Loyalists of the All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, have said the party’s vice-presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima, will not be dropped in spite of criticism over his appointment.

Various groups campaigning for the APC’s presidential candidate, in separate interviews with The PUNCH, faulted those, who berated the APC and its standard-bearer over the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Those who commented on the controversy over the ticket included the spokesman for the Tinubu Campaign Organisation, Bayo Onanuga; a former Minister of Communication and Director-General, Asiwaju Tinubu Support Group, Adebayo Shittu; Director of Publicity, Tinubu Support Organisation, Ekiti State, Abiodun Alonge, and the National Chairman of the Southwest Agenda for Tinubu 2023, Senator Dayo Adeyeye.

They insisted that there was no going back on the choice of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate.

After a meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in Daura, Katsina State on Sunday, Tinubu announced Shettima, a Muslim from Borno State, as his running mate.

The APC has come under heavy criticism from groups and individuals such as the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Catholic Secretariat and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and an ally of Tinubu, Babachir Lawal, as well as the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, since Sunday when its candidate unveiled Shettima as his running mate.

Lawal in a statement on Tuesday said Tinubu was misled by sycophants, noting that the Muslim-Muslim ticket is satanic. He also described Shettima as “a Greek gift.”

On its part, CAN stated that the situation in the country was not suitable for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Others who had spoken against the ticket included the Christian Association of Nigeria, Catholic Secretariat, Senior Apostolic Leader of the Realm of Glory International Churches, Pastor Sam Aiyedogbon; former presidential aspirant and a chieftain of the APC, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, among others.

A number of party chieftains, including a former governorship candidate of the APC in Rivers State, Tonye Cole, also resigned from the party in protest against the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

On Tuesday, a hitherto unknown group, the Northern APC Christians, in a statement in Abuja asked Tinubu to reverse Shettima’s appointment before Friday’s deadline the Independent National Electoral Commission gave parties to replace running mates.

‘Shettima stays’

But Onanuga told The PUNCH that the presidential candidate would not replace Shettima.

Asked if Tinubu was contemplating changing Shettima before the deadline of INEC on Friday, he said, “That is not possible. There is nothing like that going on within Tinubu’s camp. We have seen this move before; all these campaigns to pitch us against fellow Nigerians.

“It happened in 1993 and the result was clear. There was pressure from several quarters for (MKO) Abiola to drop (Babagana) Kingibe because of his Muslim background. I pray people will come back to their senses to discover that what they should be looking at is not religion but the competence of the candidate to deliver and take the country to a greater height. They will soon realise that.”

“As I said earlier, there is no likelihood of our presidential candidate dropping Shettima. He has selected him and Shettima will remain. He is a cool candidate. Either of them can be a president,” he contended.

Commenting on the outrage by CAN and the APC Christian leaders in 19 Northern states, the campaign spokesman disclosed that Tinubu would appease them.

He stated, “I can assure you that Tinubu will appeal to Babachir (Lawal) and others. What we are seeing is natural. This is politics where you may not get all you want. But we know people will soon realise that the choice they have is not really a bad one.

“Don’t forget that we are just six months away before the 2023 elections. In politics, even 24 hours is not a long period. Anything can happen that can change the course of things. There are moves by the party to appease all of them to rally round the presidential candidate for the election.”

The APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, assured Christians that they had nothing to fear with the same faith ticket of the party.

According to him, the party’s Muslim-Muslim Presidential ticket was “the work and the will of God.”

Adamu made the declaration in Dàura on Wednesday when he led the party’s National Working Committee on a Sallah visit to the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd).

He also told journalists that he and his team were in Daura to brief the President on what transpired in Osun State on Tuesday during the APC governorship mega rally campaign ahead of the Saturday governorship poll in the state.

Speaking in a similar vein, the DG of Asiwaju Tinubu Support Group, Adebayo Shittu, said, “I don’t get what the fuss is all about. After all, APC is not the only party in the country. With all humility and a sense of responsibility, we want to win an election and Tinubu did what needed to be done to achieve the aim.

“Those who are not impressed by the move can opt to vote for their choice of candidate; whether Peter Obi or Atiku. It is that simple. APC is a political party, not a property of anybody.”

Ex-Minister speaks

On whether Tinubu would cave into the pressure from Nigerians and aggrieved party members, Shittu said dropping Shettima would create problems for the party.

“The truth is that if Shettima is dropped as a result of this pressure from within and outside the party, APC will be in trouble. What we need to factor in here is the time it took Tinubu, the Northern governors and the party to decide on his candidacy,” he stated.

The National Chairman of the Southwest Agenda for Tinubu 2023, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, also affirmed that the APC presidential candidate would not rescind his choice of Shettima to pacify those opposed to it.

Adeyeye disclosed this on Wednesday during a phone interview with The PUNCH, adding that Nigerians should place competence over religious sentiments.

He said, “I believe that people will soon realise that this is a good ticket for Nigeria and that we should place competence over religious sentiments and other issues of bigotry. People will soon realise that Shettima is a tolerant person; he accommodated both Christians and Muslims when he was governor of Borno State.

“Now, if Tinubu could not Islamise his wife, how will he Islamise Nigeria? He has no such intention and that would never happen under his watch. He was a tolerant man while he was a governor of Lagos State and there was no discrimination in his treatment of his cabinet members. All his policies favoured the two religions.

“The same could be said about Shettima who went to the extent of rebuilding Churches destroyed by Boko Haram. Tinubu is not going to review or change this ticket because we believe it is a winning ticket and those who are against it are merely afraid we will win.”

A pro-Tinubu group, under the auspices of the Tinubu Mandate Group, Ondo and Ekiti state chapters, said there was nothing wrong with the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, picking a Muslim as a running mate.

The Coordinator of the group, Pastor Olufemi Bakare, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said the APC presidential candidate would always be fair to all religions in the country.

Similarly, the Director-General of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Sanwo-Olu Project, Mr Emmanuel Amuwo, during a phone interview with The PUNCH, stated that Tinubu did not owe anybody an apology over his choice of Shettima as a running mate because his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, is a pastor.

The Director of Publicity, Tinubu Support Organisation, Ekiti State, Abiodun Alonge, said that the choice of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate was well thought out, hence dropping him would not be of benefit to the party.

Alonge said, “Tinubu must have thought about everything within the political space before settling for Shettima. Shettima, being a Muslim, must have been considered by Tinubu as a factor before picking him.”

‘Tinubu insensitive’

However, the Chairman, Middle Belt Forum, Dr Bitrus Pogu, accused the APC presidential candidate of being insensitive to the security crisis in the country which he said was caused by Muslim groups in the North.

He said, “Tinubu deliberately did what he did without being sensitive to the issue of the insecurity caused by the predominantly Muslim groups in the North and now it is the whole country; whether it is Boko Haram or Ansaru (terrorist groups).

“So, for him to have done that, it means he is playing with the sensitivity of Nigeria. Nigerians are not a bunch of fools to accept a Muslim-Muslim ticket at a time when Muslim groups are killing people in the country. He shouldn’t have done that.”

The Ekiti State Coordinator, South West Agenda for Tinubu, Prince Bamigboye Adegoroye, says there is no reason for Tinubu to drop Shettima as his running mate for the 2023 general elections.

Adegoroye said, “No, it is not possible to drop Shettima. Tinubu has made the best choice in the circumstance. Politics is not religion and he has done what he did based purely on politics.

“There is no reason for him to drop Shettima. Shettima stands tall among equals in the North, his choice is a masterstroke. There were a lot of consultations before Tinubu took the decision to pick him. There is no going back”.

The APC Vice Chairman, South-East, Dr Ijeomah, called on Nigerians to go beyond the primordial considerations of ethnicity and religion, stating that the most important thing was performance.

Tinubu’s move

The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern States and Abuja said any damage control by Tinubu “will only amount to medicine after death.”

The Vice-Chairman of the association in the North, Rev. Joseph Hayab, in an interview with The PUNCH in Kaduna on Wednesday, said such a move would yield no fruit.

This, he said, was because Tinubu had already inflicted injury on the Christiandom which won’t change anything.

According to him, when the presidential candidate set out to pick his running mate, he never deemed it fit to consult with Christians, asking that “which consultation are we going to do now?”

A support group of the Labour Party, Peter Volunteer Council, described the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress, as a slap on not only Christians but non-Muslims in Nigeria.

The group said the action of the APC simply showed the level of open hostility and hidden contempt, with which the present administration treats other religious groups.

The group’s National Coordinator, Mr Chris Arinze, said only religious bigots would be comfortable with the arrangement of the APC.

Also, the Organisation for Global Youths Peace Empowerment and Development Initiative has said that the choice of running mates by Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate, Abubakar Atiku, would pave way for Peter Obi’s victory in the 2023 general election.

In a statement on Wednesday in Asaba by the group’s National Coordinator, Mr Japhet Omene, it said the APC and PDP committed a blunder in their respective choices of running mates.

But dismissing the clamour for the substitution of Shettima, a pro-Tinubu group in the APC under the auspices of the Tinubu Mandate Group, Ondo and Ekiti States chapters, said there was nothing wrong with the presidential candidate of the party picking a Muslim as a running mate.

The Coordinator of the group, Pastor Olufemi Bakare, gave the assurance that the APC presidential candidate would always be fair to all religions in the country.

On how Tinubu could win the confidence and support of Christians and other aggrieved stakeholders, the Lagos state APC chairman, Pastor Cornelius Ojelabi, disclosed that the candidate and the party would engage with all stakeholders.

He admonished Nigerians to consider “the capacity of who can deliver, who can carry along Nigerians irrespective of their religious leaning, promote co-existence and enhance the development of the country.”

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, and the lawmaker representing the Jigawa North-West constituency, Senator Danladi Sankara, expressed full support for the choice of Shettima by Tinubu.

Sankara added that there was no cause for alarm or apprehension, noting that Tinubu and Shettima are patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians who are very conscious of the requirements of equity and justice in leadership and public administration.

Reacting to reports that Tinubu would meet with Christian leaders to secure their understanding and support for his ambition, the Secretary of CAN in 19 Northern States and Abuja, Sunday Oibe, said this would not change their position.

He said, “You see that (Tinubu’s proposed visit) is hypothetical because he has not even told us that he is coming to see us. And we Africans, if someone wants to come to your house we are welcoming him, but that will not change anything. Until when the chips are down, we will know what to do

“Africans don’t say don’t come to their house. We have told him as a body: Nigerians will not accept Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim, pagan-pagan, Hindu-Hindu ticket.”

Justifying their opposition to the Muslim-Muslim ticket, the scribe said, “Nigeria is not ripe for that, it is an insensitivity to the plight of other people. Yesterday, we will not accept it; today, we will not accept it.

“People who have made reference to the time of Abiola and Kingibe, that time is gone. Nigeria has never been as divided as now under this regime. So anybody who is making reference to the time of Kingibe and Abiola that time has gone.”

Similarly, the President of Arewa Christians and Indigenous Pastors Association, Rev. Luke Shehu, said his group would mobilise Northern Christians, Southern Christians and Muslims “who share in our democratic ideals, inclusiveness, and unity, against the Tinubu-Shettima ticket and the APC.”

“The lies they advanced cannot hold water. We have known their true secret motive. We can not be subjugated or subdued in this showcasing of religious superiority,” he noted.

The Special Assistant (Media and Communications) to CAN President, Bayo Oladeji, said the association’s stance is irreversible.

He said, “CAN’s position on same faith ticket is irreversible. CAN is not the only one opposing the Muslim/Muslim ticket and we wonder how APC and its candidate can reach all the stakeholders. Forget about reaching out to CAN, they know what they are doing.”

Meanwhile, the Kano state government has dismissed as false the claims by a former SGF that the Ganduje Foundation was being used by the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to convert Christians to Islam.

A statement on Wednesday by the Kano State Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, emphasised that the comment was totally false, arguing that there was no compulsion in religion.

He said Islam offers individuals the liberty to choose their own religion, as well as provided non-Muslims with considerable economic, cultural and administrative rights.

Commenting on the Muslim-Muslim ticket saga, a human rights lawyer, Liborous Oshoma, said he was not bothered about the religion of those contesting in the 2023 presidential election but interested in how they would solve the problems in the country.

In a post on his Instagram page on Wednesday, the lawyer asked to know the stance of the candidates on the Land Use Act, fiscal federalism, state police, fuel subsidy, unbundling of Nigeria, separation of powers, and separation of religion from the state.

He continued, “What are the candidates’ agenda and realisable plans and programmes with actualisation dates and timelines?

“What are their proposed plans to reform the concurrent and exclusive legislative lists and the general welfare of the people? How do they intend to alleviate poverty?(The PUNCH)

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