The 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar has taken a subtle jibe at presidential aspirants of the All progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Labour Party, Peter Obi over their apparent inability to select running mates.
It was reported that Tinubu and Obi put ‘placeholders’ as their Vice-Presidential Candidates in order to meet up with a deadline put in place by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
Tinubu picked Usman Masari and Obi chose Doyin Okupe. Both aspirants have a 30-day window to replace them.
Atiku, in a said: “The office of the president in particular requires that the holder of that office must have clarity of the mind on decision-making.
“That is why in countries that have acquired more experiences in democratic acculturation, the choice that a presidential candidate makes about their running mates, and how they make the decision, provides a window of assessing their preparedness for the job that potentially waits ahead of them.”
According to Atiku, “In meeting up with this expectation, and more importantly to ensure that I make a pick of a running mate that you shall be proud of, it became necessary for me to be introspective about my choice.”
He continued, “Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Arthur Okowa and I share a lot of personality attributes in common. He is a fine gentleman, but tenacious. His experience as a Senator will come in handy in some of the legislative reforms that are urgently needed to reformat our governmental processes.
“Ifeanyi and I are incurable optimists in the future of Nigeria and the promises it holds as one united, peaceful and prosperous country.
“Having him on the ticket brings a lot of asset to our campaign. In the months ahead to the general election, together with other great leaders of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party and, with your esteemed support, we shall work very hard to ensure convincing victory for our party.