Kaduna Governor, El-Rufai In ‘Cold War’ With APC Candidate, Tinubu For Choosing Shettima As Running Mate – Sources

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has been fuming over the decision of former Lagos State governor, Bola Tinubu, who is also the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to pick former Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate.
Credible sources in the APC told Daily Independent that the APC leadership was trying to manage the issue so that it would not blow open like that of the major opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In the APC, the list of potential running mates was narrowed to el-Rufai from the North-West and Shettima from the North-East. While many had thought Tinubu would settle for el-Rufai, the former Lagos State governor announced Shettima.

It was gathered that the northern APC governors had agreed that based on the role they played in his emergence as APC flag bearer, especially the communique they issued declaring support for power shift to South, Tinubu should pick one of them as his running mate.
It was equally gathered that Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, who is the chairman of the Northern Governors’ Forum, was penciled down if Tinubu decided to fly a Muslim-Christian ticket.
But when it was obvious that he wanted a fellow Muslim as his running mate, Shettima and el-Rufai were shortlisted and without consulting with the governors, Tinubu opted for the former Borno governor who is one of his staunch loyalists.
Despite the development, the governors managed to keep their grievances from public glare and turned up in Osun last week for the grand finale of the party’s governorship campaign. Its candidate, Gboyega Oyetola, lost to the PDP candidate, Ademola Adeleke.
“El-Rufai is not in good terms with Tinubu. El-Rufai also enjoys the sympathy of some APC governors, especially those in the North as they had always insisted that for supporting Tinubu in the primary, he must pick one of them as his running mate.
“Announcing Shettima, a former governor, as his choice without consulting with the governors was seen as an affront by the APC governors who are major stakeholders in the party”, one of the sources said.