Yoruba Elders, Tinubu Supporters Protest Over Muslim-Muslim Ticket

Some Yoruba elders and supporters of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu have rejected the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the party.

The supporters on Monday took to the streets of Lagos calling for a Christian to be picked as the Vice Presidential candidate of the party.

The protesters under the aegis of Coalition of APC Stakeholders Network and Southwest Supporters of Tinubu started the protest from Shoprite Ikeja to the State House Alausa.

The group’s President-General, Arokoyo Samuel, while speaking during the protest, described the selection of the former Governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima as APC’s vice presidential candidate as a disregard for Nigeria’s diversity.

Samuel, speaking on the presidential ambition of Tinubu, described him as a political colossus and astute political strategist who has successfully built an enviable foundation for APC.

He further stated, “he has also been crucial in the nation’s democracy being an important figure for almost four decades, hence his emergence as APC presidential candidate was perceived as a breadth of fresh air.”

Samuel, who condemned the same faith ticket of the ruling party, said, “As a multi-religious and multi-ethnic country, any attempt for one religion to dominate the political structure could only widen the gap of mistrust and destroy the delicate sense of tolerance cultivated over the years.

“Hence, the choice of Shettima was not only ill-timed but also a total disregard for the diversity of the country, crushing the bridges built to connect the religious differences and promote ethnic harmonious co-existence.”

The protesters charged Tinubu to drop Shettima and pick a Christian ahead of the 2023 general elections.

Samuel added, “We want the best for the nation and the Muslim-Muslim ticket isn’t. This will set negative precedents for future generations. We must not fail our children.

“In place of Shettima, Tinubu should pick a Christian from the north-central. Doing so will assure the APC of a higher chance of gathering more votes from the North and across the country.

“The north-central dominated by Christians played a vital role in the 2015 and 2019 presidential elections. As popular as PMB is in the North, the only times he succeeded were when he won this zone, despite always dominating the Muslim-dominated North West and North East in his previous three attempts.

“There are a good number of Christian voters in the following northern states Kogi, Kwara, Plateau, Nasarawa, Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Adamawa, Gombe, Borno, and the FCT, whose votes can be harvested to about 70% if we have a Northern Christian running mate on the ticket.

“Tinubu will write his name in gold should he make this bold decision. He will become the toast of Christians. Imagine the kind of momentum our leader will gather should he get the backing of almost 50 million Christians in Nigeria.

“It is our prayer that Tinubu will look beyond the surface and make this bold decision. We anticipate his timely action.”