2023: We Are Working Against Tinubu’s Victory – APC Chieftain, Former SGF, Babachir Lawal

By Adesina Soyooye

Even though he is a chieftain  of the All Progressives Congress, APC, former Secretary to the Government  of Federation, Babachir Lawal, said he is working against the victory of the Party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the upcoming 2023 Presidential Election.

Lawal, an otherwise close friend of the candidate disclosed that he and a group of others would partner with any of the leading political parties, to make sure that Tinubu does not become the President in 2023.

Lawal has been against the decision of the Party and its candidate, to present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023. He described it as wicked and demonic.

Before the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima, a former Governor of Borno State by Tinubu as his running mate, Lawal and most Christians and Christian organisations, had urged the APC and Tinubu to pick a Christian from the North as his running in order not to stoke divisiveness and religious crisis in the country.

Since after Tinubu’s choice of Shettima, a fellow Muslim, Lawal and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have led the battle against it. Both men, incidentally are of the APC.

A number of other APC high profile members left the Party over the same-faith ticket.

Speaking on an Arise Television interview on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, Lawal said he and 40 Christian Leaders are working against the APC ticket. He said the Muslim-Muslim ticket has created divisions in the North.

His words: “The introduction of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC,  or same-faith ticket is a wicked plan to further create divisions within the North. We try as leaders of societies to live as brothers and sisters, but this demonic proposition just came out of the blues.

“For all lovers of unity in this country, in the North in particular where we are most affected, this ticket must never succeed. We will make sure we defeat it in such a resounding manner that nobody in his right senses will think about it again, at least, in the near future for our political journey in Nigeria. So, we are set on it and we are determined to kill it. Our people are mobilised, and our people are ready for the election.

“I and Dogara alone aren’t the only ones involved in this. Indeed we are leaders of groups of about 40 leading Christian politicians in the North. We started work on this years back when we suspected that if a Muslim emerges from the South as the candidate of any political parties, there is a risk that what has happened will happen.

“So, while we plan that same-faith ticket of APC should fail, we also believe we should align with one of the leading political parties that has the chance of winning. Our strategy is that we will not just waste our votes because we want to protest against the same-faith ticket of the APC, we will like to partner with another group that is more sensible of the Nigerian situation and realise that Nigeria needs harmony, unity and peace.”

Lawal and Dogara, in their crusade had visited Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike. They had, also, visited both former Nigerian Leaders, Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Abdulsakami Abubakar.

It is speculated that both men and others would, sooner than later, quit the APC, team up with either the  Peoples Democratic Party or the Labour Party.