Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim understands the politics of the country very well and he can’t make the mistake of picking a southern politician as his running mate. It is very important for him to simply go to north and find a suitable politician with whom he can run the race.
He has taken the bull by the horns. He has upset the system by coming out to declare his presidential interest even though the southeast region doesn’t look favoured in the race. Anyim Pius Anyim can press further by rattling the northern region by picking one top politician from the zone.
There is nothing bad if Anyim Pius Anyim, a former Secretary to the Government of Federation, picks Mr. Aminu Tambuwal as his running mate. The Sokoto State governor could even be the most appropriate in the north for the job right now. There are key reasons to do that.
Firstly, Mr. Tambuwal is the chairman of the People’s Democratic Party’s Governors Forum. That position alone provides him opportunity to directly talk with the PDP governors and seek their consent on matters that affect the party. Hence, Mr. Pius Anyim may have to work with the Sokoto State governor for the PDP ticket.
Another reason is that Pius Anyim may face some challenges from another contender. Mr. Bukola Saraki has also declared ambition. He is running to win the PDP’s ticket. But if Anyim wants to outsmart Saraki, it is better to work with Aminu Tambuwal.
The events in the last primary election of the PDP had shown that Aminu Tambuwal was far more powerful. He came behind Atiku Abubakar. And if Anyim teams up with the governor, the rest is quite simple for him. Even the former senate president may not be stopped.
Lastly, Tambuwal’s connection isn’t limited to north. He has allies in the southern region. One of them is Mr. Nyesom Wike. And if it happens that Anyim Pius Anyim and Aminu Tambuwal work together, Mr. Wike may be left with no choice but to back the combination of Pius Anyim and Aminu Tambuwal.
