Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket: APC Christian leaders reject ticket, say it’s a violation of party constitution

● Declare ticket will be difficult to sell among Northern Christians

Negative reactions have continued to trail the coupling of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the All Progressives Congress APC for the 2023 election.

The latest criticism is from a coalition of Christians of Northern extraction within the party.

The Coalition on Tuesday asked the former Governor of Lagos State and APC’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to proceed with the ticket alone as they would not be part of it.

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The coalition said it would be difficult for it to explain the Muslim-Muslim ticket to the Christian community in the North.

“We cannot in all fairness to our consciences and faith go to our various constituencies to campaign for a Muslim-Muslim ticket,” the members said in a communique in Abuja.

The communique was signed by Chairman, Doknan Sheni, Secretary, General Ishaya Bauka and Professor Saidu Ibrahim.

Part of the resolution read: “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 if 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 Christians 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 are Muslims, and now both the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are Muslims and apart from this violating the constitution section 14 subsection 3, if this was to be reversed that all these were Christians, can any Moslem in the North be able to sell the APC presidential tickets to any Muslim ummah?”

The group warned of serious and grave consequences if the selection of a Muslim vice Presidential candidate was not changed, maintaining that “at this moment of national peril, what should be paramount in Nigeria is unity and not infrastructure or economy”