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A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, Yekini Nabena, on Tuesday, says the Peoples Democratic Party has no moral right to criticise the presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, for fielding a Muslim running mate.
Nabena’s statement was a reaction to the statement issued on Tuesday by a PDP group under the aegis of Umbrella Force.
The group had faulted the choice of a former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, as the vice-presidential candidate of the APC.
Tinubu, a southern Muslim, had anointed Shettima, a northern Muslim, as his running mate on Sunday.
The development has elicited backlash from Nigerians and religious bodies, which kicked against the move.
A statement issued by the PDP group’s spokesperson, Tekena Alamina, and made available to The PUNCH on Tuesday, described the action of the APC as a slap on the face of Nigerians.
Reacting to the statement, Nabena accused the opposition party of attempting to pull wool over the face of Nigerians by distracting them from its earlier sin of zoning its presidential ticket to a northerner, despite knowing that the current president is also a northerner.
According to him, the PDP has no moral justification to raise dust over Tinubu’s choice of vice president.
Speaking with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, the APC former spokesman also said a single faith ticket was not new in Nigeria according to history.
Nabena further disclosed that Nigeria had Buhari-Idiagbon Muslim-Muslim ticket, Gowon-Adewale Christian-Christian ticket in the past and heaven did not fall.
“I remember that when Action Congress of Nigeria fielded two Muslims, Nuhu Ribadu and Fola Adeola in 2011, there was no cry by the opposition because the ticket stood no chance of winning.
“I believe Nigerians should be more worried about the reasons the PDP jettisoned the conventional power rotation between the North and the South, instead of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“How fair is it that we are agitating for fairness and equity to share power between Christians and Muslims while completely ignoring and alienating our African Traditional Worshippers?
“Nigeria should worry more about the zoning arrangement which the PDP has just killed for their selfish interest and desperation of its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, because for Atiku, it is the last chance which will become one-chance for him by 2023,” he said.
The APC chieftain stressed that the party had done the right thing by zoning the presidency to the South.
