Northern Christian members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), have declared support for Peter Obi, Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).
A statement signed by Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), said
the APC’s same-faith ticket is a deliberate and calculated plan to sow seeds of religious and social discord among Nigerians.
Babachir, Yakubu Dogara – former Speaker of House of Representatives, Prof. Doknan Sheni among other top Northern Christian members of the APC had been opposed to Tinubu’s same faith ticket.
The statement also described reports that Lawal had declared support for Atiku Abubakar, as false.
Babachir said, “there is currently in circulation the fake news that I have thrown in my towel with the PDP.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. To me the PDP and APC are different sides of the same coin”.
The statement said in the quest for justice and equity in the socio-political and religious space of the country, it is obvious that only the Obi/Datti ticket has the potential of addressing genuine clamour for power shift to the South-East and at the same time address the cry of marginalization by the Igbo
“Obviously, a Christian/Muslim presidency like the Obi/Datti one will be most appropriate at this stage of our political journey more so since we are now transiting from a Muslim/Christian presidency.
“It will also achieve the regional shift of the presidency from the current NW/SW to a SE/NW presidency as popularly being canvassed.
“This is justice; this is equity. This is political engineering at its best and one that engineers peace and harmonious co-existence of the various socio-political and religious classes of our nation.
“Nigerians should also resist the temptation of being ruled by the same set of courtiers who are recycling themselves, their children and their friends in a monarchal fashion, in and out of government to the exclusion of other segments of the society.
“This trend has resulted in these disastrous consequences in which we now find ourselves – impoverished, unsecured, divided, severely underdeveloped and massively unemployed with a widening gulf between the rich and poor of the society. A keen observer
The statement maintained that Tinubu’s same faith ticket is “a validation of the discrimination and oppression being meted out on Northern Christians who are being denied employment, promotion, contracts, and admission to read prestigious and marketable courses in government-owned schools simply on account of their religion.”
It stated that, “Nigerians from all shades of the society must see this Tinubu/Kashim same-faith ticket as a proposal from the pit of hell that can only be conjured by the most Machiavellian minds known to man and therefore must be rejected wholesome by all lovers of our country and its nascent democracy”.
Lawal called on men of good conscience to unite and shun divisive tendencies that retard the progress of the country.
He declared that only the Labour Party presents the opportunity to unite the country and called for support for Peter Obi
