As reactions to former Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir Lawal’s critiques of the All Progressives Congress’ (APC) Muslim-Muslim ticket continue, APC stalwart Ahmed Sajo has reacted to charges of Christian marginalisation in the party.
Despite his membership in the APC, Lawal endorsed the Labour Party’s (LP) Peter Obi, a southern Christian, on Thursday, citing the religion of his party’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, and his running partner, Kashim Shettima.
However, Sajo portrayed Lawal and his cohorts as emotional during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday.
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Speaking about possible emotions of resentment among northern Christians over the Muslim-Muslim ticket, the former Adamawa State Commissioner for Information stated that he does not believe this is the case.
“I don’t think so. There are people who are emotional like Babachir and co. You cannot excuse them; you cannot say, ‘You cannot exist within our region.’ But they are there. But that does not mean that, politically, we have marginalised our brothers,” he argued.
“My local government is 90 per cent Muslim and our candidate for House of Assembly is a Christian. We don’t see him as a Christian; we see him as a brother, a capable person, and somebody that can deliver.”
Asked whether the APC recognises Christians as a force in the North, he said, “Absolutely! Is it not in my party that Babachir was made SGF and Boss Mustapha is now SGF? Are they not nothern Christians? Is it not in my party that (Yakubu) Dogara was speaker of the House of Representatives?
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“You think that if they were marginalised, they would have arrived at that level? Remember, David Mark was Senate President for how long? Is he not a northern Christian? If they were marginalised, would he have been the Senate President?
“Don’t forget, at a certain point in time when David Mark was the Senate President, Ekweremadu, a southern Christian, was the deputy senate president.”
On Thursday, a group called the Aggrieved Northern APC Christians proposed that its members and supporters support the Obi/Datti presidential ticket in the 2023 election.
According to a statement signed by Lawal, one of its leaders, headed “Why we have opted to endorse the Obi/Datti ticket,” the party decided to back Obi and his running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, following a thorough assessment and analysis of the alternative tickets.
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However, Dogara and other members of the group quickly distanced themselves from the endorsement, stating that they had yet to complete consultations and that their opinion will be made public.
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