2023: Why I Rejected A Christian Running Mate – Tinubu

The Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC,  has disclosed that the selection of Senator Kashim Shettima as his tuning mate was the most difficult decision he had to make.

The APC Presidential hopeful has come under fire for picking the former Governor of Borno State as his running mate. Both politicians are Muslims, and Shettima’s pick has drawn the anger of Christians in the Country under the aegis of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN. The Association directed its members not to vote APC in the 2023 election due to its same faith ticket.

The major fear among not a few Nigerians is that APC’s same faith ticket will furher polarise the country along religious lines. The country has never been ruled by people of same religion since it returned to  democracy in 1999.

But during his meeting with CAN leaders on Wednesday, Tinubu said picking a Christian to run with him would have been the easiest thing for him to do, but added  that his decision to choose Shettima was based on his capacity to help him govern the county if he wins the Presidency next year.

The APC Presidential Candidate said he also chose the former Governor because of his antecedents in Borno State, revealing that Shettima did not,as a Governor, take sides when dealing in, or  with religious issues.

The former Lagos Governor, also, dispelled the rumour that his party plans to Islamise the country if they win the Presidency in 2023.

His wife, Remi, and his children are all Christians and they go to Church on Sundays,he said, living him behind at home. If he cannot convert his family to his faith, the APC Presidential hopeful said, he has no plans to Islamise the country.

Tinubu said: “I seek to become Nigerian President not on religious grounds but on the Constitution. Thanks to the body for the invitation to candidates to speak of their plans for the nation,” he said.

“I believe in the need for a secular Government and for us to work in the interest of the country just as I did in Lagos State by returning the Missionary Schools to the rightful owners.

“I never chased people out of Lagos. My choice of Shettima is borne out of the urgent need to address the challenges facing the country as Shettima possesses strong leadership abilities which he exhibited when he was the Governor of Borno State. I wanted a progressive Government that was why I selected Shettima.

“Choosing a Christian running mate would have been easy but that is not the case. We have urgent challenges that do not depend on religious leanings but on the best of hands that can address it.”