Following the unveiling of ex-Borno Governor, Kashim Shettima, by the All Progressives Congress (APC) as running mate to Bola Tinubu, presidential flagbearer of the Party for the 2023 presidential poll, some members of the party and non-party members have expressed mixed feelings.
The Northern Christian members of the APC, after a summit, have formally reject the party’s ticket.
According to them, the Muslim-Muslim ticket goes against all the principles of equity, fairness and justice.
Okay.ng recalls that Yakubu Dogara, a former speaker of the House of Representatives, and Babachir Lawal, the ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation, were members of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and clergymen who said Christians in the North must rise against the injustice of the ruling party.
They opined that the ticket was an attempt to further divide the country.
“This is very divisive and must be rejected by all patriotic Nigerians,” Mr Lawal said.
“Also implied in this ticket is the insinuation that Northern Muslims are not willing to vote for a ticket that has a Christian on it and on which they are not represented.
“It is our belief that Northern Muslims would have seen the justice in a Muslim-Christian ticket and would have given it their overwhelming support had the party been inclined to do so.
“Sadly, the party chose to go the divisive line.
“A corollary to this mindset is that Christians should also not vote for a ticket on which there are no Christians.”
On his part, Dogara, the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, said Nigeria is at a dangerous crossroad if an important issue like religion is not properly balanced to reflect the interest of all parties in the country.
Senator Ishaku Abbo, a Northern Christian lawmaker representing Adamawa North Senatorial District in Adamawa State at the Nigerian 9th National Assembly, while commenting on the Muslim-Muslim ticket had noted:
“We cannot work for such a man. I will oppose (a) Christian-Christian ticket because I am invested in the stability of this country. A Christian-Christian ticket will be insensitive to Muslims of this country. The country is evenly divided among Muslims and Christians. So any government that is Muslim-Muslim will be illegitimate and will never gain the respect of Christians.”
He said this in a statement in Abuja on 10th July 2022, after resigning from the Tinubu Support Organization.
