Nigeria’s APC names Tinubu’s running mate

Nigeria’s All Progressives Congress party on Wednesday unveiled its vice presidential candidate, a month after naming Bola Tinubu its flagbearer in the 2023 presidential race.

Former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima will be Tinubu’s running mate as the APC looks to keep power after the expiry of President Muhammadu Buhari’s mandate.

“Nigeria, hear me loud and clear, the hope is here, the assurance is here, the security is here, the capacity is here,” Tinubu said at Shettima’s unveiling ceremony at the Shehu Yar’adua center in Abuja.

In naming Shettima who is from northern Nigeria, the APC appears to have been motivated by the desire to counter People’s Development Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar who hails from the same region.

“We need to lay to rest issues of religion and ethnicity. I don’t intend to be the vice president to represent members of the Islamic people. No, the Sultan of Sokoto is capable of doing that,” Shettima said.

Both Tinubu and Shettima are  Muslims. Political parties in Nigeria often often consider religious and regional sensitivities when competing for national elective positions.

By Africanews