By Adeleye Kunle
All Progressives Congress APC National Stakeholders, a group of young party chieftains, has expressed support for the party’s standard bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over his choice of a fellow Muslim, Senator Kashim Shettima, as his running mate.
At a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, stakeholders also reacted to statements made by a former Secretary to the Government SGF, Engr. Babachir Lawal, who described the development as a satanic and disastrous error on Wednesday.
“The former SGF, Engr. Babachir Lawal, has only expressed his own opinion, just as we have made comments in the past requesting that certain sentiments be taken into account.” However, in a democracy, we must be willing to listen to others rather than wishing that only our opinions be considered. The group stated that “what Lawal said was his personal opinion.”
In a statement made available to Tracknews , Lawal criticized the Tinubu/Shettima ticket, saying it does not bode well for the country.
At a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday, Convener of the group, Engr. Aliyu Audu, admitted that his team had advocated for the selection of a running mate of a faith other than that of the presidential candidate in order to give followers of both major religions a sense of inclusion.
“We are aware that in order to build an effectively working society, we must prioritize capacity, competence, and character over religion and ethnicity, especially because prioritizing such sentiments in the past has not provided the desired goal of sense of inclusion, which can only truly be achieved when all Nigerians, regardless of faith, ethnicity, or social class, experience good governance at all levels,” he said.
“We understand that making this critical decision must have been difficult, even for an exceptional leader like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.” We are encouraged, however, that he approached the decision with the seriousness, sensitivity, and broad consultations that it requires, and as such believe that he made the best decision in the overall interest of our unity, national growth, development, and progress, without allowing unproductive premordial sentiments to derail or affect our collective goal of building and sustaining a working society in which integrity, competence, character, and capacity play significant roles.
“This has reaffirmed our trust and confidence in his abilities as a leader to make decisions whose overall interest for the country, whether immediate or long-term, towers above sentiments that, while important, are insufficient for the leaders we need to carry out the tasks ahead.”
“It is on this basis that we urge patriotic and well-meaning Nigerians to see this as confirmation that our next president will not be afraid to make difficult decisions when necessary, and that such decisions will be made in the best interests of our collective success while also taking into account every sentiment.”
“The birth of a new Nigeria that works is upon us, and we have every reason to believe that Senator Kashim Shettima is one of the vehicles leading us there.” Despite the challenges posed by the Boko Haram insurgency, his track record of bringing developments closer to the people while serving as governor of Borno State puts him ahead of his peers. As a Senator, he has demonstrated his mettle by introducing motions and bills that are critical to the advancement of the nation. He is a patriotic Nigerian who is unaware of the country’s social, cultural, religious, economic, and political structures but lives by them. His ability to relate to people of different tribes and religions, which he has demonstrated by having some of his closest aides from the southern region and of a different faith, distinguishes him as one of today’s most detribalised Nigerians,” he said.
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