Leaders from at least four out of the six geopolitical zones in the country are reportedly at the crossroads over who among the presidential candidates of the leading political parties to back for the 2023 presidential election in 2023.

It was learnt that the leaders have not been able to arrive at a consensus on the issue in their consultations and meetings held in parts of the country in the last few weeks.

One of the knotty issues giving them a serious concern is the choice of running mate by candidates of the parties as only one of them has settled the matter.

The standard-bearers of the All Progressives Congress (APC), New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) and the Labour Party and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are Senator Bola Tinubu; Senator Musa Kwankwaso; Mr Peter Obi and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, respectively. However, only Atiku, who is a former vice-president of the country, has chosen a substantive running mate as the other candidates submitted tentative names to the Independent National electoral Commission (INEC) pending ongoing consultation by their parties with other stakeholders.

A medical doctor from the South-West. Dr Doyin Okupe, is the temporary running mate to Obi, the former Anambra State governor. Some elders promoting the presidential bid of Obi came up with a name as a possible running mate from the North at a recent meeting, but other stakeholders from the zones expressed skepticism on the popularity of the suggested name.

According to them, Obi needs a man of substance with political pedigree and savvy as running mate to complement him since the candidate himself lacks political structures that can put him in a firm pedestal for the election across the country.

Obi is also said to have a hard nut to crack in the South-East because PDP remains the dominant force in the zone.

On the part of the APC, the leaders are said to be interested in who Tinubu would eventually choose to replace Kabir Ibrahim Masari, who has been listed with INEC as the ex-Lagos State governor’s interim running mate.

The INEC deadline for the substitution of running mates by political parties is July 15. 2022.

According to some leaders from the zones, the decision of the leaders from the zones is borne out of the issue of religious balance in the APC ticket, which has continued to elicit diverse interests from stakeholders in the Nigerian project.

“Let them settle the issue of running mate. That one will give a clear signal. The political environment is so fluid at the moment. Once the date for the submission of names is closed, there will be defections,” one of the leaders said in confidence.

Another leader said the mood among the leaders is to wait and see how the pendulum will finally swing on the issue of running mate in the next two weeks.

He added: “Some powerful people raised issues that Obi does not have structures. The race for the presidency is not child’s play. We saw what happened in Ekiti. The issue of running mate is critical and crucial and will have far-reaching implications. What is on ground cannot be handled with levity.” (Nigerian Tribune)

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