July 14, (THEWILL) – The National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has assured Christians that they have nothing to fear, over the choice of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the party
The APC Chairman stated this on Wednesday, when he led the party’s National Working Committee on a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Daura, Katsina State.
Speaking with newsmen after a closed door meeting with the president, Adamu said the visit was to brief President Buhari on what transpired in Osun State on Tuesday, during the APC Governorship mega rally campaign.
THEWILL had reported that the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had on Monday, announced former Borno State governor, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate, sparking angry reactions from several Christians and Christian bodies in the country, who argued that the move failed to take into account the country’s diversity.
But describing the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as the work and will of God, Adamu explained that the party went through a rigorous, practical selection process before arriving at the decision.
According to him, Shettima is a Nigerian citizen, who must not necessarily be either Muslim or Christian before being selected as the running mate to a presidential candidate.
Adamu said while nobody was willing to promote a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, the party was confronted by what he described as the reality of politics in the country, in its quest to win the 2023 presidential poll.
He further said the choice of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate should not be a subject to agitation by the Christian community.
He said, “The fact of the matter is, we appreciate that the Christians are interesting; no doubt about it. We are as practical as we can in this situation and we do hope that people would see reason.
“Nobody is willing to promote Christianity or a Muslim ticket necessarily, but we have to face the reality of our politics in this country and that is exactly what we are doing.
“We don’t have to be all Muslims or all Christians. It is the will of God that this time around he (Shettima) is going to be the vice president of this great country, if we win the election. And we do hope and pray and we are working to win the election.”
Adamu also expressed confidence that the ruling party will win Saturday’s governorship election in Osun State, as a pointer to its victory in 2023.
Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, who also spoke with reporters in a separate interview, said the debate over APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket was unnecessary, insisting that what is most important is good leadership.
“It’s better to have a good Christian than a bad Muslim and vice versa and we should also understand the antecedents of anybody involved in a particular decision.
“If you go to Borno State and ask the Christian community there, they will give you an impressive account of Shettima when he was the governor.
“We should not forget that the wife of the APC presidential candidate is Christian and a pastor. So, she will be the unofficial vice president and representative of the Christians at the presidency”, he said.
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