Muslim-Muslim Ticket: APC Muslim Youths Issues Directive To Buhari, Tinubu, Reject Shettima

As Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s running partner, Muslim youths in the All Progressives Congress (APC) have rejected Senator Kashim Shettima, a former governor of Borno State.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, Abdullahi Saleh, the head of the APC’s Muslim youth wing, requested that Shettima be replaced by a North African Christian politician or priest.

Saleh acknowledged that Tinubu retains the right to decide anyone he wants to be his running mate, despite the fact that they oppose a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

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He claimed that the organization finds it concerning that such a choice could be made without considering how it may affect the party’s chances of winning elections and the ensuing commotion it might cause in the nation.

“It is also worrisome that of all the country’s political parties, only the APC presented a Muslim-Muslim ticket. In our opinion, this is insensitive and a gross display of a lack of respect for our Christian brothers and sisters,” the APC Muslim youths leader said.

“This is on the heels that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a Muslim from South West Nigeria, and picking another Muslim from the northern part of the country as his running mate is politically and morally indefensible.

“We hold the firm conviction that such a move can boomerang with unpleasant consequences for the APC at the general elections, hence the need for the party’s leadership to make haste to correct this error of judgment.”

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He continued by pointing out that the APC’s presidential ticket can be complemented by credible candidates in the north who have strong credentials and a sizable grassroots following.

Saleh claimed that the Northern Muslims Forum of the 19 APC states views the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as an anomaly that needs to be rectified right away by the appropriate party officials.

“The implication of non-action in this regard can only be imagined, so much so that the majority of the eligible voters in Northern Nigeria have elected to boycott the APC in protest of the disrespect and disregard to Northern Christians, whose population and relevance in the scheme of things in the region cannot be overemphasized.

“As a group, we wish to state unequivocally that we reject the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima as the vice presidential candidate of the APC.
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“This decision is hinged on the need to ensure a balance in the presidential ticket of the APC, as it has been since the return of democracy in 1999.

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“The APC must respect the religious diversity of the country. We hold the opinion that emphasis must be placed on ensuring a united house before the elections and not a fragmented house,” he added.

The group encouraged President Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu to appoint a Christian as the APC’s vice presidential candidate’s replacement.

By running a Muslim-Muslim ticket, they claimed, the ruling party must not be seen as advancing a religious agenda.

The Muslim-Muslim ticket, according to the APC’s Muslim youth, is a recipe for entrenching mutual suspicion between Muslims and Christians in the nation, which won’t bode well for the country’s general peace and tranquility.

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“We consequently say no to a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC. We call on President Muhammadu Buhari to kindly intervene to save the party from an electoral crisis. We urge Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to emulate the example of President Muhammadu Buhari in the choice of his running mate in the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections,” he said.

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