Opposition against the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress deepened on Friday as popular Christian members of the party vowed to mobilise voters against it in 2023.
The aggrieved Christian members said the decision of the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, to pick a fellow Muslim from the northern part of the country as his running mate was an error that they would fight with their voter cards in February next year.
Some northern Christian leaders in the APC on Friday called on Nigerians to reject any ticket that was not mixed between Christians and Muslims during the 2023 elections.
According to them, since the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidency is divisive, it must be rejected by all patriotic Nigerians.
They barred their minds during the APC Northern Christian Leaders’ Summit, saying the insinuation that northern Muslims would not support a Christian running mate to Tinubu was untrue and divisive.
Among the leaders, who spoke during the event, were a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; a former Speaker, House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara; a former Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Solomon Dalung; and Senator Ishaku Abbo (Adamawa North).
Lawal, who was the chairman on the occasion, said many within and outside the APC had expressed shock and disbelief over the reaction to the party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, adding that it was a grand conspiracy against northern Christians.
The former SGF said, “Our opposition has some historical basis. There were times in the past when Christians produced deputy governors in Kebbi, Niger and Kaduna states. Now, it is wholly Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“It is worth noting that all these are happening in APC-controlled states. They are threatening to do likewise in Gombe, Kogi and Adamawa states.
“It is also now a recurring practice in the North whereby any Christian traditional ruler that dies is replaced with a Muslim prince, albeit from the ruling family even if the most qualified and preferred prince is a Christian. The recent case of Billiri Chiefdom in Gombe State is still fresh in our minds.
“Proof of its anti-Christian agenda is that our party itself has completely eliminated northern Christians from its NWC (National Working Committee) and NEC (National Executive Committee). All our protestations as party members have been completely ignored by the party leadership.
“But as members of the APC, we have the right to continue to express our indignation at these happenings and will not give up until we secure the justice that is due us.
“The main purpose of this historical narrative is to let you know that for the APC, a Muslim-Muslim ticket has been a long-term political strategy and not a one-off decision. Thus, all this talk of competence as the reason for the choice of the Muslim VP candidate is balderdash and diversionary. This is a calculated anti-Christian exclusion agenda that is being implemented.
“One might ask: why is the APC itself mute about our rejection of this Muslim-Muslim ticket? And why has none of the other perpetrators of this crisis reached out to Christians for a dialogue? Why are they instead hiring fake bishops and taking church groups to further embarrass the church? Why are they embarking on a vicious media war against CAN and the church instead of seeking reconciliation? Truly, things are not adding up.”
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