Group to APC: Pick Lalong as Tinubu’s running mate… he’ll add tremendous value

The Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO) has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pick Simon Lalong as Bola Tinubu’s running mate. 

Lalong is the incumbent Plateau state governor. 

Following the APC special convention which produced Tinubu as the presidential candidate, the party has been engrossed in the search for his running mate. 

According to the timetable of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), political parties are expected to submit names of candidates on or before June 17, 2022.

In a statement signed by TSO’s coordinator, Wole Eghiaruwa, the group said the nomination of Lalong as Tinubu’s running mate “will send out a clear message to the rest of Nigerians that the minority tribes are also considered in the political equation”.

If nominated as a vice-presidential candidate, the group said Lalong will be an asset to the ruling party in the 2023 presidential election. 

“Lalong will bring a lot of people across party lines to support the presidential ambition of the APC as the Chairman of the Conference of Former Speakers of Nigeria. Lalong will not be a liability but will be an asset to help the APC navigate to the shores of victory come 2023,” the group said. 

The group said Lalong, as a rallying point for the 19 northern governors, will add tremendous value to Tinubu’s presidential bid.

“As Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum, Governor Simon Bako Lalong has been a rallying point that has the 19 Northern Governors united irrespective of their partisan affiliations. He is a great Nigerian who will add tremendous value to the presidential bid of His Excellency Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu if offered the opportunity to jointly fly the party’s presidential ticket to victory in next year’s general elections,” the group added.

“As one of the Northern Governors who has consistently stood for and defended the cause of the All Progressives Congress, APC his loyalty and commitment to the electoral fortunes of the APC must be rewarded in a way that all party members will be encouraged to inclusively work for the victory of the APC that is poised to move the country forward.”