LAGOS State governor, Babatunde
Fashola, has been reportedly endorsed by
the South-West caucus of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) as the vice-
presidential candidate to whoever
emerges as the presidential standard-
bearer of the party, Nigerian Tribune
learnt Wednesday night.
The zone is also strongly working for the
emergence of former head of state,
General Muhammadu Buhari, as the
presidential candidate for 2015 election.
Following an exclusive report by Saturday
Tribune that a new power-sharing formula
favoured Rivers State governor, Rotimi
Amaechi, as Buhari’s running-mate, the
South-West caucus of the party
reportedly launched a lobby on why the
zone, and not the South-South, should be
on the expected northern presidential
ticket.
The party leadership and elders reportedly
bought the argument that South-West
would be the battleground in the
presidential contest and it was just
politically correct that a viable south-
westerner should be on the ticket.
Amaechi was said to be aware of the
move to dump him and had not been
folding his arms.
A national officer of the party told the
Nigerian Tribune that making a choice
between Amaechi and Fashola was asking
the party at large to choose between
picking Amaechi and winning just a state
with less than two million votes and
picking Fashola and sweeping an entire
geopolitical zone.
The source noted that while 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
The APC national officer conceded that
South-South and South-East were for
Jonathan, but expected that the likes of
Amaechi would not only significantly
reduce the president’s votes, but should
be able to prevent the usual alleged
rigging in the zones that accounted for
the high number of votes in the past
elections.
When reminded that it might be difficult
persuading Amaechi to go empty-handed,
after his many sacrifices to the party, the
national officer said it would be in
Amaechi’s interest to work for the victory
of the party in Rivers State, whether he
was picked as running mate or not,
considering that his failure at the poll
would hurt him more in the state.
“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,” the source said.
It was further learnt that the party
leadership, both at the national level and
South-West, was being pragmatic with
the choice of Fashola, with those who
would not even readily agree with him
now supporting the push for his
candidacy.
“Fashola is a game-changer. He
complements Buhari. Buhari is old,
Fashola is young. Buhari is conservative,
Fashola is dynamic. Are you saying
South-West would leave its own and
support Jonathan and Sambo? Every
politics is local. South-West will first
consider which party brings it closer to
Aso Rock.
“Because we had been considering him all
this while, that is why we didn’t go on air,
disclaiming the possibility of a Muslim-
Muslim ticket. Fashola’s wife is a strong
Christian. Nigerians want good
governance, not religious sentiments.
Would you, in good conscience, call
Fashola a religious bigot?” the source
asked rhetorically.
Nigerian Tribune also reliably gathered
that former Attorney General of Lagos
State, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, earlier
considered for the job, was no longer on
the radar of the party leadership.
A member of the National Working
Committee (NWC) of the party from the
South-West disclosed that it was
reasoned that he had been too politically-
quiet to be marketed nationally within the
time-frame for the election.
The party caucus was said to have
reasoned that his involvement in the
Buhari ticket might present the Buhari/
Pastor Tunde Bakare’s 2011 ticket
scenario, which reportedly failed mainly
because the VP candidate could not
deliver votes in his zone.
Fashola’s involvement, according to the
party’s blue-print, was primed to deliver
votes across Yorubaland and, at the same
time, deny Jonathan the possibility of 25
per cent constitutional requirement.
APC also believed that Buhari/Fashola’s
ticket would sweep Ondo and Ekiti states,
currently governed by PDP governors,
though the party was not that optimistic
on the governorship elections.
In Lagos, Fashola would be expected to
back the candidate of the party’s caucus
which the national officer said was
Akinwunmi Ambode.
When asked if Fashola had been officially
informed, Nigerian Tribune was told
“politics is not played that way.”
Nigerian Tribune was also told that
former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar,
would not be begged to concede the
presidential ticket to Buhari, because it
could backfire if he decided to go public
with the claim. tribune.com.ng/news/top-stories/item/19446-why-apc-may-dump-amaechi-for-fashola-as-buhari-s-running-mate

if this is d way out for d sw people to vote for APC in a big vote rotimi ameachi should go to d senate.

Poor Rotimi Amae…….., I see him Rotating back to PDP.

Abegi this is a blatant lie ameachi av come to stay and let me tell u here wike is just wasting his precious time he's not going anywhere he's just wasting d treasury of fg.

Johnnyessence:
if this is d way out for d sw people to vote for APC in a big vote rotimi ameachi should go to d senate.

Amaechi for Senate will be a game changer indeed! He is a brilliant, dynamic and astute politician.

Buhari, President
Fashola, Vice President
Amaechi, Senate President

bad news for him then. after they have used him to fight baba jona.

For the first time,i will agree with all the summation,mindset and opinion adduced by Tribune at this point in time

Buhari/Fashola let's go there!

soroptimist:
For the first time,i will agree with all the summation,mindset and opinion adduced by Tribune at this point in time
Buhari/Fashola let's go there!

Many of you think Nigeria consists of only the Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba.

You are going to learn A LOT next elections.

Loving this combo of Buhari/Fashola daily and the closeness of it becoming a reality smack of good fortune for our country after the 15years of the locust of the PDP.

God has turn his eye back on this country after years of crying out in prayers and in tears for an end to the total rot going on in the country. Praise be to the Almighty for hearing and heeeding our call for assistance to weed out the corruption and directionless rule of the PDP.

Change is here my people. Praise the Almighty

Fashola has spent about N5 Trillion Naira within 7years in Lagos State yet 85percent of LASG ROADS are bad and 99percent of Lagos State LGA ROADS are impassable. What special achievements has he recorded to earn him Vice Presidency

Una dey craze was he ever adopted before?

isrecole:
Fashola has spent about N5 Trillion Naira within 7years in Lagos State yet 85percent of LASG ROADS are bad and 99percent of Lagos State LGA ROADS are impassable. What special achievements has he recorded to earn him Vice Presidency

lies lagos budget is around 400 billion thats 2.8 trillion in 7yrs. So you cant see nothing! When you are blind you are blind.

isrecole:
Fashola has spent about N5 Trillion Naira within 7years in Lagos State yet 85percent of LASG ROADS are bad and 99percent of Lagos State LGA ROADS are impassable. What special achievements has he recorded to earn him Vice Presidency

LIES, LIES!!!, LIIEEESSSSS!!!!!!

isrecole:
Fashola has spent about N5 Trillion Naira within 7years in Lagos State yet 85percent of LASG ROADS are bad and 99percent of Lagos State LGA ROADS are impassable. What special achievements has he recorded to earn him Vice Presidency

Tell me wat special achievement did GEJ recorded wen he was made the vice president?
Hypocrisy at its peak

...."South-West will first
consider which party brings it closer to
Aso Rock......"

Best combo for the APC

yeah...Amaechi will pull some votes buh not as much as Fashola will pull in SW. This muslim/christian thing is annoyin. I will support an atheist if he has the leadership quality. We are so religous, that we killing ourselves in the name of God.

and u expect Rivers people to foo.lishly follow Amaechi

so a AFShe is a sw agenda, that's why they blive it can sell in se.

Ok

madamoringo:


Amaechi for Senate will be a game changer indeed! He is a brilliant, dynamic and astute politician.

Buhari, President
Fashola, Vice President
Amaechi, Senate President

i think Okoracha should be Speaker of House of reps.

win1234:
and u expect Rivers people to foo.lishly follow Amaechi

dont mind them. we are watching in 3D.

@ APC intenet warriors, the problem is not Fash but Buhari. Like El-Rufai said in the past, Buhari is unelectable.

Amaechi is in thick okra soup; at home his Ikwerre Kinsmen see him as a traitor, in his party he's just the joker dey can use to get some more votes in the south-south but not good enough for anything else

He's one man that will quit politics after 2015 elections

madamoringo:


Amaechi for Senate will be a game changer indeed! He is a brilliant, dynamic and astute politician.

Buhari, President
Fashola, Vice President
Amaechi, Senate President

you are on point.



Sai Buhari2015


‏I believe.‎
God Bless Nigeria.

Excellent combo but I'm apprehensive. PDP will have a good reason to wage a religious campaign and religious bigots will believe them. May God take control and open our eyes to what is good for us as a nation.

Sai Buhari

Sai Fashola

Sai Amaechi



Sai Nigeria!

madamoringo:

Amaechi for Senate will be a game changer indeed! He is a brilliant, dynamic and astute politician.
Buhari, President
Fashola, Vice President
Amaechi, Senate President

blkmum700:



i think Okoracha should be Speaker of House of reps.

Epic reply...

N1ggah my tears are real...lmfao..never laughed this hard in a long while..

Geeeeeeeeeeeez..you are funny walahi

JEITO:
Amaechi is in thick okra soup; at home his Ikwerre Kinsmen see him as a traitor, in his party he's just the joker dey can use to get some more votes in the south-south but not good enough for anything else

He's one man that will quit politics after 2015 elections

ameachi is much more active,he can be senate presido,secretary to fed govt.or a minister.so ameachi have to work more than before.

stebell:


dont mind them. we are watching in 3D.

@ APC intenet warriors, the problem is not Fash but Buhari. Like El-Rufai said in the past, Buhari is unelectable.

And he got over 12 million votes without any structure and funding in last elections. Face reality my friend!

With Fashola, another 6 to 10 million votes are guaranteed. So do the maths and come back.

madamoringo:

Amaechi for Senate will be a game changer indeed! He is a brilliant, dynamic and astute politician.
Buhari, President
Fashola, Vice President
Amaechi, Senate President

This will be so formidable

Also with someone like Tambuwal as Speaker of the House of Reps

GEJ GO SO BEAT UNA IF UNA FIELD MUSLEM/MUSLEM TICKET, UNA NO DEY HEAR WORD SHEY I DON WARN UNA B4.

blkmum700:



i think Okoracha should be Speaker of House of reps.

Not a bad idea, I will add it to the list but that is the easy part. The question or hard part is will Ibos vote for Okorochas?? Will they not pull him down?

stebell:


dont mind them. we are watching in 3D.

@ APC intenet warriors, the problem is not Fash but Buhari. Like El-Rufai said in the past, Buhari is unelectable.

You have one vote, you are free to waste it on your retardoPig president. Ibos never want Ikwerres to move up and this is why you are already antagonizing Amaechi because I suggested he will make a good senate president. Why must you always pull people down until they give you a morsel of garri and okro soul to eat? Are you not ashamed of yourself??