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Tag: Muslim-Muslim

  • Muslim-Muslim Ticket: We were Promised N100,000, paid N40,000 – ‘Fake Bishop’ Claims

    Muslim-Muslim Ticket: We were Promised N100,000, paid N40,000 – ‘Fake Bishop’ Claims

    Facts on how the All Progressives Congress, APC reportedly hired Christian clergymen and women to participate in the unveiling of the party’s vice presidential candidate, Kashim Shettima have emerged.

    Recall that Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, unveiled the former Borno State governor as his running mate on Wednesday in Abuja.

    Footages of bishops dressed in cassocks who attended the event have flooded the social media amid controversy surrounding the same faith ticket.

    Reports have it that the ruling party is currently receiving backlashes from Nigerians for reportedly hiring fake bishops in a bid to claim support of the Christian community in the presidential race.

    One of the ‘bishops’ who spoke with Peoples Gazette, Joseph Odaudu alleged that they were hired from a motor park.

    According to him, the APC members promised to pay them N100,000 each.

    He, however, lamented that he only got N40,000 instead of the promised N100,000

    “They came to meet us at the car park behind Eagle Square and they promised to give me N100,000. They bought food for us and took us to another place where they gave us clothes to dress like Christian leaders and reverend fathers,” Mr Odaudu told The Gazette.

    “But after we finished, they only gave me N40,000 and another person said they got only N30,000. I don’t know why they changed our agreement because they said they had N100,000 for us.

    “I am a Christian and I am supporting Tinubu but I hate when people lie and fail to deliver on their promises,” he added.

    However, the Tinubu Campaign Organisation, TCO, had debunked the reports of fake bishops, saying they are clerics without big names.

    TCO, in a statement by its Director of Media and Communication, Mr. Bayo Onanuga declared that the bishops were not hired.

  • 2023: Muslim-Christian Presidency Hasn’t Taken Us Anywhere – Oshiomhole

    2023: Muslim-Christian Presidency Hasn’t Taken Us Anywhere – Oshiomhole

    Ex-Governor of Edo State and former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, has dismissed the controversy over the choice of a Muslim running mate by the APC presidential candidate, Ahmed Bola Tinubu.

    Oshiomhole said it is high time the country did away with primordial sentiments such as religion and ethnicity, and concentrate on competence and courage of candidates to save the country.

    Speaking on TVC on Thursday, the former governor expressed satisfaction with the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC, while also commending Tinubu for making that decision.

    Tinubu had chosen former Governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate.

    He said, “The more opposition party joined the Muslim-Muslim debate, the more I’m satisfied that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s decision is right.

    “We need courage. We have struggled to balance this religious issues in recent years. Tinubu’s decision shows that he will take bold step when elected.

    “If the number of churches and mosques we have built over the years is equal to number of factories, we won’t be at this poverty level in the country.”

    Oshiomhole added that he was also satisfied with the choice of Shettima due to his capacity and some of his achievements.

    He said, “We can’t continue with business as usual. I’m satisfied with the quality of Shettima. He is well-read and well-exposed. He is well awarded both home and abroad.

    “We should spend time interrogating the personality, competence of Tinubu’s nominee. Soon, pagans will organise themselves to say otherwise too.”

    He further described the Tinubu/Shettima ticket as a “balanced ticket” for the party, stating that Tinubu’s track record and Shettima’s impressive qualities would translate to defeat for the opposition party.

    “It is a balanced ticket; balanced ticket in terms of competence, and their antecedents. The opposition party are threatened by this bold decision because they are sensing defeat.”

    The former APC national chairman dismissed the concerns over “islamization agenda” with the Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying that Tinubu couldn’t even islamize his own family.

    “What are the fears of people making this comment? They are saying there are plans to islamise Nigerians. The candidate himself (Tinubu), has he islamised his own family members? His wife is a Christian and a pastor.

    “Our presidential candidate is a happily married man. He has demonstrated religious tolerance by the fact that his own wife is practising her own faith. How can a man who allowed freedom of worship in his home Islamise the country?”

    Oshimohole also spoke on the lingering ASUU strike, stating that issues as such should have dominated the political commentary in the country.

    He added, “Despite a Muslim president and a Christian vice president, it hasn’t translated to anything.

    “And right now, I think what should feature most in our political commentary is: what is the problem between ASUU and the federal government? Even as a former Labour leader, I am not sure I know all the detail.

    “I can imagine the pains parents are going through. So, we don’t discuss these issues and we are discussing religion.

    “Okay, as we speak, we have a balanced ticket (Muslim-Christian), where has it translated to?”

  • Without Muslim-Muslim Presidential Ticket, APC May Not Win In 2023 – Orji Kalu

    Without Muslim-Muslim Presidential Ticket, APC May Not Win In 2023 – Orji Kalu

    The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Kalu, has proposed a Muslim-Muslim ticket as a critical factor for the All Progressives Congress (APC) to win the presidential election in 2023.

    He believes the ruling party may lose the election if it fails to go for the option of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, considering the present situation it has found itself.

    Senator Kalu made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    “If we don’t play Muslim-Muslim (ticket), we are in trouble,” he stated. “It will be difficult to win the election because the only thing left for Ahmed Tinubu today is to play Muslim-Muslim.

    “What is wrong with Muslim-Muslim ticket? I don’t see anything wrong. There is nothing wrong with a Christian-Christian ticket also, it depends on the condition.

    “The condition that we have found ourselves today is that you cannot play two minorities – Tinubu is a minority Muslim from the South and if you put a Christian from the North, it is a minority Christian from the North. What I am telling you is sincerely from my mind; it is not the position of our party.”

    The lawmaker stressed that there was nothing wrong if the APC decides to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the election.

    He argued that it was impossible for a southern minority Muslim and a northern minority Christian to win a presidential election in Nigeria.

    According to Senator Kalu, the priority of the ruling party should be winning the presidential election in 2023 and not the religious and ethnic affiliation of its vice presidential candidate.

    He thanked President Buhari for ensuring a level playing ground for all candidates at the party’s presidential primary election.

    “If I am in Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s situation – the wife is a senior pastor in a Pentecostal church, I will go (for a) Muslim-Muslim ticket,” the lawmaker said. “The most important thing is for the party to win.

    “Already the wife is a pastor and they have been living together for over 50 years. She’s already like a deputy president, if I’m to say; I am saying my opinion, this is Orji Kalu’s opinion. You cannot deny me my opinion, but you can also play a Christian-Christian ticket, depending on the scenario.”

  • 2023: CAN Warns Major Political Parties Against Muslim-Muslim Ticket

    2023: CAN Warns Major Political Parties Against Muslim-Muslim Ticket

    The Christian Association of Nigeria has rejected proposed Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets by major political parties in the country, claiming that the outcome of the proposal will be worse.

    According to CAN, Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in 2023 is a threat to the fragile peace and unity of Nigeria.

    The apex Christian body gave the warning in a statement on Friday by its National Secretary, Barrister Joseph Bade Daramola, titled, ‘Christian Association of Nigeria Rejects Proposed Muslim/Muslim Presidential Ticket in 2023’.

    CAN said with the country’s trajectory and its challenges, it was important for the nation’s political parties not to further polarise the country by opting for Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim presidential tickets.

    The statement read, “The Christian Association of Nigeria has once again warned the leading political parties to bury the thought of Christian/Christian or Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket in 2023. We want to unequivocally state that it is a threat to the fragile peace and unity of Nigeria.

    “We congratulate the Presidential Candidates of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the opposition People’s Democratic Party, the Labour Party: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Mr. Peter Obi respectively, including other parties that are participating in the forthcoming Presidential election.

    “CAN urges that a balance of both religious practitioners be considered in the choice of running mates of the presidential candidates. We do not subscribe to Christian/Christian ticket or Muslim/Muslim ticket. Politicians can talk politics but we have stated our view long before now.

    “Any party that tries same religion ticket will fail. This is not 1993. Even when we have joint Muslim/Christian ticket, the church still goes through hell. Only God knows the number of Christians that have been killed in the last seven years with no one apprehended or prosecuted.

    “Imagine how bad it will be if we have two Muslims in power? The extant Nigerian Constitution promotes religious balance. So, if any political party wants to try a Muslim/Muslim ticket, it’s at its own peril. CAN is only forewarning but will make a categorical statement in the event our warning is not heeded.

    “The Presidential running mate for the APC presidential flag bearer, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu should be a Christian from the North, Atiku’s running mate should be a Christian from the South while Obi should choose his own among the Muslims from the North.

    “Anything contrary to the above means that the leadership of these political parties do not bother about the unity of this entity called Nigeria.

    “Those who are planning Muslim/Muslim ticket should also find out what was the outcome of MKO Abiola and Kingibe ticket in 1993. If they try Muslim/Muslim ticket this time around, the outcome will be worse because our fault lines are very visible.

    There is no party that has no great, good and patriotic Christians who can preside over the affairs of this nation not to talk of being the Vice President as some mischievous people are trying to say. If merit and competence are used as yardsticks, we have many qualified Christians in all the 774 Local Government Areas of this country.

    In the ongoing dispensation, CAN leadership cried in vain to ask President Muhammadu Buhari to break the monopoly or dominance of the security architecture with people of same faith. We are all seeing the outcome now. It is obvious that the Nigeria of today is different from that of 1993. Our politicians should stop flouting the Constitution by respecting the North and South dichotomy and religious factor.

    “To those arguing that people do not care about the religions of their leaders once they are competent and credible, we dare APC to pick its presidential running mate from the South and PDP pick its own from the North and see what follows.

    “When the late sage, Papa Obafemi Awolowo picked Chief Mrs Oyibo Odinamadu, a fellow Christian and Southerner, as his running mate in 1979, we all know the consequences of his performance in the North. Our politicians should be doing what will unite us instead of what will further polarise the country.”

  • 2023 Presidency: Muslim-Muslim Ticket Is Dead On Arrival – Babachir Lawal

    2023 Presidency: Muslim-Muslim Ticket Is Dead On Arrival – Babachir Lawal

    The consideration of a Muslim president and a Muslim vice president in the country in 2023 is dead on arrival, Mr Babachir Lawal has said.

    Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), stated this on Thursday during his appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

    He believes it is out of place for anyone to consider such a thought considering the peculiarity of the nation’s political atmosphere which is divided along regional and religious lines.

    “You can have the best ticket but if you don’t win the election, it’s a waste of time,” Lawal declared. “So, we must bear in mind that the vice (presidential candidate) is going to contribute to winning that election.”

    “Extending that consideration to the Muslim-Muslim ticket, I live among the Christians, and I know that among the Christians, the question of Muslim-Muslim ticket is a no-go area; it is dead on arrival.

    “Buhari himself, even at that time, had to drop this present presidential candidate because of that tension of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, and we have not seen anything in the country that has changed significantly to allow that to happen. On the contrary, it has worsened,” he added.

    Following the emergence of a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, a Muslim, as the party’s presidential candidate, there have been debates over who would be his running mate.

    As the search for the ruling party’s vice-presidential candidate intensifies, the APC has been warned against nominating a Muslim for that position.

    According to Lawal who is an ally of Tinubu, a political party is in the business of winning elections, and to win elections, one must get the votes to beat the opponents.

    He stressed the need for the party to make the necessary considerations before choosing its vice president ahead of the coming polls.

    “The religious divide has increased, the tribal division has increased, the regional division has increased,” said the former SGF. “So, it will be a good thing if APC will settle for a Muslim-Christian ticket because we know the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), that is what they will do.”

    Asked if he would like to be Tinubu’s running mate, he said, “God has not told me to aspire for that position. If you reach the level of Christianity that I am, you should be able to seek God’s opinion on everything that you do and get the indication.

    “I will consider it. I have been in government before, and I have not seen any personal merit or advantage to me being in government. Since I left government, I have had a very good life and basically, a businessperson, and I have lived well. I am happy, my children are happy.”