Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has revealed the reason behind the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu’s lateness in picking his running mate ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, several factors are responsible for the difficulty Tinubu is facing in picking his running mate.
He said that top of the issue is the religion factor which has formed much of the public debate among Nigerians, adding that zone, loyalty and the area with the highest votes, are also very important factors to be considered.
His words: “The circumstance Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu has found himself now, that’s a major of what I’ll call ground-wetting. For instance, he’ll not pick from the South. So he’s left to make a choice from the North.
“Because he’s from the South he won’t pick from South-East or South-South, because he’s from the South-West he has to pick from the North.
“And when you look at the North, a lot of factors will have to come into play. Some will say ‘pick from North West’ But North West, that’s where the President now comes from.
“Will they have a second bite whether as vice or anything? Some will argue ‘why not pick from the North East?’ That’s a factor to be considered.
“Others can argue, ‘why not pick from North Central?’ So, another factor to be considered is ‘okay, where do you get votes?’
“So many factors, but under these circumstances, I think he is probably left with North Central and North East probably because so many factors can come into play.
“So, in determining who you pick at the end of the day, you have to look at loyalty. Will this person be loyal or will he be there to undermine you? Those are issues you’ll have to consider very seriously.”