MEMBERS of the All Progressives
Congress (APC) southwestern caucus
have endorsed Lagos State governor
Babatunde Fashola as the party's vice
presidential candidate for next year's
general elections.


With Nigeria due to go to the polls in
February 2015, the elections will be a
two-horse race between the APC and
the ruling People's Democratic Party
(PDP). President Goodluck Jonathan
has already been nominated as the
PDP's sole candidate and former head
of state General Muhammadu Buhari
is the APC frontrunner.

In what is now looking like a head-to-
head between President Jonathan and
General Buhari, as was the case in
2011, the APC southwestern caucus
has endorsed Governor Fashola as the
general's running mate. Already, APC
party chiefs on the zone have
accepted that General Buhari will
emerge as their candidate and are
consequently working on the prospects
of a Buhari/Fashola ticket.


This will be a big blow to Rivers State
governor Rotimi Amaechi, who had
originally been favoured as the APC's
vice presidential candidate under a
power-sharing formula designed to
reach out to all the geo-political zones.
Party leaders and elders are of the
opinion that the southwest would be
the battleground in the presidential
contest and it is thus politically correct
that a viable south-westerner should
be on the presidential ticket.


One party leader said that making a
choice between Governors Amaechi
and Fashola was like picking a
candidate who could win just one state
with less than 2m votes and one who
could sweep an entire geopolitical
zone. He added that while Governor
Amaechi was an asset to the party,
the arithmetic of the presidential
election and the candidates expected
to be involved demanded that
someone with capacity to win more
votes should be picked as the running-
mate.


It appears that the APC has conceded
that the south-south and southeast
geo-political zones would vote for
President Jonathan but the likes of
Governor Amaechi would not only
significantly reduce his votes but also
be able to prevent the usual rigging
that accounted for the high number of
PDP votes in the last elections. Party
leaders are hoping that Governor
Amaechi will be happy with the
arrangement whether he was picked as
running mate or not, considering that
his failure would hurt him more.
One party leader said: “We will first
appeal to him but it is in his own
interest to win Rivers for us, both in
governorship and presidential elections.
If Nyesom Wike becomes governor
and PDP wins Rivers for Jonathan,
Amaechi would suffer more personal
loss than the party.”


“Fashola is a game-changer as he
complements Buhari. Also, Buhari is
old and Fashola is young and Buhari is
conservative, while Fashola is
dynamic."
APC leaders also believe that Buhari/
Fashola’s ticket could sweep Ondo and
Ekiti States, currently governed by
PDP governors. In Lagos State,
Governor Fashola is expected to back
the candidate of the party’s caucus
which a party spokesman said was
Akinwunmi Ambode.


One problem the APC had with the
Buhari/Fashola ticket is that they are
both Muslims but the party
spokesman said Governor Fashola’s
wife is a strong Christian and his
religious tolerance is not in question.
APC leaders also believe that having
Governor Fashola on the ticket would
deny President Jonathan the 25%
constitutional requirement of votes
across the southwest.

I watch it live on TVC, where's ur own source?

Then as long as Nigeria is not an Islamic state 4 now, then dis wud spell doom 4 APC.
This wud not only mean woeful failure but wud afford GEJ d ample opportunity 2 win without even campaigning.

Are there no oda candidate in APC, wat of Ameachi, Okorocha and even Oshiomolo.

Goddygee91 stop been too extremist and open your eye to the truth until we take away religion sentiment and tribal hatred from politics then we will av a way out in this country. Do you know that an average southwestern don't give a pooo about Muslim, Muslim or christain , Christian ticket intact 90% of them. In my family we av the christains , Muslim, traditional worshipper , the protestant and atheist. And they all live peacefully with each other order never for once allow religion to come in between them. In as much FASHOLA is involve am telling you they will sweep the entire southwest .this is what they av been saying in the different western state have visited lately. Its not that I surportd buhari or like that man but Jonathan should better sit tight.

Repent now of your sinful evil ways to avoid eternity in hell fire,,,,Jesus christ love and warn you to repent and convert now to christianity to avoid hell fire when you die

We SWners love this GMB/Fash. Its gonna be ok with us. Cos we save a lot of cash n energy to campaign for GEJ on SW.
Today yorubaman knows better the wayo wayo antics of fulanis than 20yrs ago. No fulani can rule nigeria of today in a long time to come!!
Muslim-muslim ticket is oneway to Sharianigeria!! If the so called majority of hausafulani is real then let's wait and see come Feb 14!
GEJ till Naija stop to exist!!

That is the best combo! I like Amaechi and I think he will make a strong leader in any capacity! But the numbers does not add up seeing as he may win a state but will not do as much in sweeping many states in the SW! I support Amaechi for Senate President and hope APC will see that Amaechi is 100000 times better than the looney Jonadamned. The SE has made up their mind to do everything to ruin Nigeria by voting incompetence to so called retaliate for their loss of the civil war. Now APC has to go house to house in the NC and SS and Imo State to let people know that Nigeria will seriously deal with corruption under Buhari. When billions stop missing, more of the money can be used to build roads and infrastructure, fix power which will lead to more jobs and a better life for them and their children.

GODDYGEE91:
Then as long as Nigeria is not an Islamic state 4 now, then dis wud spell doom 4 APC.
This wud not only mean woeful failure but wud afford GEJ d ample opportunity 2 win without even campaigning.

Are there no oda candidate in APC, wat of Ameachi, Okorocha and even Oshiomolo.

another thinker is Amaechi. But even if it is fashola, there will be no problem or doom anywhere!

My people say that whoever the gods want to kill, they first make deaf - to that end I say: GMB/Fashola all way! May you and your enablers never stop this train.

As much as I wished Fashola was spared the looming earthquake (considering he's better educated and qualified to be president, not VP to a known religious bigot), its imperative to state that he's the one walking himself into this proven and unstable minefield.

Its interesting to see that an openly avowed sharia monger is about to be accompanied to Aso Rock with another Muslim....lol! I'm now certain, and happy too, that these fellas don't get it. I'm happy because it seems like finally the question on whether Nigeria is to be or not to be is about to be answered without firing a single shot.

Fashola is great, no doubt about that. But if the option is between Fashola and my homeland I suspect the answer is obvious.

No one can help GMB because he's the architect of his perpetual unelectable state. Okadigbo didn't change his luck, Pastor Bakare didn't save him in 2011, Now they want to hang a fellow Muslim around the general's neck in 2015, lol. Like I said, they don't get it.

Fashola maybe mentally tough but from my observation, and I might be wrong, he seems like a soft spoken and gentle fellow. I do not want him to get in the cross-fire of what's to come. Let no man fool himself into believing that 2015 is about a change of 'incompetent' leadership for a 'competent' one - No, not at all. 2015 is about resorting back to being the usual spectators vs taking charge of our future, and we will not apologize for choosing our future. And may I add that that future is one devoid of Hausa-Fulani and their 'handbags' butchering and enslaving us in this Lugardian penitentiary.

My guess is that in 2015 Nigeria will likely have two presidents - One for Arewa and her followers and the other for the rest of us who, for ages, wish to have nothing to do with lovers and seekers of sharia and extreme wahabi Islam. We were neither brothers nor compatriots in this Dan Fodio's estate to begin with so why continue the pretense?

The choices in 2015 couldn't be ever more clearer. Come rain or shine, we will be on ground before Feb 22 to up the ante and provide support wherever or however we can.