Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the former Vice President of Nigeria, would declare his candidacy for the 2023 Presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the first quarter of 2022, according to Vanguard.
Atiku, who beat off 11 other candidates for the party’ s lone ticket at the party’ s presidential convention in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, in 2018, has made no secret of his desire for the position, having toured the country in recent months in consultation for the exalted office.
Although the leadership of the party last week dismissed media reports it had zoned the Presidency to the North, an associate of the former Vice President, who does not want his name in print told our correspondent that barring any dramatic twist, ” The Wazirin Adamawa will talk to Nigerians once again about his intention to run for the Office of the President in the next general election. He will do so in the first quarter of 2022. ”
According to him, insinuations that governors were likely to back one of their colleagues for the Presidential ticket was nothing new, adding that the party knows ” exactly the candidate that can win a Presidential election on its platform. ”
To improve his prospects of winning the presidential election, the former Vice- President may need to choose a strong running mate for the position of Vice- President.
Given his northern background, it has been suggested that if Atiku wins the PDP presidential ticket, he will have to find a vice- presidential running mate from the country’ s southern region.
This article will look at some potential running mates for Atiku Abubakar in the upcoming presidential election in the south.
Nyesom Wike (Governor of Rivers State)
Nyesom Wike, the current governor of Rivers State, could be a viable option for Atiku’ s vice- presidential candidate.
If Wike takes part in the ticket, he will bring with him a deep stream of financial resources that will be required to run a presidential campaign.
Apart from the possibility of bringing resources to Atiku’ s campaign, Wike may provide a lot of political experience, having won governorship elections in Rivers State in hotly contested elections.
As it is now, however, Wine may want the presidential candidate of the People’ s Democratic Party (PDP) to be of Igbo descent.
Peter Obi (Former Governor of Anambra State)
The importance of Peter Obi’ s contribution to Atiku Abubakar’ s presidential ambitions in the 2019 election cannot be underemphasized. Mr. Obi was instrumental in increasing the number of votes cast in that election, even though Atiku did not win.
Being from Anambra State, which has one of the largest electorates in the Southeast, Peter Obi’ s inclusion on Atiku’ s ticket may tip the scales in his favor in the 2023 elections.
In Atiku’ s presidential campaign, the former governor of Anambra State can also contribute his wide understanding of administration and political experience garnered as governor of Anambra State to help enhance his chances of being elected.
The PDP chieftain, however, has revealed that he would be contesting for the party’ s ticket if the ticket is zoned to the south or if it is not zoned at all.
Seyi Makinde (Governor of Oyo State)
To improve his prospects of winning the upcoming elections, Atiku Abubakar may choose Seyi Makinde, the current governor of Oyo State, as one of his running partners.
One of the advantages that Seyi Makinde will bring to the Atiku campaign is that, as a result of his style of government and the infrastructure developments he has executed in Oyo State, he currently enjoys enormous goodwill among Nigerians.
Because Seyi Makinde is from the South- West, his candidacy for vice- president may entice voters in that geopolitical zone to throw their support behind an Atiku presidency.
But this may cost the executive governor of Oyo State his position as the state governor, especially because he is yet to go for his second term. If Atiku Abubakar loses, it will be a big loss for Seyi Makinde.
Why Atiku May Be Unable To Run
However, Atiku Abubakar may not be able to run for president if the People’ s Democratic Party, PDP, finally decided to zone the party ticket to the southern part of the country.
Zoning the ticket to the south means only PDP aspirants from the south will be qualified to contest to pick the party’ s ticket.
People are anxiously waiting for what the decision of the party would be concerning zoning. However, if the party decides to give everyone the opportunity to run, then Atiku Abubakar will be qualified to contest for the ticket of the People’ s Democratic Party.