Jonathan vs Buhari: The running mate politics

  

 

Sambo and Osinbajo

The choice of the running mate for the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan, and the All Progressives Congress’s candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), may influence voting in the 2015 presidential election, writes LEKE BAIYEWU

The two biggest political parties in Nigeria — the ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition, All Progressives Congress — have presented their candidates for the 2015 presidential election. They are President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP and a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) of the APC. The battle for the number one office in the country is between these two.

While a presidential aspirant emerges the candidate of a political party by winning a primary election, the vice-presidential candidate is selected or appointed as a running mate by either the candidate, the party or by a consensus reached by both.

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According to political analysts, the choice of a running mate in an election should be strategic. The personality, background, affiliations and political clout of the aspirants are considered before the candidate is chosen. The analysts believe that in a political clime like Nigeria, parties will consider the tribe or ethnic nationality, education and career, religion and political antecedents of the running mate. These, they say, are factors that will get more votes for the presidential or governorship candidate.

The PDP and President Jonathan had announced Vice-President Namadi Sambo as his running mate for the 2015 presidential election after his declaration as the flag bearer of the PDP during the party’s national convention held in Abuja between December 10 and 11, this year.

On the other hand, the APC and Buhari on Wednesday announced Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as the presidential running mate of the party.

The geographical presentation of the presidential and vice-presidential candidates of both the PDP and the APC is the South-South (Jonathan)/North-West (Sambo) versus North-West (Buhari)/South-West (Osinbajo).

It took the APC five days, after Buhari had emerged as the presidential candidate, to choose his running mate. The party had held its national convention and presidential primary election between December 10 and 11, where Buhari, who beat a former Vice-President, Atiku Abubakar; Governor of Kano State, Rabi’u Kwankwaso; Governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha; and newspaper publisher, Sam Nda-Isaiah, to the ticket.

Unlike the PDP, where Jonathan announced his running mate at the event, the APC did not do so until last Wednesday.