Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
As the decision of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to pick a fellow Muslim, Alhaji Kashim Shettima as his running mate, continues to generate reactions, northern Christians in APC, have pulled out of Tinubu’s campaign team.
They said their conscience would no longer allow them to continue to campaign for the APC candidate as the party had shown it had little or no regard for Christians.
The northern APC Christians who met Tuesday in Abuja, warned that if the selection of Shettima as the party’s vice presidential candidate were not reversed before July 15, there would be serious consequences.
According to the communiqué jointly signed by their Chairman, Prof. Doknan Sheni; and Secretary, General Ishaya Bauka; the choice of Muslim-Muslim ticket by APC has given the party out as an Islamic party.
The group insisted that Nigeria is a secular state, arguing that anybody or group placing religious sentiments above the secularity of the country is stocking disunity.
They accused APC of violating the Constitution of the country on federal character.
The communiqué obtained by Ikengaonline read, “The Christian politicians in the nineteen (19) Northern States within APC met in Abuja to deliberate on the issue of the party’s Muslim–Muslim Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates and the implications for the nation.
“The meeting decided as follows: that as Christians within APC, we cannot in all fairness to our consciences and our faith go to our various constituencies to campaign for a Muslim–Muslim ticket.
“Nigeria is a multi religious and a constitutional democracy and NOT a theocracy. The current political atmosphere of the nation is different from what occurred in 1993 and therefore a Muslim-Muslim ticket is unacceptable.
“The selection of a Muslim vice presidential candidate portrayed insensitivity to the Christians in the Nation.
“The fear of the Christians in the North and the nation in general is that the APC party will be viewed as an Islamic party, and that the Muslim–Muslim ticket was not possible in 2015, why should it be possible in 2023?
“More so, that we are apprehensive that the person picked might have had a hand in the Chibok girls’ saga and other terror activities.
“Muslim–Muslim ticket would undermine the election chances of Christian candidates in APC in the various states in the North.
“The Christians in the North and the whole nation are highly aggravated, considering that the chairman of the party is a Muslim, Deputy Chairman (North) is a Muslim, the President of the Senate is a Muslim, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives are Muslims, and now both the presidential and vice presidential candidates are Muslims.
“Apart from this violating the constitution section 14 subsection 3, if this was to be reversed that all these were Christians, can any Muslim in the North be able to sell the APC presidential tickets to any Muslim Ummah?
“If this selection of a Muslim Vice President candidate is not changed, there will be serious and grave consequences.
“At this moment of national peril, what should be paramount in Nigeria is unity and not infrastructure or economy. For without unity we cannot build.
“Any party or candidate that elevates the greed of a few above the needs of the many has no business running the affairs of Nigeria.”
