A member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mukhtar Shagari, on Tuesday scolded the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the Muslim-Muslim joint ticket of the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Muslim from Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria; and the running mate, Kashim Shettima, Muslim from Borno State, North east Nigeria.
Shagari, in a media interaction, said “Nigerians should remember our political history,” which he felt the APC undermined. Shagari recalled that Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, a northern Muslim was the Prime Minister of Nigeria in the first republic; Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, a christian from the South, was the President of Nigeria; in the second republic, Shehu Shagari, a northern Fulnai Muslim was the President and Dr. Alex Ekwueme, from the southeast, Christian, was vice president. Shagari added that on the return of democracy in 1999, President Olusegun Obasanjo, a christian from southwest Nigeria was president and Atiku Abubakar, a Muslim from northeast Nigeria was vice president. Shagari added that President Muhammadu Buhari from northwest Nigeria is working with a Christian from the southwest, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, as vice president. Shagari expressed that in all these, there was balance in representation between Muslims and Christians, and north and south. He noted that APC ignored history to settle for Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Shagari said that the party went for same faith ticket because the APC has failed Nigerians in every aspect of life – security, economy -, saying that APC has particularly, failed the north where people are kidnapped and ransoms paid, bandits and Boko Haram terrorise the people.
Shagari said that because APC has failed Nigerians in all aspects, the party leaders think that by adopting Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, they will get the votes of the northwest in the 2023 general elections.
According to Shagari, “they simply think that both the Christians and Muslims are stupid. They quickly jump into Muslim Mulsim ticket. They know what they want but Nigerians are wiser. Nigerians want somebody who can solve their problems.”
Shagari declared that “APC has told Christians in this country you don’t matter, and I believe that on February 25, 2023, the Christians will tell the APC you too, you don’t matter.”
He argued that if it is okay for a Muslim to marry a christian wife, why is it not okay for a Muslim presidential candidate to take a Christian vice.
Shagari stated that APC Muslim-Muslim ticket is an insult on the Christians in the north, saying that both the Muslims and Christians felt insulted.