The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, has said that he will not run his administration on the basis of religious affiliation if elected president.
Tinubu said this on Wednesday at a meeting with the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Abuja.
CAN had kicked against the APC’s same faith Presidential ticket, saying it did not take into consideration the country’s religious diversity.
In a statement by Tunde Rahman, his media aide, Tinubu said Kashim Shettima, is the best choice as his running mate.
He promised that he will not run his administration on the basis of religious affiliation if elected president.
“I did not choose Senator Shettima so that we could form a same-faith ticket. The ticket was constructed as the same progressive and people-based ideology ticket,” he said.
“I offer a confession. I selected Senator Shettima thinking more about who would best help me govern.
He said,”Picking a Christian running mate would have been politically easier. But the easy way is rarely the right one.
“The selection of a running mate is at once a very momentous yet very intimate decision.”
The statement said,”Resting such a key decision on religious affiliation as the primary weight did not sit well with me. I am not saying there were not good and adequate potential running mates of the Christian faith.
“What I am saying is that the times we inhabit do not lend themselves to the good or adequate. We have urgent problems that lend themselves not to a Christian or Muslim solution. We need the best solution.
“Every time I thought about it, and I did think a lot; I came to the same conclusion: Kashim Shettima.”
In his remarks at the meeting, President of CAN, Rev. Daniel Ukoh, presented a charter of demands to the APC candidate.
The association demanded state police or a decentralised policing system, devolution of power to states, equal rights for all religions and their adherents, and right to self-determination by all ethnic groups.
CAN’s demands also included right to control natural resources by communities that bear them, no to open grazing, and equitable electoral system that guarantees the right to vote and be voted for by all.
Among those that accompanied Tinubu on the visit were his wife, Oluremi Tinubu, Governors Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Abdulahi Ganduje (Kano), Dave Umahi (Ebonyi), Speaker of the Federal House of Respresentarives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila,former Abia state governor, Orji Uzo Kalu and former governor of Benue state. Senator George Akume
