PDP BOT MEETS ATIKU MONDAY OVER RUNNING MATE

The Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party will on Monday meet with the party's presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, over the selection of his running mate and strategy for winning the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

A ranking member of the BoT confided in one of our correspondents that even though the law allows the candidate to choose a running mate, the board would make an input to ensure that the best person emerges as the vice-presidential candidate.

Atiku, who emerged as the presidential candidate of the party last Saturday, polled 371 votes to defeat 13 other aspirants. His closest challenger, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State, polled 237 votes; a former President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, got 70 votes and was followed by Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State, who scored 38 votes.

Since Atiku's emergence, many politicians in the South, where Atiku will pick his running mate, have been jostling for the slot

Prominent among the names being touted as possible running mates are Wike, Udom, Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa; and a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha, who is an ally of Tambuwal

The ranking BoT member told Saturday PUNCH, "The party is aware of the sensitivity of the choice of a running mate and we want to be extra careful because it can easily create a problem for us. The main party we are facing in the election is the ruling party (All Progressives Congress), so since we have a formidable candidate already, it's only wise to complement that with a very formidable running mate.

"That is why we don't want to leave anything to chance, and that is why the BoT wants to meet with our candidate on Monday. The idea is to celebrate the successful convention, discuss with him (Atiku) over the running mate and how to go about our campaign to win the election,

Another member of the BoT and former National Secretary of the party, Prof Wale Oladipo, confirmed to one of our correspondents that the BoT would meet with Atiku on Monday.