Former SGF, Babachir Lawal’s comment that the All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket was part of an Islamisation agenda has attracted rebuke from Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje.
Ganduje, who cautioned Lawal against spreading falsehood, also advised him to mind his utterances.
Since APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu announced Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate on Sunday, there has been widespread controversy.
Reacting to the ticket in a statement, Lawal, who is a Northern Christian and known associate of Tinubu, called it a “disastrous error”.
He linked Ganduje to the alleged Islamisation agenda being pursued through Tinubu’s ticket.
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“No one who seeks to be president of Nigeria should ever deploy the tool of religious extremism and exclusivism as a tool to win elections. This is very very dangerous. And this is very sad.
“But, barring any last minute change of mind, Bola has made his choice. He should be bluntly told that in this choice, Nigerian Christians clearly see a pending Islamic Republic of Nigeria in its infancy and are right to be severely anxious,” Lawal’s viral Tuesday statement read in part.
Reacting through a statement by the Kano State Commissioner for Information, Muhammad Garba, Ganduje advised Lawal to shun promoting intolerance at a time when the nation needs unity.
The Kano governor noted that the ex-SGF should have considered his relationship with Tinubu before making such comments.
“It is unfortunate that at a time when the country needs to be united for national development and religious tolerance, a man of Babachir’s caliber, who is highly respected, would spread falsehood without much consideration to his position in the All Progressives Congress and close relationship with the party’s flagbearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement read in part.
Ganduje said Lawal and his ilk within the APC ought “to be mindful of their utterances, especially on religious matters and support the APC for quality leadership that will deliver the country from its challenges.”