In an apparent mockery of some other frontline contestants in the 2023 presidential election who were unable to choose their vice presidential running mates before the deadline given by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said the first and most important decision that any candidate for an executive position in a democracy must make is the choice of a running mate.

The APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu and his labour counterpart, Peter Obi had chosen ‘place holders’ because of their inability to choose their preferred presidential running mate.

While Tinubu picked Usman Masari and Obi chose Doyin. They have a 30-day window to replace them.

But in a statement, he signed, Atiku said: “The office of the president in particular requires that the holder of that office must have clarity of the mind on decision-making.

“That is why in countries that have acquired more experiences in democratic acculturation, the choice that a presidential candidate makes about their running mates, and how they make the decision, provides a window of assessing their preparedness for the job that potentially waits ahead of them.”

According to Atiku, “In meeting up with this expectation, and more importantly to ensure that I make a pick of a running mate that you shall be proud of, it became necessary for me to be introspective about my choice.”