The Catholic Church on Wednesday said it did not send any representation to the public presentation of Kashim Shettima as the vice presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
Consequently, the prominent Christian body said unidentified persons dressed in robes at the event in Abuja earlier today were imposters.
“We have seen the photos circulating online, they are not Catholic bishops. The Catholic Church did not send any representation to the event held today by Bola Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima,” Rev. Fr. Patrick Alumuku, a spokesman for the Catholic Church Headquarters in Abuja, told Peoples Gazette. “If you look at the manner the imposters dressed and conducted themselves, you will see they are not Catholic Church officials.”
Similarly, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Kaduna State chapter, described the presence of bishops at the official unveiling of former governor of Borno State as another “Nollywood movie”.
The event at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, was initially scheduled for last Thursday but was shifted till today following a hail of complaints that trailed the selection of Mr Shettima, a Muslim former governor of Borneo State, by the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The fake bishops were apparently hired by Mr Tinubu’s campaign to give Christian voters a false impression that his decision to pick a fellow Muslim despite strong objections and national security implications was accepted by the Christian community.
In a report by DAILY POST, Rev. John Joseph Hayab, the Kaduna state CAN chairman, explained that Christians in the country would not lose sleep following the Tinubu/Shettima presidential ticket in next year’s election in the country.
According to Rev. Hayab, who is also the CAN chairman of 19 Northern states and FCT, “The people we saw at the unveiling of Shettima as the presidential running mate to Bola Tinubu paraded as bishops are people who did not have enough time to learn how to wear bishop garments. Take a closer look at their photos and you will see another Nollywood movie.”
Rev. Hayab wondered why the desperation of the APC, saying that firstly, there was a story claiming to have come from the Chairman of CAN Borno State identifying with Kashim Shettima, only for the story to be refuted by the same source.
Rev. Hayab observed that there was another lie that Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his running mate were on their way to meet CAN president one night, stressing that Christians in the country remain focused in conducting themselves in accordance with the laid down constitution of the country by casting their votes to a credible candidates in the 2023 general elections.
He explained, “A meeting that was not true and was on a night that the CAN president was in Alabama USA attending the Baptist World Alliance Conference of which he is the Vice President.”
CAN noted that it was alleged that the APC presidential candidate met with Papa Adeboye, which the RCCG later refuted, saying that there is nothing in it but an act of desperation in the story that they met Papa Adeboye.
Rev. Hayab said, “CAN appreciates that we are in a democracy, no need to do funny and dubious things just to prove a point because it will at the end bounce back.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s team should simply do what is right and stop the drama. Because of desperation, the hired bishops took the shine of the occasion more than the candidate that was unveiled, what an irony.”
He called on Nigerians to ensure they vote credible candidates in the 2023 general elections, saying that it is the only way the country could be restored and take its place in the community of nations.
The Christian Association of Nigeria, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria and other concerned bodies had registered their opposition to the presentation of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the ruling party for the 2023 general election.
Christian leaders in the APC had also warned that the same faith presidential ticket would spell doom for the party in the upcoming polling as there were already accusations that the party was tending towards an Islamic janjaweed inclination.
But in an apparent move to douse the criticisms, the unknown persons appearing in Christian leaders’ apparel were led into the venue of the unveiling amid taunts.
