The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, is set to present his running mate pick to the general public this afternoon in Abuja.
The announcement would be made at noon (12 pm) and the nominee made by Atiku will thereafter be screened by a committee already constituted for that purpose.
This follows the conclusion Wednesday night of a series of meetings between the candidate and the hierarchy of the party on the issue.
“Barring any last-minute change of plans, Mr Okowa would be the nominee to be unveiled this morning,” a reliable campaign source reported. “But as you know even a minute is a long time in politics.”
“What I can say is that the candidate (Atiku) is anxious to conclude this process of picking a running mate so we can move to the next stage of kicking out the APC from power. His choice will definitely gladden the hearts of all well-meaning Nigerians.”
The party had set up a committee to recommend some candidates to the former vice president.
But despite reports on Tuesday that the committee overwhelmingly recommended Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, his recommendation did not sit well with many leaders of the party.
The leaders felt that Mr Wike is not suitable for a position that places him a heartbeat away from the presidency.
A number of party chieftains raised concerns about the governor’s temperament, his perceived dictatorial tendencies and his propensity for picking fights even with key allies.
Some also argued that Mr Okowa possessed a better intellectual bent and would bring better value to governance at the federal level if the ticket is eventually elected by Nigerians.
Political parties have until Friday (tomorrow) to submit lists of their candidates for the 2023 elections to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
