Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given reasons why he didn’t pick a Christian as a running mate, the Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has defended his choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Speaking on settling for Shettima as running mate, Tinubu said all his life, decisions regarding the team around and supporting him had always been guided by the principles of competence,innovation, compassion, integrity, fairness, and adherence to excellence, Bellnews Online reported.
The former governor of Lagos state said he consulted widely on the issue of running mate and he appreciates the perspectives of leading members of the party, political allies and key national figures “who see Nigeria’s future as I do”.
Tinubu specifically said the belief in prioritizing leadership,competence, and the ability to work as a team over other considerations influenced his running mate choice.
He said: Today, I announce my selection with pride because I have made it not based on religion or to please one community or the other.
I made this choice because I believe this is the man who can help me bring the best governance to all Nigerians, period, regardless of their religious affiliation or considerations of ethnicity or region.”
However, the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN has frowned on the selection of Kashim Shettima as the running mate to the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate.
Before now, there had been warnings from CAN, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and Civil Society Organisations against fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent on Sunday, CAN’s spokesperson, Adebayo Oladeji, said making such a decision in a polarised country was a wrong move.
The CAN scribe stated that if having a pastor as the vice president of the country and Christian clerics and worshipers are being killed , the security of lives and properties of Christians under a Muslim-Muslim could not be guaranteed.
Oladeji, however, warned that Nigerians should be ready to face the consequences of their actions if they endorsed and vote for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
He said, He said, “We knew this was what he was going to do and we have warned against it. It is up to Nigerians to decide on what they want.
On his part, the Secretary of CAN, North West zone, Elder Sunday Oibe told Daily Sun in an interview that those losing sleep over Muslim Muslim ticket do not have Permanent Voters Card (PVC).
Elder Oibe said there was no need for anybody to panic over Muslim Muslim ticket since every electorate has the rights to vote for whoever he desires to lead the country through secret ballot.
According to him, “We should not lose sleep over Muslim Muslim ticket, Christian Christian ticket or even Pagan Pagan ticket because we have our PVC to vote whoever we so wish to lead us.
It is your rights to vote out anybody that you know that he or she will not protect your interest.
The 2023 election is going to be a decider in the history of Nigeria, and those who are saying that a particular presidential candidate should pick a Muslim Muslim ticket have an agenda”.