The All Progressives Congress (APC) has been criticised for choosing a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the 2023 general election, according to a group within the APC that goes by the name of Northern Christian Youths Coalition.
The group, which consists of APC Christian youths from the 19 northern states, stated in a statement following a meeting on Tuesday that its members would not campaign for a Muslim-Muslim ticket against their moral convictions and religious beliefs.
Prof. Doknan Sheni, the coalition’s chairman, and Ishaya Bauka, its secretary general, both signed the communiqué.
The organisation said that by selecting former Borno State governor Kashim Shettima as his running partner, the party and its presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had forsaken the North.
It described the development as unacceptable and a slap on Northern Christians.
The communique read: “The selection of a Muslim vice presidential candidate portrays insensitivity to the Christians in the nation.
“The fear of the Christians in the North and the nation, in general, is that the APC will be viewed as an Islamic party and the Muslim -Muslim ticket was not possible in 2015, why should it be possible in 2023?
“More so, that we are apprehensive that the person picked might have had a hand in the Chibok girls saga and other terror activities, Muslim-Muslim ticket would undermine the election chances of Christian candidates in the APC in the various states in the North.
“The Christians in the North and the whole nation are highly aggravated. Considering that the Chairman of the party is a Muslim, Deputy Chairman – North, is a Muslim, the President of the Senate is a Muslim, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are Muslims, and now both the presidential and vice-presidential candidates are Muslims and apart from this violating the constitution, section 14 subsection 3, if this was to be reversed that all these were Christians, can any Muslim in the North be able to sell the APC presidential ticket to any Muslim ummah?”
