Decision on Shettima final, say Tinubu’s men

 Shettima decision is final, according to Tinubu's men

Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu's supporters have stated that despite opposition to Kashim Shettima's selection as the party's vice presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will not abandon his bid for the presidency.

In separate interviews with The MEDIA, various organisations supporting the APC's presidential candidate criticized those who criticized the APC and its standard-bearer over the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

The spokesperson for the Tinubu Campaign Organization, Bayo Onanuga, the former minister of communication and director general of the Asiwaju Tinubu Support Group, Adebayo Shittu, the director of publicity for the Ekiti State Tinubu Support Organization, Abiodun Alonge, and the national chairman of the Southwest Agenda for Tinubu 2023, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, all offered their opinions on the ticket controversy.

They claimed that Shettima's selection as Tinubu's running partner could not be changed.

Shettima, a Muslim from Borno State, was named Tinubu's running partner after a meeting with the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd. ), on Sunday in Daura, Katsina State.

Since Sunday, when its candidate announced Shettima as his running mate, the APC has come under fire from organizations and individuals including the Christian Association of Nigeria, the Catholic Secretariat, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Tinubu ally Babachir Lawal, as well as Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong.

In a statement on Tuesday, Lawal claimed that Tinubu had been duped by sycophants and referred to the Muslim-Muslim ticket as diabolical. 

For their part, CAN claimed that a Muslim-Muslim ticket was inappropriate given the circumstances in the nation.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, the Catholic Secretariat, Senior Apostolic Leader of the Realm of Glory International Churches, Pastor Sam Aiyedogbon, former presidential candidate and APC chairman Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, among others, were among those who spoke out against the ticket.

A number of party leaders, including Tonye Cole, a previous APC candidate for governor in Rivers State, resigned from the party in opposition to the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

In a statement released on Tuesday in Abuja, the Northern APC Christians—a hitherto unidentified group—asked Tinubu to revoke Shettima's appointment before the deadline of Friday set by the Independent National Electoral Commission for parties to change running mates.

"Shettima remains"

Onanuga, however, assured The MEDIA that Shettima would not be replaced by the presidential contender.

When asked if Tinubu was thinking about replacing Shettima before the Friday deadline set by INEC, he responded, "That is not feasible. Nothing similar is occurring within Tinubu's camp. We have seen this tactic before—all these efforts pitting Nigerians against one another.

"It took place in 1993, and the outcome was obvious. Due to Babagana Kingibe's Muslim heritage, there was pressure on (MKO) Abiola to remove him. I hope people will come to their senses and realize that what matters most is not a candidate's religious beliefs but rather his or her ability to deliver and move the nation forward. They'll soon understand that.

"As I have stated, there is no chance that our presidential candidate will abandon Shettima. Shettima will remain as he has chosen him. A cool candidate, he. He argued that one of them could serve as president.

The campaign spokesman revealed that CAN and the APC Christian leaders in 19 Northern states were outraged.

"I can tell you that Tinubu will win over Babachir (Lawal) and others," he said. What we're witnessing is normal. In politics, you might not always get what you want. However, we are confident that people will quickly see that their option is actually not a bad one.

"Remember that the 2023 elections are only six months away. Even a day in politics is not very long. Anything could occur to alter the path of events. The party is making efforts to win over everyone so that they will support the presidential candidate in the election.

Christians were given assurance by the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, that the party's same-faith ticket posed no threat.

When he led the party's National Working Committee on a Sallah visit to the president, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday in Dàura, Adamu made the announcement (retd).

Ahead of the state's governorship election on Saturday, he also told journalists that he and his team were in Daura to brief the President on what happened on Tuesday during the APC governorship mega rally campaign.

In a similar spirit, Adebayo Shittu, the director general of the Asiwaju Tinubu Support Group, remarked, "I don't know what the controversy is all about. APC is not the only political force in the nation, after all. We want to win an election with utmost humility and accountability, and Tinubu did what was necessary to do that.

"Those who are not pleased with the decision may choose to support Atiku or Peter Obi in the election. That's how easy it is. The APC is a political party, not someone's possession.

Former Minister talks

Regarding the question of whether Tinubu would give in to pressure from Nigerians and disgruntled party members, Shittu stated that the party would face issues if Shettima were to be dropped.

"The APC would be in difficulty if Shettima is removed as a result of this pressure from both inside and outside the party, the reality is. The time it took Tinubu, the Northern governors, and the party to decide to support him as a candidate needs to be taken into account in this situation, he said.

Senator Dayo Adeyeye, the national chairman of the Southwest Agenda for Tinubu 2023, added that the APC presidential candidate will not change his mind about Shettima in order to appease critics.

 On Wednesday, Adeyeye revealed this and emphasized that Nigerians should value competence above religious beliefs.

He declared, "I think people will realize soon enough that this is a good ticket for Nigeria and that we should value skill over bigotry related to religion and other things. People will soon realize that Shettima is tolerant since, when serving as governor of Borno State, he was kind to both Christians and Muslims.

Now, how will Tinubu Islamize Nigeria if he was unable to Islamize his wife? He doesn't intend for that to happen, and he would never allow it to. While serving as the governor of Lagos State, he was a tolerant man who treated his cabinet colleagues equally. He favored the two religions in all of his policies.

The same could be said of Shettima, who even went so far as to rebuild churches that Boko Haram had destroyed. Because we think this ticket is a winner and those who are against it are only frightened we'll win, Tinubu is not going to review or change it.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party's presidential candidate, chose a Muslim as his running mate, according to a pro-Tinubu group operating under the aegis of the Tinubu Mandate Group's Ondo and Ekiti state chapters.

Pastor Olufemi Bakare, the group's coordinator, told one of our reporters that the APC presidential candidate would always be fair to all religions in the nation.