The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu has submitted the name of Kabir Ibrahim Masari as his running mate to beat the Friday, June 17, deadline given by INEC.
Kabir Ibrahim Masari, who hails from the home state of President Muhammadu Buhari, is said to be a “place holder” until party stakeholders agree on the suitable vice-presidential candidate for the 2023 elections.
The move by Tinubu and the APC was to meet the statutory requirement and beat the deadline set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for political parties to submit the names of presidential candidates and their running mates.
However, Tinubu will today, June 16, meet President Muhammadu Buhari as consultation continues on the issue of his running mate.
A party source said, according to ThisDay: “The name of the running mate submitted would be changed for another northern politician in the next few weeks. The one submitted is just holding the ticket in trust for another candidate to be picked by Tinubu and the party in the next few weeks.
“The candidate is still widely consulting, because the issues around the choice of running mate are many and he is yet to address them all. So, he is still asking for more time to look into it all – whether he is running a Muslim-Muslim or a Muslim-Christian ticket.
“He personally thinks there’s a need for more consultation and that’s what he is doing. The debate on the choice of deputy has assumed a level that is currently greater than the party and the candidate, hence the need for comprehensive consultation, which is what he is doing,” a reliable party source hinted last night.”