Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, has stated that the South East is more interested in producing Nigeria’s next president than seeking to be a candidate’s running mate.
Uzodinma disclosed this to State House media on Tuesday during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Governor, on the other hand, stated that the APC presidential ticket, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will choose the running mate, not the governor.
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“There are internal traits that the decision-maker may consider in the process of making his decision,” he remarked in response to a query about Muslim-Muslim tickets and the choice of a running mate.
Choosing the running mate was the candidate’s decision.
“You began by claiming that the governors of the South-East are unhappy about not being able to run as a running mate any longer.
But, even among Southeasterners, let alone governors, this is not their only goal.
There is no election for a vice-presidential candidate in the presidential primary process. The only thing on the agenda is to elect a candidate.”
Delegates will not be able to vote on who will be your running mate on that ballot paper. So, it explains why it is not a public decision.
It is the candidate’s decision. The first step is to give the applicant space. Now there is a contender.
Now the candidate will think about certain concepts and issues, such as how to make a spread. It is critical to have a wide spread in order to attract votes.
So, if I were the candidate, the action that will enable me to receive the kind of votes I’m looking for will impact the decision of who becomes your running mate, because the end goal is to win the election.
So, perhaps I’ll begin with the denomination, race, or number of followers. In this business of democracy, I believe that the number is crucial.
And there are some topics that we as a country should avoid discussing in public.
Anything that has the potential to cause division and undermine national unity should be discouraged.
It doesn’t mean I won’t remember where I came from, but I’ll have to be careful about how I use my origins in making national judgments.
The second question, regarding a running mate, is untrue.
South-East is not intended for running mates. We wanted to be President of Nigeria as a zone, and I was sure that it was appropriate for us to aspire for it.
However, because this is a partisan democracy, the minority will have their say, but the majority will rule.
A candidate has emerged as a result of the wisdom of the delegates who elected the presidential candidate; our party, the APC, will unite, work for our candidate, and deliver results.
When challenged about Tinubu’s purported plan to run on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the Imo governor claimed that religion has no place in the selection of a presidential running mate under the Nigerian Constitution.
