Hope Uzodinma, the governor of Imo State, has stated that the South East is more interested in producing Nigeria's next president than angling to be a candidate's running mate.
Uzodinma disclosed this to State House media on Tuesday during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The Governor, on the other hand, stated that the APC presidential ticket, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will choose the running mate, not the governors.
"There are internal traits that the decision-maker may consider in the process of making his decision," he remarked in response to a query about Muslim-Muslim tickets and the choice of a running mate.
It is totally up to the candidate to decide whether Mr A or Mr B should be his or her running mate.
"You began by claiming that the governors of the South-East are unhappy about not being able to run as a running mate any longer. But, even among Southeasterners, let alone governors, this is not their only goal.
There is no election for a vice-presidential candidate in the presidential primary process. The only thing on the agenda is to elect a candidate.
"There is no space on the ballot paper for delegates to vote on who will be your running partner. So, it explains why it is not a public decision. It is the candidate's decision. The first step is to give the applicant space. Now there is a contender.
"At this point, the candidate will evaluate several concepts and issues, such as how to establish a spread."
It is critical to have a wide spread in order to attract votes. So, if I were the candidate, the action that will enable me to receive the kind of votes I'm looking for will impact the decision of who becomes your running mate, because the end goal is to win the election.
"Perhaps I'll start with the denomination, nationality, or number of followers." In this business of democracy, I believe that the number is crucial. And there are some topics that we as a country should avoid discussing in public.
"Anything that has the potential to cause division and undermine national unity should be discouraged."
It doesn't mean I won't remember where I came from, but I'll have to be careful about how I use my origins in making national judgments.
"As for the second question about a running partner, South-East isn't designed for running mates.
We wanted to be President of Nigeria as a zone, and I was sure that it was appropriate for us to apply for it.
However, because this is a partisan democracy, the minority will have their say, but the majority will rule.
A candidate has arisen, thanks to the wisdom of the delegates who elected the presidential candidate; our party, the APC, will unite, work for our candidate, and produce the next president."
When challenged about Tinubu's purported plan to run on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the Imo governor claimed that religion has no place in the selection of a presidential running mate under the Nigerian Constitution.