The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari has not named Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as his running mate despite declaring his intention to run for second term a week ago.
In an interview with The Punch, Shehu said there was a specific time for such to be done.
He said, “There is a way these things are done. When was the Vice President nominated for the ticket? If you recall, it was in December 2014 after President Buhari won the party primary. It was done at the point of filing nomination form.
“As a matter of fact , the nomination form was filed with Vice President Osinbajo ’ s name less than 24 hours to the closure.
“I am not an expert in this matter but my sense is that candidates nominate running mates . President Buhari is not officially a candidate yet . He has just signified his intention to seek party nomination .
“It is after winning the ticket that you will expect him to name his running mate for the contest . That’ s the requirement , he can ’ t run alone.
“Though I have not been briefed on this , this is my assumption. My view is that it is not the norm that you name a running mate when you are not a candidate.”