Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s choice of a Muslim running mate has been criticized by the People’s Democratic Party, according to Yekini Nabena, a former deputy national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress.
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This information was provided by Nabena in response to a statement made on Tuesday by a PDP organization operating under the banner of Umbrella Force.
Recall that the group had criticized the APC’s selection of Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, as its vice presidential nominee.
Shettima, a northern Muslim, was chosen as Tinubu’s running mate on Sunday. Tinubu is a southern Muslim.
Religious organizations and Nigerians as a whole have reacted negatively to the development.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Tekena Alamina, a spokesperson for the PDP group, referred to the APC’s conduct as a smack in the face of Nigerians.
In response to the announcement, Nabena charged the opposition party with trying to deceive Nigerians by drawing their attention away from an earlier transgression in which it zoned its presidential ticket to a northerner, despite the fact that the incumbent president is also a northerner.
He asserts that the PDP lacks any moral reason for making a fuss over Tinubu’s vice presidential pick.
The former APC spokesman stated in an interview with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja that a single-faith ticket was not a novel idea in Nigeria.
Nabena added that heaven did not descend because Nigeria has previously had the Gowon-Adewale Christian-Christian ticket and the Buhari-Idiagbon Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“I remember that when Action Congress of Nigeria fielded two Muslims, Nuhu Ribadu and Fola Adeola in 2011, there was no cry by the opposition because the ticket stood no chance of winning.
“I believe Nigerians should be more worried about the reasons the PDP jettisoned the conventional power rotation between the North and the South, instead of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“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?
“Nigeria should worry more about the zoning arrangement which the PDP has just killed for their selfish interest and desperation of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, because for Atiku, it is the last chance which will become one-chance for him by 2023,” he said.
The APC chieftain stressed that the party had done the right thing by zoning the presidency to the South.
