The national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Abdullahi Adamu, has allayed fears of Christians in the country, saying they have no reason to worry following the controversy generated by the choice of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the party.
The APC chairman made this comment yesterday when he led the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) on a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at his residence in Daura, Katsina State.
Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, had on Monday, announced Kashim Shettima, a former Borno State governor, as his running mate, sparking angry reactions from several Christians and Christian bodies in the country who argued that the move failed to take into account the country’s diversity.
READ ALSO: Ondo: 9 Injured, 1 Dies In Road Accident
But describing the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as the work and will of God, Senator Adamu expressed also expressed confidence that the ruling party will win the forthcoming Osun governorship election, describing it as a pointer to its victory in 2023.
Speaking with journalists after meeting held behind closed doors with the president, the former Nasarawa State governor said that the visit was to inform him about APC governorship mega rally in Osun State on Tuesday.
On the vexatious Muslim-Muslim ticket, Adamu explained that the party went through a rigorous, practical selection process before arriving at the decision.
According to him, Shettima is a Nigerian citizen who must not necessarily be either Muslim or Christian before being selected as the running mate to a presidential candidate.
Adamu said while nobody was willing to promote a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, the party was confronted by what he described as the reality of politics in the country in its quest to win the 2023 presidential poll.
He further said the choice of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate should not be a subject to agitation by the Christian community.
He said:
The fact of the matter is we appreciate that the Christians are interesting; no doubt about it. We are as practical as we can in this situation and we do hope that people would see reason.
Nobody is willing to promote Christianity or a Muslim ticket necessarily but we have to face the reality of our politics in this country and that is exactly what we are doing.
Christians have nothing to fear. Shettima is another Nigerian like me and you.
We don’t have to be all Muslims or all Christians. It is the will of God that this time around he (Shettima) is going to be the vice president of this great country if we win the election. And we do hope and pray and we are working to win the election.