All Progressives Congress, APC, Senator representing Adamawa North, Isyaku Cliff Abbo, has slammed the presidential standard bearer of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tunubu, on his choice of a Muslim running mate, saying it was a threat to national stability and security.
Tinubu on Sunday unveiled a former Borno State Governor and serving Senator Kashim Shettima (a Muslim) as his vice-presidential candidate.
THE CONCLAVE reports that this was in spite of strident calls from the Christian community in Nigeria on all parties not to couple together the same faith presidential tickets.
Reacting to Tinubu’s choice of a Muslim running mate in a telephone interview with THE CONCLAVE, on Monday night, Senator Abbo said he was withdrawing as Secretary of the Strategy Committee of Tinubu’s Campaign Organisation in disapproval of the decision.
He declared that Tinubu had acted irresponsibly by coupling a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket based on acclaimed competence of his chosen running mate.
Abbo said he was disappointed that Tinubu would write off Northern Christians in the APC as imcompetent.
According to him: “Tinubu said he was after competence. So, is there no competent northerner among all of us who had held and are still holding positions of authority in the country that he could have chosen as a running mate? And, by the way, how competent is Tinubu himself?”
Abbo said the emergence of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in APC was against the principle of federal character as enshrined in the Constitution to cover the geopolitical zonal representations in Federal appointments and could also be extended to cover Nigeria’s secularism.
“It is therefore against the backdrop of this obvious religious insensitivity and a glaring attempt to turn us into slaves that I find it difficult to relate with the decision by Tinubu.
“It is against my conscience to continue to stay as Secretary of the Strategy Committee of the Tinubu Campaign Orgsnisation.
“We sat down in Abuja and strategised, and we concluded that he should not take a Muslim as running mate. He (Tinubu) threw away the report. My conscience will not allow me to campaign for Tinubu. I am a member of CAN; I cannot deny CAN. I remain in APC. But I will take the survival of my country first over political considerations.
“We cannot work for such a man. I will oppose (a) Christian-Christian ticket because I am intrested in the stability of this country. A Christian-Christian ticket will be insensitive to Muslims of this country. The country is evenly divided among Muslims and Christians. So any government that is Muslim-Muslim will be illegitimate and will never gain the respect of Christians.”
He also claimed that Tinubu did not consult with anybody in the north on the choice of a running mate, saying he had already made up his mind on his choice even before he put forward the name of a placeholder running mate to the INEC.
He claimed that instead of consulting, Tinubu was busy going round compromising people to shut them up from speaking against his decision that he had long perfected.
Abbo said he would send a formal letter to the party’s national leadership as well as President Muhammadu Buhari to advert their attention to the security implications of the APC presidential ticket for national stability.
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