The presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress for the 2023 election, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, may in the next few days name either Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State or his predecessor, Senator Kashim Shettima, as his running mate, investigations by Saturday PUNCH have revealed.

With about 12 days to the July 15 deadline for political parties to submit the final names of their presidential candidates and running mates to the Independent National Electoral Commission, it was learnt that Tinubu, after a thorough consultation, settled for the two names.

According to a staunch ally of Tinubu, the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, was also being considered but was eventually dropped, even though he played active roles in the emergence of Tinubu as the candidate of the party.

It was on June 26 reported that Tinubu, who is currently in France and is expected to return to the country soon to finalise the running mate issue before the deadline, had limited his search to Borno, Kano and Kaduna states, with all the prospective running mates being Muslims.

APC governors from the North-West had intensified moves to ensure the region produced the running mate. The PUNCH reported on Friday that the governors, governorship candidates, ministers and other stakeholders from the zone at a meeting in Kaduna on Thursday expressed their resolve to push their cause, using their voting strength as a tool of negotiation.

But according to the ally, Tinubu would only have to make final consultations to choose between Zulum and Shettima when he returns to the country. Zulum is believed to have a wide acceptance in the North given his record of performance especially in the face of Boko Haram insurgency, while Shettima, an ally of Tinubu, also showed his deep support for his candidacy when he rose in his defence after the Abeokuta (Ogun State) outburst where Tinubu decried attempts to frustrate his bid.

The source said, “The race for the running mate for Asiwaju has been reduced to just two men. They are the Governor of Borno State, Babagana Zulum, and his predecessor, Kashim Shettima, who is the senator representing Borno Central Senatorial District. All things being equal, the running mate should emerge between these two men.

Another source, who is a member of the defunct Bola Tinubu for President Campaign and member of the House of Representatives, said the candidate might settle for a governor.

He said, “The position is likely going to a serving governor either from the North-East or the North-West. But I think North-East is being favoured because the zone has yet to produce a President and we need to share the votes from the zone with Vice-President Atiku Abubakar who is from the zone and he is also the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.

“If we pick Zulum, the noise about a Muslim-Muslim ticket would reduce. I think the Christian community would accept him. He is hard-working and might be considered on merit by the people. Christians won’t mind supporting him. His name would resonate all over.”

Asked if the Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, was not being considered, the source answered in the negative. “No, he is not being considered again. He wants it, but he is no longer in the equation,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tinubu’s media aide, Mr Tunde Rahman, on Friday night denied media reports that he (Tinubu) met with the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, in France.

The Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Drainage and Water Resources, Mr Joe Igbokwe, on his Facebook page on Thursday said Wike was having a meeting with Tinubu in France.

Igbokwe, a former spokesperson for the APC in Lagos State, wrote, “While they are on social media abusing everybody, Governor Wike goes to France to meet Asiwaju. Abuse, calling names, hate and bigotry are no strategy. They hated and abused PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) since 2015 and now they have transferred the aggression to Asiwaju. We wait and see.”

But in his statement on Friday, Rahman dismissed Igbokwe’s post.

He said, “We have seen a viral social media post made by one of the chieftains of All Progressives Congress in Lagos State and media reports emanating from same about a supposed meeting in France between APC presidential standard-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and His Excellency, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State.

“It has become imperative to set the record straight. Although Asiwaju Tinubu is presently in France, he didn’t have any meeting with Governor Wike whether in that country or anywhere whatsoever. This, however, does not detract from the fact that the APC presidential candidate holds Governor Wike in high esteem. And given the national and across-party lines appeal of Asiwaju Tinubu’s candidature, he will not hesitate to meet any important national leader when desirable.”

The spokesperson for the PDP in Rivers State, Sydney Gbara, has described as false the reports that Wike travelled to France to meet with Tinubu.

He said, “There is nothing like that. His Excellency went on vacation after working so hard towards the special convention and you saw how he travelled round the country to campaign. It is only natural for a man who has worked that hard to take a little time out to rest.

“He has said it times without number that he is a party man, so, it is out of place for people to begin to insinuate that he would want to have a secret meeting with Tinubu in France or any other place. He is a man who does anything he wants openly. He’s not a pretender.”