The Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO) has endorsed Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, as the running mate of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, for the 2023 general election.

Tinubu, who is currently in France, had recently said he was still searching for his running mate ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

This was just as credible sources in the ruling party disclosed that the APC’s presidential standard-bearer may choose either Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, or his predecessor, Sen. Kashim Shettima, as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

The former Lagos State Governor had earlier submitted the name of a chieftain of the ruling party in Katsina State, Ibrahim Masari, to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as his surrogate running mate.

INEC has since announced July 15, 2022, as deadline for political parties to submit the lists of their candidates for the 2023 elections.

However, the Director-General of Tinubu Support Organisation, Aminu Suleiman, while speaking during a press conference in Kaduna on Monday, said the group opted for El-Rufai as APC’s vice-presidential candidate after meeting with critical stakeholders from the northwest zone and other regions of the country.

Suleiman, who described the Kaduna State Governor as “a very experienced person” who has done well in both politics and governance at the federal and state levels, said El-Rufai is the candidate who can ensure victory for the ruling party in the 2023 presidential election.

He added that the organisation agreed that Tinubu’s running mate must be selected from the northwest zone, which is the largest voting bloc in the country.

The DG said: “After due consultation with critical Stakeholders especially in the North-West, it is of the fact that El-Rufai is Asiwaju’s best choice for VP.

“TSO believes that the choice of running mate is a critical success factor for the victory of Asiwaju.

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“We are glad that the APC has many outstanding individuals among its leaders. But having assessed all the options, it is the view of TSO that the APC’s candidate for VP should be chosen from the North-West, the single largest voting bloc in Nigeria.

“It is our view that the person that can best compliment Asiwaju as VP is Malam Nasir El-Rufai The Executive Governor of Kaduna State and we recommend that he should be chosen as the running mate.

“El-Rufai is a very experienced person. He has held office at the federal level and at the state level, and he has done well in every office.

“He has always stood for progressive policies. He is not afraid of difficult decisions. This is a man that is running a state government with appointees from all over Nigeria.

“His capacity is not in doubt. His personal ability is outstanding. He is firm. He is courageous. He is principled.

“We know that he resisted every pressure to be dragged into the presidential race. We appreciate him and his colleagues, the APC governors from the north, for sticking to the view that gentlemen should respect agreements.

“El-Rufai is a leader whose talents and energy should be brought back to the federal level. We appeal to all our leaders in the APC to support Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to choose El-Rufai as his running mate,” Suleiman stated.

The Star had reported that the leaders of the APC in the North-West geopolitical zone resolved to meet with Tinubu to pick his running mate from the zone.

They made this known via a statement issued by the party’s National Vice-Chairman (North-West), Dr Salihu Lukman, after their meeting held in Kaduna last Thursday.

According to the statement, the leaders resolved to meet Tinubu with a view to engaging the party on aggregate interest and concerns of the zone.

The Star