The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) set June 17, 2022, as the deadline for submitting the list of candidates running in the 2023 general elections, putting new pressure on political parties across the country as well as their presidential candidates.
During a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja on Thursday, INEC Chairman Professor Mahmood Yakubu announced that the dedicated portal for the submission of the list of candidates for national elections will automatically shut down at 6.00 pm (1800hrs) on Friday 17th June 2022.
While the majority of the country’s political parties have chosen their presidential candidates for the upcoming general election, many are still tasked with selecting their running mates.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC); Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had been elected a week earlier. Former Anambra State Governor Dr Peter Obi is also a candidate for the Labour Party.
Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim (YPP), Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (NNPP), Omoyele Sowore (AAC), Prince Adewole Adebayo (SDP), and Kola Abiola are the other presidential candidates (PRP).
Meanwhile, presidential candidates have yet to choose their running mates for the presidential election in 2023.
According to reports, the PDP accelerated efforts on Thursday to select running mates for its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
The PDP has formed a committee comprised of its governors, members of the National Working Committee and the Board of Trustees, as well as former governors, to select its vice-presidential candidate.
It was reported that the committee had already met and was debating whether Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike or his Delta State counterpart Ifeanyi Okowa should be the party’s Vice-Presidential candidate.
Tinubu, on the other hand, is expected to select a northerner as his running mate. Although there is currently silence within the party regarding a running mate, it has been reported that Tinubu will meet with the northern governors in the coming days.
Tinubu was asked to reveal his position after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House on Thursday.
In response, he said: “I won’t tell you that. That is my right, it’s in my pocketbook.”
