Just on the verge of the deadline given by the electoral umpire, the Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Friday confirmed that he submitted the name of his running mate for the 2023 Presidential election to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Tinubu made this known in a statement issued on Friday which was sighted by Africa Daily News, New York.
The APC Presidential Candidate, however, declined to name who his running mate is, he revealed that he had submitted ‘duly completed nomination forms to INEC’.
Africa Daily News, New York gathered that the forms are incomplete without the name of the running mate of a presidential candidate.
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Africa Today News, New York gathered from close sources that Tinubu had picked Alhaji Kabir Ibrahim Masari, a Katsina politician, as a placeholder for his running mate so as to meet up with INEC deadline.
Masari, a former National Welfare Secretary of the APC during the era of the Comrade Adams Oshiomhole- led NWC, was nominated pending the conclusion of the consultation on the issue of running of mate by various APC groups.
Sources in the camps of Tinubu and around Masari told Africa Daily News, New York, that he was nominated as ‘a dummy running mate.’
One of them said, ‘He was picked as a dummy pending the resolution of some issues on the running mate.’
It was further gathered that Masari would withdraw from the race in line with section 31 of the electoral act.
In the statement his media office issued on his behalf on Friday, Tinubu said, “As stipulated by the electoral law and Independent National Electoral Commission guidelines and timetable, the standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress, HE Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has returned his duly completed nomination forms to INEC. The forms were returned on Wednesday, June 15, two days ahead of schedule.
