Even as the All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to pick its presidential candidate for the 2015 general elections, the race of who gets the running mate slot may have been narrowed down to three individuals from the South West and a South South governor barring any last minute change in calculations. Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo reports
he next two months in the nation’s political arena promises to be action-packed as the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC), fine-tune last minute preparations to select their presidential candidates for the 2015 general elections.
While it’s almost a fait accompli that President Goodluck Jonathan holds the ace as the most likely flag bearer of the PDP, the situation is completely different in the APC where about four aspirants are already being mentioned as serious aspirants ready to slug it out for the party’s presidential ticket.
According to insiders, in the next few weeks, three of the aspirants, including former Head of State, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd); former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar and Kano State governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, will formally announce their interests in the race.
The candidature of these aspirants, who are all from the North, is being interpreted within the political circles as an unwritten policy of the major opposition party to zone its presidential ticket to the region, even as many party chieftains have severally denied this assertion.
Regardless of who clinches the APC ticket, leaders of the party, according to sources, are also looking ahead to select a formidable running mate who will complement its candidate and in addition, somebody that is capable of mobilising votes in certain segments considered as critical in winning a presidential election.
Some of the qualities being considered in the choice of a running mate, The Nation reliably learnt, include cognate experience in the public sector, religious balancing of the party’s ticket and a solid track record to mention but a few.
Unconfirmed speculations have it that the Senator representing Ondo North in the National Assembly, Prof. Robert Ajayi Boroffice, former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Prof. Yemi Osibajo and his former colleague in the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Yemi Cardosso are strongly being considered by the party apparatchik for the slot.
Boroffice leads the race
Born on April 23, 1949, Senator Boroffice became a lecturer at the University of Ibadan in 1975, and was a Professor of Zoology at the Lagos State University (LASU) in 1986.
He also held administrative positions at the Lagos State University including Head of Department, Dean of Faculty, and Chairman of the Committee of Deans.
Boroffice was appointed Coordinating Director for Science in the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) in 1992. His main focus in this job was on biotechnology, Information and Communication Technology and Space Science and Technology.
He reportedly played a central role in establishing the National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA).
In 1999, Boroffice became the founding Director General of NASRDA, a post he held for 10 years. Under his leadership, NASRDA launched two satellites; a low orbit earth observations microsatellite (NigeriaSat-1) in 2003 and a communication satellite (NigcomSat-1) in 2007.
He also laid the groundwork for the building of NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X, which were launched in August 2011 from Russia.
In 2004, he was conferred the title of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
In March 2011, Boroffice was given the 2011 Golden Merit Award in Space Science by the World Federation of Science Journalists.
He was elected as Senator in 2011 on the platform of the Labour Party (LP) before he defected to the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which merged with two other parties to form the APC.
Other factors working for him
Beside his impressive academic and public service career, another factor allegedly working in Boroffice’s favour is the fact that he hails from Ondo State, which is one of the two states in the South-West that will not be under APC rule when the 2015 election takes place next year.
Ondo is presently controlled by LP, while from October 20 this year; Ekiti State will be run by a PDP-led administration.
With Boroffice, APC believes it will win the sympathy of the people of Ondo and Ekiti, which share almost the same political philosophy. “This way, what the party lost in the governorship elections in the two states will be regained through the presidential election,” said a source privy to the party’s game plan.
His faith
A member of the Foursquare Gospel Church, Boroffice is said to be a strong Christian with links with prominent leaders of the Christian community. This factor, sources say, will come in handy in the battle for votes in the 2015 elections.
Cardosso in the frame
Those rooting for Cardosso, a former Vice President at Citibank and former Executive Director at the defunct Citizens Bank, point to his public sector background where he distinguished himself creditably and sound knowledge of the economy.
Profile in brief
Cardoso runs an investment banking business, FBC Associates. He has over 15 years of banking experience with Chase, Citibank and Citizens International Bank.
He was a Mason fellow at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1999, he was appointed the first Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos State.
In this capacity, he championed the reform process creating awareness of the challenges of managing the world’s 6th largest mega city. He has forged working alliances with several donor agencies including World Bank, Clinton Foundation, the Department for International Development (DFID), and Swedish International Development Agency.
The former banker currently sits on the Board of Directors of several companies, including Harvard’s Kennedy School (HKS) Alumni, Chevron Oil Plc, Sun International, Africa Policy Institute (API), a Massachusetts- based think tank.
He is also the Chairman of Citibank’s Board Audit Committee and the Project Steering Committee of the World Bank’s Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP). He is also a member of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers in Nigeria.
Cardoso holds a Bachelors degree in Finance and Accounting from Aston University, United Kingdom and a Masters degree in Public Administration from Harvard University.
His drawback
As attractive as his resume is, Cardosso’s lack of political experience is seen as a factor that may work against him.
“He is not cut out for politics and also lacks what it takes to mobilise votes for a party,” said a source while analysing Cardosso’s major weakness.
Osinbajo not keen
In the last few weeks, the name of Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been mentioned as a possible running mate to whoever wins the APC presidential ticket. But sources close to him said he may not be keen on the appointment.
However, those who tip him for the job say beside his enviable educational and professional pedigree, Osinbajo is also well respected within the Christendom. A pastor with the Redeemed Christian Church of Nigeria (RCCG), Osinbajo is also well respected for what many call his unimpeachable integrity.
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Senior Partner in the law firm of Simmons Cooper Partners, his tertiary education was at the University of Lagos and the London School of Economics and Political Science obtaining the LLB and LLM degrees respectively.
He was appointed Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in 1999 and reappointed for a second term in 2003. During the period of his public service, he commenced the Lagos State Justice Reform project.
A prominent feature of that project was the establishment of the Directorate for Citizens’ Rights (DCR), which provides free legal services and legal representation to indigent citizens of the state.
Prior to that appointment, he was the Head of Public Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos. Between 1988 and 1992, he was the Special Adviser to the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He also served as a staff member of the United Nations and Member of the United Nations Secretary General’s Committee of Experts on Conduct and Discipline of UN Peacekeeping personnel around the globe. He is currently an Ethics Advisor to the Ethics Committee of the African Development Bank (ADB) and is a non-Executive Director of Citibank.
Osinbajo is Co-founder and Board Member, Convention on Business Integrity and the Justice Research Institute Ltd. He has also authored several law books.
In 2007, Osinbajo and his wife, Oludolapo, the grand-daughter of late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, founded ‘The Orderly Society Trust’, a non- governmental organisation dedicated to the promotion of Christian ethics and orderliness.
Other options before APC
While the three aforementioned trio are from the South-West region, sources revealed that the APC is also considering the possibility of picking its running mate from the South-South geo-political zone.
And the man considered the frontrunner for the slot is the Rivers State helmsman, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, who, since he defected to the APC last year, has proved a formidable foe for the ruling PDP both in his state and at the federal level.
Time is fast ticking as the nation awaits, what from all indications, would be the most keenly contested presidential election ever.
