A former chieftain of the ruling APC, Dr. Muazu Magaji, has explained how the exclusion of the North West from the presidential ticket of the party may affect its chances at the 2023 presidential polls.
Speaking on AIT News, the former Kano state commissioner said another challenge may be underway for the APC aside from the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Addressing the issue, Muazu said, “I will tell you that a huge constituency has also been bypassed by this decision to pick Shettima as running mate.”
The APC merger was between the South West and the North West. President Muhammadu Buhari is from the North West.
According to INEC’s register, the aggregation of voters from the North West is more than 15 million. We are heading to 7 million voters in Kano alone. The South West has registered over 12 million.
The PDP member continued, “The APC had the audacity to bypass the North West in picking their presidential running mate.”
Forget religion, as another problem is underway. The incoming problem is about raw politics. There is no way you can run a presidential campaign and not have a prominent figure from the North West on the ticket, yet think you will get 5 million or 10 million votes like Muhammadu Buhari got.
“It is not possible. It is not about ethnicity or religion in this case, but about interest. Politics is about interests. The Muslim-Muslim ticket is not the right balance to approach political elections in Nigeria.
“Bypassing a huge constituency like the North West is also a miscalculation that should favour the PDP.
“The North West has been a PDP environment, but Buhari’s change mantra pulled many of our states into the APC.”
