A group within the All Progressive Congress under the auspices of the Tinubu Mandate Group, Ondo and Ekiti States chapters has said there was nothing wrong with the presidential candidate of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, picking a Muslim as a running mate.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State announced a former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shetima, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election, amid criticism in some quarters.
Speaking on the development, the Coordinator of the group, Pastor Olufemi Bakare, who spoke with our correspondent, at the meeting of the group, in Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday, said the APC presidential candidate would always be fair to all religions in the country.
He described Tinubu as a man who has Christians around him and had been showing love for Christianity, saying he (Tinubu) was never a religion bigot, even though he is a Muslim.
Bakare said, ” I trust him absolutely. Let me tell you one thing, this man is a Muslim, his wife is a pastor and I want to tell you sincerely and truthfully, myself and the wife were ordained as pastors the same day. So it is not a question of religion.
“When somebody is sitting on top of a palm tree, he has a better horizon. The choice that he made I believe in it. I came from a muslim family.
“My elder brother is an Alhaji and I’m a Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God. So if you have a muslim man whose wife is a pastor, I believe any decision would take as a president, will be with fear of God.”
He explained that the essence of their meeting was to review their programme, and plans to mobilise support for the APC National Leader, at the nooks and crannies of Ondo and Ekiti States.
“We have to be at the grassroot to bring in a lot of people. Like so many people loves him (Tinubu) in other parties, PDP, ADC, everywhere, they are coming since they know this is a sellable candidate.
“This is a man who has who has a template, this is a man who have done it before, this is a man who has reputation, this is a man who can create wealth., this is a man that turned the fortune of Lagos State for good.
“He has lifted Lagos State from the position of slum to a position whereby it is now competing to be the economic leader of Africa. This is why I trust him and I know him as a friend. He has being my friend for 45 years and he has never failed,” he stated.
