Civil Society Organisations under the umbrella of Save Nigeria Development Initiative (SNDI) has faulted the choice running mate of All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential flagbearer, Senator Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, saying that the Muslim Muslim ticket will ruin the party’s victory in the forthcoming election.
This was contained in a statement issued by its National Coordinator, Abdullahi Dahiru, in Abuja, on Monday
He said the ruling All Progressive Congress has yet again stumbled upon a political stone that is capable of frustrating and ruining her chances of victory at the coming polls as it settles for a substantive Muslim/Muslim ticket.
According to him, with the ongoing challenges of insecurity, ethnicity, and religious indifference, major political parties, and institution in Nigeria have remained sensitive to avoid losing out at the coming polls, but the ruling party considers otherwise.
He noted that the choice of Kashim Shetima is not in order and may have introduced an apocalypse for the party, saying that the peace of this nation is not negotiable therefore any candidate with a questionable history of security responses would be unhealthy for the country.
Abdullahi explained that Nigerians have described the decision taken by Tinubu as suicidal, stressing that it was made on displaced considerations.
“Several Nigerians believe that with such a controversial running mate, the ruling party may be unable to make any serious campaign promises in the area of security because they already have a running mate with a questionable security history.
“You can’t argue that Tinubu who is a Muslim minority in the south must choose a majority(Muslim) from the north that’s an error. We are talking about leadership here and the issue of minority or majority is practically unimportant”.
While speaking further, he said the running mate of Tinubu has already been disqualified on the parameters of incompetence in areas of insecurity, with emphasis on his lukewarm efforts in the war against Boko haram and terrorism.
“Nigerians have alleged him as a sponsor of Boko haram in several instances. According to tweets on social media Nigerians may have now decided to settle with the two options of Atiku and Obi. They raised the issue of Chibok girls’ adoption, which happened under the leadership of Kashim Shetima as Borno State Governor in 2014.
“Nigerians have continued to wonder if indeed President Muhammadu Buhari is aware of the decision made by Tinubu. They challenged Tinubu on his insensitivity to the current challenges in the country, especially on the issue of insecurity with a choice like Kashim Shetima as the running mate of the ruling party.
“Nigerians may wish to recollect that under Kashim Shettima, Boko Haram took control of local governments in the state, and instead of showing commitment, he instead played to the gallery. He took advantage of the crisis to enrich himself in ways too numerous to mention.
“We, therefore, advise party stakeholders, the Presidential Flag bearer of APC, all teaming Nigerians, religious leaders, political actors, and every Institution and organization who have Nigeria’s Interest at heart to help call on the party to reconsider the choice of Sen. Kashim Shetima, otherwise the party’s victory in the forthcoming general elections have been misplaced already, he said.
