Atiku: Why I rejected Tinubu as presidential running mate

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has disclosed that he rejected an attempt by then Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu to become his running mate, citing concernsI rejected Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim ticket proposal — Atiku over the political implications of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.

Atiku made the disclosure in a Hausa-language interview shared on X, while recounting his political relationship with Tinubu and the events surrounding previous presidential contests.

According to him, after he secured the presidential ticket, Tinubu sent five prominent political figures, including Tom Ikimi and Bisi Akande, to persuade him to accept Tinubu as his running mate.

Atiku said he turned down the proposal, arguing that the arrangement would not serve the country’s interests.

He said, “They told me that Tinubu wanted to be my running mate. I told them that, as Christians, they should understand that it was inappropriate for me to pick a Muslim as my running mate.

“I told them that I could not accept a Muslim-Muslim ticket because it would not be in the best interest of our country.”

Atiku said the disagreement eventually led to a political separation between him and Tinubu, with the latter subsequently supporting the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

He said their political paths crossed again in 2014 during preparations for the 2015 presidential election, when Muhammadu Buhari visited him after emerging as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress.

According to Atiku, Buhari sought his support for the general election but he attached a condition to his backing.

“I gave him one condition because I learnt that Tinubu wanted Buhari to pick him as his running mate. I assured him I would support him on the condition that he would not do Muslim-Muslim ticket,” Atiku said.

He claimed Buhari agreed to the condition after briefly considering it.

Atiku further alleged that Tinubu later sent emissaries to Buhari after learning of the agreement, expressing anger that the arrangement had changed.

He said the disagreement continued until religious leaders became involved in efforts to resolve the matter.

According to Atiku, Tinubu eventually proposed that Buhari pick his wife as running mate because she was a Christian, but Buhari rejected the idea of having a female running mate.

He said the eventual resolution was for Tinubu to nominate his then Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Yemi Osinbajo, a Christian, as Buhari’s running mate.

The development culminated in the APC presidential ticket of Buhari and Osinbajo for the 2015 election.

Atiku’s account comes against the backdrop of renewed debate over religious balancing in Nigeria’s presidential politics, particularly following the emergence of the Muslim-Muslim ticket of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima in the 2023 presidential election.