Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set a deadline of June 17, 2022; for presidential candidates to name their running mates.
The latest development was announced by the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, via a statement uploaded on the commission’s social media pages.
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The statement reads;
Similarly, the list of all Presidential and Governorship candidates must be accompanied by the names of their running mates (i.e. Vice Presidential and Deputy Governorship candidates) without which the nomination is invalid.
All nominations must be uploaded to the portal on/or before the deadlines.
Meanwhile, no leading candidate has name his running mate for the presidential election.
According to report, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Atiku Abubakar is expected to name a running mate from the southern regions of the country, while, his rival in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu is expected to pick a northerner as his vice-presidential candidate.
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Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, who is from the southern region of Nigeria, is expected to pick a running mate from the northern part of Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) is believed to be contemplating picking the party’s vice-presidential candidate from the south of Nigeria.
Moreover, INEC has also set July 15 as the the deadline for state elections.
It was gathered that there is controversy over Tinubu picking a Muslim as the vice-presidential candidate.
Although some are of the belief that a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the former Lagos State governor is not an issue; and argued that religion should not be a criterion for political offices. Critics say the multi-religious nature of Nigeria makes such an idea dead on arrival.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday, Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), who is also one of those against a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket said;
You can have the best ticket but if you don’t win the election, it’s a waste of time. So, we must bear in mind that the vice (presidential candidate) is going to contribute to winning that election.
Extending that consideration to the Muslim-Muslim ticket, I live among the Christians, and I know that among the Christians, the question of Muslim-Muslim ticket is a no-go area; it is dead on arrival.
He also added:
Buhari himself, even at that time, had to drop this present presidential candidate because of that tension of a Muslim-Muslim ticket; and we have not seen anything in the country that has changed significantly to allow that to happen. On the contrary, it has worsened.
