By News Desk
ABUJA, Nigeria — The high-stakes political maneuvering that shaped the 2015 presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress continues to highlight the delicate religious and regional balances that birthed the ruling coalition.
Following General Muhammadu Buhari’s victory at the December 2014 APC primary convention in Lagos, intense consultations were held to select a vice-presidential running mate. A central condition advanced by key stakeholders and party leaders was the strict rejection of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, which many argued would alienate major voting blocs and create a severe national vulnerability for the new opposition alliance.
When initial plans for APC national leader Bola Ahmed Tinubu to join the ticket hit a deadlock due to same-faith concerns, political deliberations shifted toward identifying alternative South-West figures. The consultations involved evaluating various regional representation options and leadership proposals to resolve the impasse without fracturing the party’s core factions.
It ultimately required extensive mediation and repeated interventions by party elders, governors, and political strategists to navigate the standoff. The negotiations produced a consensus around Professor Yemi Osinbajo, a former Lagos State Attorney-General and pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, who provided both technocratic depth and the necessary religious and regional balance.
Buhari formally announced Osinbajo as his running mate on December 17, 2014, concluding weeks of political horse-trading and finalizing the opposition ticket that went on to win the historic 2015 general election.
