An APC chieftain, Mr Yekini Nabena has said that the jettisoning of zoning arrangement by PDP was more dangerous than APC’s Muslim-Muslim 2023 presidential ticket.
Nabena, who was a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, said this on Tuesday in Abuja while speaking with newsmen.
In reacting to sentiments raised by the PDP and other Nigerians on APC’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, Nabena said there was nothing harmful in such a ticket.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Muslim from the South and APC’s 2023 presidential candidate announced Senator Kashim Shettima, also a Muslim, as his Vice-Presidential running mate on Sunday.
Nabena, however, said that Nigerians should be more worried about reasons the opposition PDP killed fairness and conventional power rotation between the North and the South, and not a Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.
According to him, abandoning zoning arrangement by the PDP is more harmful to the country’s unity when compared to a single faith ticket.
He, therefore, urged Nigerians to ignore the unnecessary cry by the opposition parties on APC”s Muslim-Muslim ticket, adding that there were Muslims in the North, as well as all parts of the South.
Nabena noted that in the South-South geopolitical zone where most states had Christians as Governors and Deputy Governors, the states were yet to develop in spite of their huge oil revenues.
The APC former spokesman said a single faith ticket was not new in Nigeria going by history, adding that the country had Buhari/Idiagbon Muslim-Muslim ticket and Gowon/Adewale Christian-Christian ticket in the past.
He added that in 2011 when Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) fielded Nuhu Ribadu and Fola Adeola, both Muslims, there was no cry by the opposition parties because the ticket stood no chance of winning.
He said it was ironic that none of those agitating against APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket on the basis of fairness, considered the African traditional worshippers.
“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 2023 presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar,” he said.
Nabena, however, said the APC had done the right thing by zoning the presidency to the South.
He said Nigerians must know that religion was a matter of individual race, adding that the most important thing was that the APC zoned the presidency to the South compared to PDP’s unfair treatment to the region.
“Nigerians must reject PDP in 2023 to show their angers against the injustice done to the zoning arrangement.
“PDP zoned presidency to the North while the incumbent President is from the North, a Muslim and a Fulani man, just like Atiku Abubakar, its 2023 presidential candidate.
“This actually calls for anger and not harmless Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC,” Nabena stressed.