Mr. Jonathan Vatsa, a former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and a top APC official in Niger State, has slammed Kaduna State Governor Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for saying that a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the ruling party will not be a problem in the country’s upcoming general elections.
Vatsa stated in a press statement titled “the Christians are awake and alive in Nigeria ahead of the 2023 general elections,” which was made available to Bellnews online in Minna, that such an agreement would not only spell doom for the party, but would also be “playing with fire.”
He counseled Bola Tinubu to disregard El-remark, Rufai’s claiming that if Tinubu runs on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, no Christian in Nigeria will vote for him.
“Those scheming for Vice President positions like El-Rufai are calling for a Muslim-Muslim ticket because of their unattainable desire even when they know full well that it is not absolutely conceivable,” he claims. Nigeria has progressed beyond what people like El-Rufai believe.
“Our National Leader and Presidential Candidate, Bola Tinubu, is smarter than him, more politically astute than El-Rufai, and understands everyone’s history, so he can’t be duped.” Tinubu is well aware that a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023 will spell disaster for him and the APC.
“Kaduna State is smaller than Nigeria; if El-Rufai won in Kaduna on a Muslim-Muslim ticket because he made sure the Christian communities in southern Kaduna did not turn out to vote in the 2019 general elections to express their dissatisfaction, such an experiment will not work in the presidential election in 2023.”
Because of his religious intolerance, the former APC Publicly Secretary in Niger State noted that politicians in the country, especially El-Rufai, have made religion the primary concern in everything they do today, recalling how he proclaims every Friday a public holiday in the state.
“Now that El-Rufai is running for Vice President, he wants Nigerians to forget about religious considerations in our transactions.
Every form you fill out in Nigeria today will question you about your faith.” “I’m not sure why such a person would convince Nigerians that religion isn’t important,” Vatsa maintained.
The governor should not raise the issue of competence, according to the statement, because competent people from all religions in Nigeria, including idol worshipers, can be Vice President.
“There are many educated, competent, and well-respected Christians in the north who can be Tinubu’s Vice President,” the statement continued. Those who have turned their state into a war zone should not aspire to be the country’s Vice President.