The race for who runs with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar on the PDP ticket for 2019 is on, prominent names from the southeast continue to feature in the possible candidate for the VP slot. Several Igbos have narrowed it down to five names from the southeast.
Several Igbo groups have called for wider netting and shopping by the winner of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential ticket, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in the choice of his vice presidential candidate. The groups are World Igbo leadership, Education and Cultural Council, Igbo Information and Communication Council, Igbo Bu Igbo Foundation, Igbo Peoples Congress and Igbo Aborigines.
Abubakar emerged as the PDP candidate to challenge President Muhammadu Buhari who is seeking a second term in presidential polls scheduled for February 2019.
His next step is picking a running mate which seems to highly favour the South-east zone. The groups listed some Igbos they want Atiku to consider to include former governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi; deputy Senate president, Senator Ike Ekweremadu; and former minister of finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala. Others are Osadebe Ibegbu, a South Africa-based Abia professional; Chief Okey Nwagbara, an Abuja-based lawyer and quantity surveyor and Dr Greg Ibe of Gregory University, Uturu Okigwe. The groups warned against picking candidates “based on money they have or just their names and noise they make.”
Meanwhile, the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus recently met with Atiku Abubakar alongside other party leaders to determine a running mate for the 2019 presidential candidate.
According to media reports, Atiku was mandated to submit to the party a list of his preferred candidates as running mates to enable the party to discuss it with him. “The party let him know that he has to carry its leadership along and that he (Atiku) cannot unilaterally pick a running mate without the party’s input,” a source privy to the meeting said.
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