Tinubu has agreed to pick Muslim running mate, says Ganduje

Abdullahi Ganduje, Kano governor, says Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, has agreed to pick a Muslim as running mate.

Ganduje said this on Friday during a prayer session with clerics ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir celebration. 

“We advised him to pick a Muslim deputy. He has agreed,” Ganduje said.

“A Muslim-Muslim ticket is a reality. It is not something new in Nigeria,” Ganduje added.

He also urged the people to continue to pray for Tinubu. 

The development comes amid speculations over who Tinubu would pick as his running mate, as the final deadline for the submission of candidates’ names inches closer.

On June 17, Kabiru Faskari, an APC chieftain, had announced Kabir Masari as Tinubu’s vice-presidential candidate but said the name was submitted in “placeholder” capacity. 

Masari was the party’s welfare secretary when Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo governor, was the national chairman of the party.

Prior to the announcement of Masari as the “placeholder” candidate, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had warned the presidential candidates of political parties against choosing running mates of the same religion.

“Any party that tries same religion ticket will fail. This is not 1993. Even when we have a joint Muslim/Christian ticket, the church still goes through hell. Only God knows the number of Christians that have been killed in the last seven years with no one apprehended or prosecuted. Imagine how bad it will be if we have two Muslims in power? The extant Nigerian Constitution promotes religious balance,” CAN had said in a statement.

Meanwhile, after clinching the APC presidential ticket, Tinubu had said his choice for a running mate is in his “pocketbook”.