rufai, as the vice-presidential candidate for the party.
The National Chairman of the Forum, Abdullahi Aliyu, told journalists during a briefing on Sunday in Katsina that if the party is serious about winning the presidential election, it needs a competent vice-presidential candidate that can win votes from the north of the country.
The APC has reportedly submitted the name of its National Organizing Secretary, Ibrahim Masari, as the running mate of its presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, to the Independent National Electoral Commission.
However, it is believed Mr Masari was merely acting as a placeholder to beat INEC’s deadline and that the party plans to replace him with a member with better electoral credit.
“We know he (Zulum) said his intention, for now, is to finish what he has started in Borno State, but we know the country needs someone like him and the country is more important than Borno State,” Mr Aliyu said.
“We want to call on the leadership of the party including the chairman of the National Governors Forum, to consider our request and take Gov Zulum of Borno as the vice-presidential candidate of the party because he is the only one who can make people come out of their houses to vote for the party, especially with what he has achieved as the governor of Borno state. We know Bola Tinubu is a good candidate but he needs someone from the north who can convince the populace to vote for APC,” he said.
Mr Aliyu said if Zulum “disappoints” them, they would turn to the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El Rufai.
“We are only for competent leaders. We want to state clearly that if we field the wrong candidate, Atiku Abubakar and the PDP will take over the country and defeat the APC in the 2023 general election. So, we think the right person is Zulum but if he disappoints us, we’ll turn to the Kaduna State governor, Nasir Ahmed El Rufai because he is also capable,” he said
Mr Aliyu said the Forum was not sponsored by any of the governors.
“We thank God that our Forum is made up of several people. We’re not doing this with the permission of either Zulum or El Rufai but as concerned party members, we know what will happen if we fail to field the right person as the vice-presidential candidate,” he said.
Mr Aliyu said if the party decides not to be “wise,” the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar, will “easily” win the election.
He said: “If we’re passionate about victory, then we should go for Zulum. But if we only want to participate and lose in next year’s general elections, then we can field whoever we want to field as the running mate.
“We’re passionate about the success of the party hence our resolution visit the party headquarters last week and discussed with the National Chairman and we clearly told him that the only option for APC if we indeed want to get massive votes from the north is to field Zulum,” he said.
When reminded by reporters that Mr Zulum had last month said he should be ruled out of the contest for the vice president’s seat, Mr Aliyu said they were not “campaigning for Zulum because he wants the seat rather because we believe he is the right person to work with Bola Tinubu. “
“We’re looking at the country generally and not Borno state. If the party talks to him (Mr Zulum) and make him understand how important he is to the project, we’re sure he will not hesitate to accept because Nigeria needs his dedication more than Borno state now,” he said.
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