The All Progressives Congress (APC) Christian leaders in the 19 northern states have tagged the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the party as a display of crass insensitivity to the complexity of modern Nigeria and the entire church.
They argued that APC picking Shettima is a betrayal of the unity and peaceful co-existence with Muslims, including notable Islamic clerics who had forewarned the party and Ahmed Bola Tinubu from “travelling that treacherous route.”
In a communique after their meeting signed by Prof. Doknan D Sheni and Prof. Saidu Ibrahim respectively, yesterday, the APC northern Christian leaders argued that “in fairness to their conscience and faith, we cannot go to our constituencies and campaign for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.”
They maintained that Nigeria is a multi-religious and constitutional democracy, and not a theocracy with religion as a major fault line.
They warned that any attempt to manipulate the multi-religious complexity of Nigeria would have dire political consequences on the country’s peaceful co-existence.
They opined that the current Nigerian environment and political atmosphere of the country is different from what occurred in 1993, therefore a Muslim-Muslim ticket is unacceptable.
“It doesn’t take the smart to know that the Abiola/Kingibe victory in 1993 turned out to be a pyrrhic victory as there was never a President Abiola nor Vice President Kingibe,” the communique, which read in parts, argued.
They believe the Muslim-Muslim ticket, if APC allows it to stand, would only fuel suspicion by the Church that the party is pursuing an Islamization agenda, adding that, “with all the positions in the hands of our Muslim brothers, it would take ingenious mendacity to prove otherwise.”
The APC Christian leaders warned that the rejection of the Muslim-Muslim ticket by Christians would undermine the electoral fortunes of the APC and its candidate across all states and constituencies where Christians enjoy a numeric advantage.
It described the Muslim-Muslim Muslim ticket as unjust, because the President, National Chairman of the APC, President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Deputy Speaker of the House, and now both the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates are all Muslims.
“Assuming that such lopsidedness does not violate S.14 (3) of the Constitution: if this was to be reversed so that all these were Christians, can any contentious Muslim in Nigeria attempt to sell such patently unjust and unfair arrangement to the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria,” the APC Christian leaders asked.
They also argued that the Muslim-Muslim ticket presented by the APC and its Presidential candidate violates the constitution of the party “to guarantee equal opportunity for all mutual and peaceful co-existence, respect and understanding, eliminating all forms of discrimination and social injustice among Nigerians.”
The leaders called on President Buhari to immediately intervene to ensure justice, equity and fair play, advising that the leadership of the party should not allow fanatics on both sides wreck havoc on the party.
