PDP’s refusal to adhere to zoning more dangerous than APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket —Nabena

Yekini Nabena, a former deputy national publicity secretary for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has asserted that Nigerians should be more concerned about the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) abandoning the zoning arrangement, than they should be about the ruling party’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, ahead of the general election of 2023.

He made this assertion during a press briefing, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

By selecting its presidential candidate, the PDP, according to him, eliminated fairness and the traditional turnover of power between the North and the South.

The APC leader claimed that the action of the main opposition constituted a greater threat to the nation than the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Nabena emphasized that, when compared to a single faith, abandoning the zoning system is worse for Nigeria’s unity.

He noted that Nigeria had a Muslim-Muslim ticket with Buhari and Idiagbon and a Christian-Christian ticket with Gowon and Adewale, and there was no criticism.

Furthermore, the APC chieftain noted that there was no protest by the opposition in 2011 when the now-defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) presented Muslim candidates Nuhu Ribadu and Fola Adeola, since the ticket had no chance of winning.

Nabena said: “None of those agitating against the Muslim-Muslim ticket, based on fairness, has considered the African traditional worshippers. How fair is it that we are agitating for fairness and equity to share power between Christians and Muslims while completely ignoring and alienating our African traditional worshippers? Where is justice?

Read also: Northern Christian group rejects APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket

“Nigeria should worry more about the zoning arrangement which the PDP has just killed for their selfish interest and the desperation of its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. This is because for Atiku, it is the last chance which will become one-chance for him by 2023.”

In response to whether the South-South will accept the APC ticket, the Bayelsa-born APC chieftain said: “In the South-South where we have Christian-Christian ticket for the governor and deputy governor, there is no tangible development. Take, for example, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), headed by a Christian minister and a Christian Managing Director. What is the result?

“The APC has done the right thing by zoning the presidency to the South. Nigerians must know that religion is a matter of individual race. The most important thing is that the presidency is in the South, compared to PDP’s unfair treatment to the South.”

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