‘Osinbajo will be Buhari’s running mate again’—Presidency

The Nigerian presidency has announced that President Muhammadu Buhari and Acting President Yemi Osinbajo will run a joint ticket in the 2019 presidential election; underscoring the faith the president reposes in his deputy.

Garba Shehu, who is senior special to the president on media and publicity, told State House correspondents, Monday, that “decisive victories in senatorial and state assembly elections in Katsina, Bauchi and Kogi States were an indication that the Buhari/Osinbajo presidential ticket that won the 2015 election will ensure an encore in 2019”.

The APC swept parliamentary seats in by-elections held in Bauchi, Katsina and Kogilast weekend. Shehu says the victories are an affirmation of the workability of the joint presidential ticket that handed APC victory in March of 2015.

“I like to speak to you about the fabulous shows of the APC in Katsina, Bauchi and Kogi, and even to some extent in Cross River States. All of these coming against the background of Ekiti state,” he said.

“It is clear that Nigerians are reposing confidence in the Buhari/Osinbajo presidency. Each of these election victories is considered to be epic in nature because none of these elections was an ordinary election. We are happy that we have won and on behalf of the president and the acting president, we like to say thank you to Nigerians who continue to repose their confidence in the leadership of the APC administration.

“We also want to thank the leadership of the party at the national level, but equally important, to thank all the party’s apparatchiks deployed to all the campaigns and ensured that all the elections were won handsomely by APC.

“So, we are expressing our gratitude to everyone for these that had happened and to say that with this increasing confidence reposed in the president and the acting president, who are determined more than ever before to leave no stone unturned in order to bring the promised change to Nigerians.

“For a quick review, maybe one, two, three or four lessons can be taken from the victories that the party has been recording.

“First of all is to say that these decisive victories are indications that clearly, Nigerians have spoken that President Buhari maintains his momentum. That these victories place Buhari/Osinbajo presidency in very good stead for next year’s election.

“It is a statement of the fact that the APC will go into election next year with every confidence that the elections will be won and that Nigerians by this statement, will also say that they no longer have time for politics of insult and diversion, mudslinging and ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop’ politics of the PDP, and equally important is that these election victories are a clear message to the national assembly that all that Nigerians are interested in is that the business of government should go on", Shehu said.

Second term

Buhari has announced he'll be seeking a second term in office when his first expires next year. Even though he'll only emerge APC flagbearer after a primary election, it is widely believed that the primary vote will only be a formality.

Osinbajo has been holding forte for Buhari who left for London on a routine vacation last week. Both men have maintained a harmonious, symbiotic relationship since their election three years ago.