, has expressed its displeasure over the choice of former Gov Kashim Shettima){kind=link}
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By Abdulwaheed Olayinka Adubi, Kaduna
Northern group under the aegies of Arewa Solidarity Group (ASG), has expressed its displeasure over the choice of former Governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima as the running mate of the APC presidential flagbearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The group said that the choice of Tinubu’s running mate would have been the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-rufai.
The Chairman, Board of Trustees ( BoT) of the group, Abdullahi Muhammed Jika, while addressing journalists in Kaduna on Thursday, explained that the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not consider the critical success factor for the victory of Tinubu in 2023 election.
Jika further noted that the acceptability of a candidate is a great factor in winning an election, saying that the ruling APC jetisoned the acceptability factor while making it choice of running mate.
” Before the former Governor of Borno state was chosen or picked as the running mate, we had earlier advised the presidential flagbearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of APC to consult widely on the choice of the running mate.
” But today, it is obvious that the ruling APC made unpopular choice, because we are not the first northern group to come out and say no to the choice of Shettima. We are not saying that Shettima is not a good candidate, but all we are saying is that a better candidate like El-rufai would have been the best match to Tinubu,” Jika explained.
The BoT Chairman also explained that the political weight of the duo of El-rufai and Shettima was never considered by the party.
This is just as Jika said that beyond the political strenght of northwest region where governor El-rufai is based, his political cloud and performances in the space of his administration is what the party would have considered.
According to Jika, it is no doubt, in the present political dispensation, that Gov. El-rufai has proven his worth as a political administrator with the can-do-spirit to match the yielning of Nigerians.