APC reacts to Northern Christian elders’ opposition to party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket

The ongoing discourse over the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to divide stakeholders, in the aftermath of opposition by Northern Christians to the combination.

Consequently, the party’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Mr Yakubu Ajaka, decried the politicisation of the decision to the detriment of competence and nation-building.

Ajaka, who made this assertion on Sunday, said, “As it is common with developing democracies such as ours, the selection of candidates for the parties always comes with various challenges, mostly bordering on sentiments, such as religion, ethnicity, and geo-political arrangements.

“The cry of marginalization has also become a common and popular feature among politicians and the electorate.

“These sentiments had been into play all our political life for quite a long time. Unfortunately, we seem to throw away competence, capacity, and qualification to these sentiments. This is partly responsible for our present predicament, with no benefit to even the agitators of such sentiments.

“It is sad and regrettable that our country has been recording divisive tendencies, with our unity as a nation sometimes threatened. There are ill feelings over perceived cases of marginalization. In Nigeria, every section is crying of marginalization. It has been the case during Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan’s administrations, and now.”

Read also: APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket tops agenda as Dogara, Babachir Lawal meet Gov Wike in Port Harcourt

The Christian Association of Nigeria in the 19 Northern states and Abuja had reaffirmed its opposition to the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

The Secretary-General of the association, Elder Sunday Oibe, stated this at a press conference in Kaduna on Sunday.

“We reaffirm our stand against the idea of a Muslim-Muslim ticket in a multi-religious and multi-cultural society like Nigeria, particularly considering the fact that the country has never been this divided along religious and ethnic lines before.

“Northern CAN wants to use this medium to call on politicians and political parties to be wary of those who might sneak to meet them secretly like Nicodemus in the name of Christian leaders from the north, with the sole aim of whetting their political appetite and desperation for monetary gains.

“Northern CAN, as a reputable religious organisation, will never engage in any secret dealing with any politician as a matter of policy,” Oibe noted.

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