APC Buhari - The All Progressives Congress (APC) will be facing a big test in the next few hours as the party picks a running mate for its presidential candidate, former military Head of State, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).
P.M.NEWS reliably gathered on Friday afternoon that the leadership of the party and Buhari are holding a crucial meeting to pick a running mate for the former head of state.
Major contenders for the post, according to sources, include former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, ex-Governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Rivers State Governor, Chibuike Amaechi; Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole and former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Yemi Osibajo.
P.M.NEWS reliably gathered that Oyinlola is a strong contender for the job, being the choice of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo and fully backed by Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State.
His choice, we gathered, was as a result of the working relationship between Obasanjo and the APC to get President Jonathan out of office in 2015.
A Christian from the southwest, Oyinlola’s state, it was learnt, has never benefitted from the APC in the current dispensation and has no political office holder in the party.
Amaechi, a Christian from the South-south zone, it was gathered, was a major financing and logistic supporter of Buhari during the just concluded party’s primary to pick its presidential flag bearer.
The Rivers State Governor, it was learnt, has never hidden his desire for the vice-presidential slot.
Fashola on the basis of his track record as the Governor of Lagos State, is also a frontrunner for the job.
Buhari is said to like him very much as one he can leave the affairs of state in his hands, just has he did with Tunde Idiagbon, his eputy when he was a military head of state.
However, Fashola is a Muslim which does not favour the political calculations at the moment.
Oshiomhole is another possible choice who, unlike Amaechi, has been more discreet in his composure and utterances regarding his quest for the position of a running mate.
A Christian from the South-south geopolitical zone, a man of the people, and ideologically, a true progressive, he has in recent days been mentioned as the most suitable choice for Buhari.
Also in the race are the former Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Yemi Osibajo. They are Christians.
Profiles Of Buhari’s Likely Running Mates
Yemi Osibajo: Former Lagos Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, is a professor of law and a pastor at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, one of the largest churches in Nigeria.
Osibajo holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Lagos and a Master’s from the London School of Economics.
He is highly regarded as an upright man and is a regular speaker at local and international conferences.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) co-founded Integrity, the umbrella organisation of the Convention on Business Integrity in Nigeria. He is a scholar and has many publications to his credit, notably The Unification and Reform of The Nigerian Criminal Law and Procedure Codes; Law Development and Administrator; The Anotated Civil Procedure Rules of The Supreme Court in Nigeria and Cross Examination: A Trial Lawyer’s Most Potent Weapon.
He is highly regarded as an upright man and is a regular speaker at local and international conferences.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) co-founded Integrity, the umbrella organisation of the Convention on Business Integrity in Nigeria. He is a scholar and has many publications to his credit, notably The Unification and Reform of The Nigerian Criminal Law and Procedure Codes; Law Development and Administrator; The Anotated Civil Procedure Rules of The Supreme Court in Nigeria and Cross Examination: A Trial Lawyer’s Most Potent Weapon.
Adams Oshiomhole: He was born on 4 April 1952 at Iyanmoh, near Auchi in Edo State. He was born a Muslim but became a Christian through his late wife, Clara.
He is Catholic and his Christian name is Eric. After his secondary education, he obtained a job with the Arewa Textiles Company, where he was elected union secretary. He became a full-time trade union organizer in 1975. He studied at Ruskin College, Oxford in the United Kingdom where he majored in Economics and Industrial Relations. He also attended the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru.
In 1982, Adams Oshiomhole was appointed General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, a union with over 75,000 workers. After democracy was restored in 1999, he was elected the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress. Early in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo he negotiated a 25 percent wage increase for public sector workers. He supported Obasanjo for a second term in office in 2003.
His relationship with Obasanjo turned sour as neglect of local oil refineries led to reliance on imported gasoline, followed by a rise in the price of fuel. Oshiomhole led strikes and demonstrations against the increases.
In April 2007, Adams Oshiomhole ran for Governor of Edo State under the Action Congress platform. He won but was denied victory by the PDP. On 11 November 2008, the Appeal Court sitting in Benin upheld the ruling of the state’s elections petitions tribunal, declaring Oshiomhole as the winner of the election and was sworn in as the governor of Edo State. In 2012, he was elected for a second term.
Rotimi Amaechi: He was born 27 May 1965. He is the 15th and current Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria, since 2007. He was re-elected for a second term on 26 April 2011. Amaechi was a member of the People’s Democratic Party before defecting to the All Progressives Congress on 27 November 2013.
In 1982, Adams Oshiomhole was appointed General Secretary of the National Union of Textile Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, a union with over 75,000 workers. After democracy was restored in 1999, he was elected the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress. Early in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo he negotiated a 25 percent wage increase for public sector workers. He supported Obasanjo for a second term in office in 2003.
His relationship with Obasanjo turned sour as neglect of local oil refineries led to reliance on imported gasoline, followed by a rise in the price of fuel. Oshiomhole led strikes and demonstrations against the increases.
In April 2007, Adams Oshiomhole ran for Governor of Edo State under the Action Congress platform. He won but was denied victory by the PDP. On 11 November 2008, the Appeal Court sitting in Benin upheld the ruling of the state’s elections petitions tribunal, declaring Oshiomhole as the winner of the election and was sworn in as the governor of Edo State. In 2012, he was elected for a second term.
Rotimi Amaechi: He was born 27 May 1965. He is the 15th and current Governor of Rivers State, Nigeria, since 2007. He was re-elected for a second term on 26 April 2011. Amaechi was a member of the People’s Democratic Party before defecting to the All Progressives Congress on 27 November 2013.
Amaechi was born in Ubima, Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State to the family of late Elder Fidelis Amaechi and Mrs Mary Amaechi. He was raised in Diobu, and had his early education at St Theresa’s Primary School from 1970 to 1976. He earned his West African School Certificate in 1982 after attending Government Secondary School Okolobiri. Chibuike received a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honours) in English Studies and Literature from the University of Port Harcourt in 1987, where he was the President of the National Association of Rivers State Students (NURSS).
He contested and won the PDP’s primaries for Rivers State Gubernatorial race in 2007. His name was substituted and he took the case to the Supreme Court. He became Governor on 26 October 2007, after the Supreme Court pronounced him the rightful candidate of the PDP and winner of the April 2007 governorship election in Rivers State.
He was re-elected for a second term of four years in April 2011.
Babatunde Raji Fashola: He was born 28 June, 1963. He is the 13th Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria. As a candidate of the Action Congress, now known as the All Progressives Congress, Fashola succeeded Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 14 April 2007. He was re-elected on 26 April 2011
He contested and won the PDP’s primaries for Rivers State Gubernatorial race in 2007. His name was substituted and he took the case to the Supreme Court. He became Governor on 26 October 2007, after the Supreme Court pronounced him the rightful candidate of the PDP and winner of the April 2007 governorship election in Rivers State.
He was re-elected for a second term of four years in April 2011.
Babatunde Raji Fashola: He was born 28 June, 1963. He is the 13th Governor of Lagos State, Nigeria. As a candidate of the Action Congress, now known as the All Progressives Congress, Fashola succeeded Bola Ahmed Tinubu on 14 April 2007. He was re-elected on 26 April 2011
He attended Birch Freeman High school Lagos and Igbobi College Lagos. He studied Law at the University of Benin from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws, LL.B.(Hon), degree in 1987.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in November 1988 after completing the professional training programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos which he undertook between 1987 and 1988. His legal career of over one and a half decades, commenced in the law Firm of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Co.
Babatunde Raji Fashola commenced a four-year tenure as the Executive Governor of Lagos State in Nigeria on 29 May 2007. In June 2007, Babatunde Fashola appointed former Inspector General of Police Musiliu Smith head of the Lagos State Security council, a body charged with taking a holistic look at the anatomy of crime in the state. The Babatunde Fashola Good Governance Group (G3) movement is a good example of Fashola’s commitment to reaching out to the people using various media channels.
Fashola has succeeded in turning Lagos into a mega city. The crucial part of the mega city project is the rehabilitation of Lagos’ infrastructures and districts. Formerly taken care of by the federal government, they were immediately neglected, as Abuja was declared Nigeria’s new capital since 1991.
He was re-elected on 26 April, 2011 for a second term.
He was called to the Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and advocate of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in November 1988 after completing the professional training programme at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos which he undertook between 1987 and 1988. His legal career of over one and a half decades, commenced in the law Firm of Sofunde, Osakwe, Ogundipe and Co.
Babatunde Raji Fashola commenced a four-year tenure as the Executive Governor of Lagos State in Nigeria on 29 May 2007. In June 2007, Babatunde Fashola appointed former Inspector General of Police Musiliu Smith head of the Lagos State Security council, a body charged with taking a holistic look at the anatomy of crime in the state. The Babatunde Fashola Good Governance Group (G3) movement is a good example of Fashola’s commitment to reaching out to the people using various media channels.
Fashola has succeeded in turning Lagos into a mega city. The crucial part of the mega city project is the rehabilitation of Lagos’ infrastructures and districts. Formerly taken care of by the federal government, they were immediately neglected, as Abuja was declared Nigeria’s new capital since 1991.
He was re-elected on 26 April, 2011 for a second term.
