Former Information Minister Lai Mohammed has opened up about why the initial attempt to merge Nigeria's top opposition parties failed in 2011.
Despite knowing they needed to unite to win, Bola Tinubu and Muhammadu Buhari couldn't reach a deal because of a disagreement over who would be the Vice Presidential candidate.
Buhari had already picked Pastor Tunde Bakare as his partner, but Tinubu’s team felt they deserved the slot because they controlled more states.
Tinubu’s party (ACN) had six states, while Buhari’s party (CPC) had only one. The ACN felt it was unfair to give up everything without getting the VP position.
Because they couldn't agree, they ran separately in 2011 and both lost badly to the incumbent government.
It took a massive defeat for both leaders to realize by 2012 that they absolutely had to work together, which eventually led to the birth of the APC.
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