APC hunts for vice presidential candidate

•Oshiomhole, Okorocha, Amaechi on the card
•Tambuwal, el-Rufai on standby
for presidential ticket In preparation for the 2015 general elections, the opposition party, All Progressives Congress (APC) has began its search is for the party’s vice presidential candidate right. Popularly, it was assumed that former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, may get the presidential slot.

In case this option fails, the incumbent Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, former Federal Capital Territory (FCT), minister, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai and Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido are slated for a replacement.

However, Governor Lamido has always maintained that he won’t leave People’s Democratic Party (PDP), as he is a founding father of the party. It was, however, learnt that the stakeholders who met behind the closed-door last weekend, have no mandate of the party or of any of the candidates being considered for the vice presidential slot, which was the highpoint of the parley. In a stakeholder meeting held at the weekend in Ogun State, having been convinced that the presidential flagbearer will surely come from the North, APC is now searching for a vice- presidential candidate from the South in preparation for the race. During the meeting, which was chaired by a chieftain from Ondo State, some names were tabled for scrutiny with a view to agreeing on who to present when the chips are down for nomination, which is believed, could come as early as June this year. Some of the names on the card, according a report published in a national newspaper today, are former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Edo State Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, his Rivers and Imo state counterparts, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and Rochas Okorocha respectively as well as former governor of Ekiti State, Otunba Richard, Adeniyi Adebayo.

A source at the meeting, who doesn’t want to be named, said, “if former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari eventually becomes the party’s presidential candidate, Tinubu will automatically pair with him because of their experiences and exposure as former rulers. “If any of the former Federal Capital Territory (FCT), minister, Mallam el-Rufai, incumbent Speaker, Hon. Tambuwal or Governor Lamido eventually picks the party’s ticket, any one among Fashola, Oshiomhole, Amaechi, Okorocha and Adebayo can be nominated for the vice presidential slot.” He concluded

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