FLASH: Muslim-Muslim ticket: Tinubu meets El-Rufai, Oshiomhole, others

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, met behind closed doors with some notable governors and chieftains of the APC.

The meeting, which took place at his residence in Abuja, had former APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai; Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle; the APC national secretary, Iyiola Omisore, and the vice presidential candidate of the party, Kashim Shettima, in attendance.

Although details of the marathon meeting were not revealed, a source told our reporter that they deliberated broadly on the contentious Muslim-Muslim ticket and the need to appoint a competent director to head the campaign council for the APC flagbearer.

Meanwhile, the Tinubu Campaign Organisation, on Tuesday, disclosed that the former Lagos State governor had opened talks with religious bodies and stakeholders in the country.

The TCO Director of Media and Communications, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed that his principal had begun consultations with relevant stakeholders including religious bodies ahead of the September kick-off of election campaigns.

Onanuga further hinted that the reason many people were unaware of the latest move was because there was an arrangement not to have it published in the media.

The search for a campaign director for Tinubu also trended two weeks ago with many pundits predicting that the pendulum might swing in the direction of Oshiomhole.

When contacted to confirm if he was pencilled down for the position as speculated, the former Edo State governor told The PUNCH that nothing of such occurred.

“No, I have not been appointed as the DG of Tinubu Campaign,” he said.

He, however, declined to speak further, saying he would not react to speculations.

Days after the speculations appeared to be gaining grounds, reports filtered in from the camp of the APC national leader again that he might have agreed to cede the spot to the North-West to appease the governors who worked for his presidential ticket.