Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has recounted how he rejected an attempt by then Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu to become his running mate, saying he opposed a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket because he believed it was not in Nigeria’s best interest at the time.
Atiku made the disclosure in a Hausa-language video interview shared on X, recalling political discussions that followed his emergence as the presidential candidate.
According to the former vice-president, Tinubu had initially indicated that he would support his bid for the presidential ticket. After Atiku secured the nomination, he said Tinubu sent a delegation of five elders to discuss the possibility of becoming his running mate.
The delegation, he said, included Tom Ikimi and Bisi Akande, alongside three other individuals.
Atiku said he rejected the proposal, explaining that he believed a Muslim-Muslim ticket would not adequately reflect Nigeria’s religious diversity.
He said he told the delegation that, as Christians, they should understand why he could not select Tinubu, a Muslim, as his running mate.
According to Atiku, the disagreement eventually led to a political separation between him and Tinubu, who subsequently backed the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
“We parted ways from then and did not find ourselves in the same political camp until in 2014 during Buhari’s campaign,” Atiku said.
He recalled that after the 2014 convention, former military head of state Muhammadu Buhari visited him at his residence in Abuja and sought his support for the presidential election.
Atiku said he agreed to support Buhari but attached a condition: that Buhari should not select Tinubu as his running mate if the choice would result in a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
According to him, Buhari initially considered the request for several minutes before assuring him that he would not pursue such an arrangement.
Atiku further claimed that after Buhari left, Tinubu sent representatives to inquire about the agreement between the two men.
He said Tinubu became upset after learning that Buhari had agreed not to select him as running mate, leading to further discussions among political leaders and religious figures.
Atiku said Tinubu subsequently suggested that Buhari could choose his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, who is a Christian, as his running mate. Buhari, however, rejected the proposal, according to Atiku, because he did not want a female running mate.
He said clerics later became involved in efforts to resolve the disagreement.
The matter was eventually settled with Tinubu agreeing to Yemi Osinbajo, then his Attorney-General and a Christian, as Buhari’s running mate.
