By Suleiman Anyalewechi
“You don’t go to Church and sing choruses and dance with then but when it comes to appointments you marginalise them” – Vatsa
Former Niger State Commissioner for Information, and founding member of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Hon Jonathan Vast, has commended the Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani for restoring religious balance in the governance space of the State by the selection of a Christian running mate ahead of the 2027 polls.
This is as the APC chieftain vowed never to back down on his opposition to the APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
The source reports that for years, the political landscape of Kaduna state had been defined by a somewhat unwritten political charter in which the two dominant religions – Islam and Christianity share the two most important positions in the state( Governor and Deputy Governor)
However, the equation was disrupted throughout eight-year tenure of immediate past Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai ,who, for the first time since the advent of the present democratic arrangement in 1999, opted for a Muslim-Muslim ticket, a development that unsettled not a few observers.
But at an interactive session with the media, Vatsa, a Christian faithful from Niger State, applauded Governor Sani for his decision to pick a Christian from Southern Kaduna, as his running mate.
“I want to commend Governor Uba Sani for this singular gesture towards the Christian community in Kaduna state” Vatsa stated.
However, the former Niger State Commissioner for Information , Culture and Tourism, remained adamant about his opposition to the decision of the APC to retain its controversial 2023 Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 polls.
Vatsa had, last week, Wednesday, July 22, 2026, publicly berated the retention of Vice president Kashim Shettima as President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s running mate for the 2027 general elections.
He categorically described the repeat of the 2023 Muslim -Muslim ticket by President Tinubu and the APC as a “serious mistake and insensitive”
According to him, whoever advised the president and the APC to repeat the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the forthcoming elections does not mean well for the president and the party , adding that the situation in 2023 is different from what is on the at the moment
“With the current situation in the country, and the insinuations of Christian genocide all over the world about Nigeria, nobody expected the president to repeat this arrangement.
“Nobody can convince the Christian community in the country to vote for APC in 2027 where other political parties have Christians as their Presidential or Vice presidential candidates . It will be difficult” he added.
While reaffirming his earlier stand on the contentious Muslim-Muslim ticket, Vatsa at his media briefing, vowed never to succumb to any acts of intimidation, harassment, and or arm-twisting.
“I stand by my earlier condemnation of the same-faith ticket at the Federal level and in Niger state. These decisions are politically insensitive and unacceptable.
“Even if you don’t like the messenger, you should take the message. You don’t go to Church to sing choruses and dance with Christians and when it comes to appointments or elective offices, you marginalise them”, Vatsa asserted .
He emphasized that no blackmail, intimidation and harassment will make him to change his position on the controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket both in Niger state and at the Federal level.
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