The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party will on Monday meet with the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over the selection of his running mate and strategy for winning the February 25, 2023 presidential election.
A ranking member of the BoT said that even though the law allows the candidate to choose a running mate, the board would make an input to ensure that the best person emerges as the vice-presidential candidate.
Atiku, who emerged as the presidential candidate of the party last Saturday, polled 371 votes to defeat 13 other aspirants. His closest challenger, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, polled 237 votes; a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, got 70 votes, and was followed by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, who scored 38 votes.
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, scored 20 votes; a former Senate President, Pius Anyim, got 14 votes, while a former President of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria, Sam Ohuabunwa, polled only one vote.
Other aspirants like former governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State; publisher of Ovation International Magazine, Chief Dele Momodu; Diana Teriela, the only woman in the race; Charles Ugwu and Chikwendu Kalu had no vote recorded against their names.
Earlier on the day of the convention, a former Managing Director of FSB International Bank, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, withdrew from the primary, while Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State stepped down for Atiku shortly before voting began.
Since Atiku’s emergence, many politicians in the South, where Atiku will pick his running mate from, have been jostling for the slot.
Prominent among the names being touted as possible running mates are Wike, Udom, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa; and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, who is an ally of Tambuwal.