Amidst mixed-reactions over the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the All Progressives Congress, APC, a priest of the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja, Fr. Oluoma Chinenye John, has said the ruling party made the choice just to win the 2023 election.
DAILY REPORT NG earlier reported that APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, few days ago, announced former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Consequently, some Nigerians have continued to condemn the party over the choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the forthcoming election.
Reacting, the Catholic priest, who is also known as Fada Oluoma, in a statement on his verified Facebook page on Monday, said APC made the choice just to for the purpose of winning the poll.
According to him: “APC is just one party, we have other parties in Nigeria. One of the beauties of democracy is the availability of options. Crying over APC’s candidates in the midst of other candidates questions our readiness to change the status quo or our capacity to make and accept informed decisions.
“There’s only one major reason behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket by APC; electoral victory. Without a Muslim VP, the APC will lose significant votes from the North and probably lose the entire presidency. This is the fear and the reason for a Muslim VP. Don’t let anyone beguile you to make it a religious problem, if you do, you will keep losing the big picture.
“I’ll never reduce this issue to a religious problem, it’s more of political dexterity. APC chose electoral votes over religious sentiments. Of course, APC knows a number of Christians will be offended, but they still went ahead probably knowing that the mathematics of more votes favour them in this issue more than feelings.
“If you don’t like it, you are right. Crying and bemoaning it? That’s where you and I separate. There’s Labour Party that is driving a political revolution, invest in it, be part of it, preach it and convert others if PDP and APC don’t appeal to you.
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“Whether this is a smart move by APC or not depends on voters. If it’s a bad strategy, it’s the APC that should bemoan it, not you an independent voter. Even card-carrying members of a party are not forced to vote for the candidates of their party.
“If APC wins 2023 presidency, Nigeria will be democratically handing over power from one Muslim to another. This means that religious sentiments can be thumped in our quest for a better nation. That also means that kindred sentiments like tribe and region can also be thumped”
