A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Hon. Farouk Adamu Aliyu, has said the ruling party opted for Sen. Kashim Shettima as the running mate of the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, to help the party neutralise the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, in the North-East region in the 2023 poll.
Aliyu, who is a close ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, said already, APC has an edge over the oppositions in the North-West and South-West with the presence of Buhari and Tinubu, hence the strategic choice of Shettima from the North-East to consolidate on their strength.
Speaking to BBC Hausa, Aliyu, a former Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, stressed that the choice of Shettima was not based on religious leaning but politically calculated.
He said: “Our calculation is that we will win with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Our focus now is on winning election. We picked Kashim to help us defeat Atiku in his region. President Buhari will preserve the North-West for the APC at least, plus our support as foot soldiers. The South-West is sealed because of Tinubu. Honestly, Atiku is politically superior to Shettima but APC is ahead of PDP.”
According to him, northern Christians have the right to be upset with the choice but assured them that their interest will be protected by giving them priority in subsequent appointments when the APC coast to victory.
“They are right if they aren’t pleased with the decision. But as APC members they should be patient let’s win the election first. Northern Christians will be prioritised in other subsequent positions.
“As I said, if anyone says the Christian community is nothing in northern Nigeria, that person is deceiving himself. Same thing applies to Muslims. The decision is not about religion but about political calculation that will give us an edge,” Aliyu added.
The former lawmaker added that Nigeria, a diverse country with many ethnic and religious leanings that practice multiparty democracy, there are always alternative parties that some people find their party’s choice unpalatable.
“Firstly, there is no party that is exclusive for Muslims or Christians in Nigeria. All parties belong to Nigerians. Therefore, in every party there are both Muslims and Christians. I want people to understand that this issue is not about religion. It is politics. We present our candidates, if one finds them not appealing there are other political parties,” he said.
When he was reminded of joint Muslim-Christian and Christian-Muslim tickets of other parties, the former Jigawa gubernatorial candidate in the defunct CPC insisted that as a party, APC must imitate other parties in Nigeria but must make a deliberate choice that will make them emerge victorious in the election.
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He said: “We don’t underrate Kwankwaso’s NNPP, Peter Obi’s LP but we are all rooting for people. They can do as they wish but we must not copy from other political parties.”
Aliyu further told aggrieved members of the APC that the party appoints whoever fit for position irrespective of his identity, saying: “You know truth is bitter, some people don’t want it said. For example, my elder brother Babachir, the former SGF, was SGF in APC government and is a Christian from Kilba ethnic group.
“When he was appointed it was not based on his ethnicity or religion but on his credentials and competence. After his relief from the position, his kinsman, Boss Mustapha, a Christian was appointed and no one said anything. I am surprised with his utterances. We have been with him in this struggle, he was a frontline promoter of Tinubu.”
Aliyu, however, apologised to the aggrieved APC members that the choice of Shettima has already been made and remains irreversible “because it will guarantee victory for the APC”.
“We have already passed that stage. It is irreversible. Kashim has been decided already. No going back,” he added.
The APC stalwart, while speaking on the insecurity in the North-West, said the party was working to tackle the menace before the 2023 general election.
“Truly, we have a big challenge on security but God knows that we don’t take things for granted. We won’t lie to people, we will tell them there is a problem here and there is a progress there.
“In the coming days you will see what is going to happen for people to have ease. We will make sure the problem is tackled before election. By God’s grace it will be addressed. I admit more needs to be done to arrest the situation,” he concluded.
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