Photo: Tinubu, middle, flanked by Shettima on his right, and others
CAN warns Nigerians against voting Muslim-Muslim Tinubu-Shettima ticket
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has warned Nigerians against voting the Muslim-Muslim Tinubu-Shettima All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in the 2023 presidential election, stressing that doing so would be at their own peril.
CAN’s spokesperson, Adebayo Oladeji, who stated this in an interview while reacting to the selection of former governor of Borno state, Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate, warned that Nigerians should be ready to face the consequences of their actions if they endorsed and voted for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
Tinubu had on Sunday during a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura announced Shettima, his fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
Prior to the unveiling of Shettima, CAN, the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and many civil society organizations had similarly warned political parties against fielding a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket for the 2023 presidential election.
“We knew this was what he (Tinubu) was going to do and we have warned against it. It is up to Nigerians to decide on what they want.
“You are all alive when we warned Buhari not to allow Muslims to dominate the security architecture of the country but he did heed to our warnings. I think we can now see the way the criminals are operating with impunity.
“So, if Tinubu says he is opting for a Muslim-Muslim ticket in a polarised country like ours, if Nigerians endorse him and vote for him, whatever happens, Nigerians will face the consequences.
“If you have a government where a pastor is a vice president and pastors and worshipers are being killed, you can imagine what will happen when we have a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
“It is left to Nigerians to make their choice, let them vote them in and we will all face the consequences together.
“We are raising our alarm. It is an irony that Buhari who was regarded as an extremist when we raised an alarm to warn him against a Muslim-Muslim ticket, he heeded and opted for a christian as his vice presidential candidate, Tinubu failed to do same.”
Okadeji added that if having a pastor as the vice president of the country but Christian clerics and worshipers were being killed with impunity, the security of lives and properties of Christians under a Muslim-Muslim would not be guaranteed under a Tinubu-Shettima presidency.
