By Emmanuel Babafemi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set a June 17, 2022 deadline for all presidential candidates to submit the names of their running mates, while it also set a July 15 deadline for state elections.
INEC Chairman Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, in a statement on Thursday, said, “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.”
According to him, “All nominations must be uploaded to the portal on/or before the deadlines. The portal will automatically shut down at 6.00 pm (1800hrs) on Friday 17th June 2022 for national elections and 6.00 pm (1800hrs) on Friday 15th July 2022 for State elections.”
To date, none of the leading candidates for the presidential election has named their running mate.
From all indications, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, is expected to name a running mate from Nigeria’s South, and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Tinubu is expected to pick a Northerner as his running mate, while Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) candidate, being from the Southern region is tipped to likely pick his running mate from the Northern part of the country.
Also, a popular Northern candidate of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Rabiu Kwankwaso, has not named his running mate, presumably to be picked from Nigeria’s South.
Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State, is believed to be a leading candidate in the North, respected by his people with a large “cult” following in his Kwankwasiyya Movement.
ALSO READ: Buhari inaugurates Presidential Council on Digital Economy, e-Government
It is good to note that, with a week to the submission of names to INEC, the APC candidate, being of Islamic faith from the South-West is locked in the consideration of who to select as a running mate, with heightened debates over whether Tinubu will choose a Muslim from North-West or a Christian from North-East, most especially if he would be bringing religious balance into the race for his 2023 Presidency.
While some have argued that a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the former Lagos State governor is not an issue, saying religion should not be a criterion for political offices, others who opposed the decision, prominent among whom is a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, are of the view that the multi-religious nature of Nigeria makes a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket dead on arrival.
Lawal, during an interview on Channels TV particularly, maintains that the peculiarities of the Nigerian political environment do not favour such.
“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,” he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday.
“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.
“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.”
