July 11, (THEWILL) – The lawmaker representing Adamawa North Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Ishaku Abbo, has declared his opposition to the Presidential bid of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 election.
Abbo, who resigned his membership from the Tinubu support group, called the former Lagos State governor, “irresponsible” for picking the former governor of Borno State, Kashhim Shettima, a Muslim, as APC vice-presidential candidate.
The lawmaker confirmed his stand in a chat with newsmen on Monday in Abuja.
Abbo said he met with a support group in Abuja in search of a running mate for Tinubu, adding that the group concluded that Tinubu should not pick a Muslim as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
He said Tinubu has refused to learn from his predecessor, President Muhammadu Buhari, who opted for a Christian running mate in 2015.
He said: “We sat down in Abuja and strategised, and we concluded that he should not take a Muslim as running mate. He (Tinubu) threw away the report.
“We cannot work for such a man. I will oppose a Christian-Christian ticket because I have invested interest in the stability of this country.
“A Christian-Christian ticket will be insensitive to Muslims of this country. The country is evenly divided among Muslims and Christians. So any government that is Muslim-Muslim will be illegitimate and will never gain the respect of Christians.
“My conscience will not allow me to campaign for Tinubu. I am a member of CAN; I cannot deny CAN. I remain in APC. But I will take the survival of Nigeria first, over political considerations.
“It is very irresponsible of Tinubu to take his political survival over the stability and peace of Nigeria.
“For Tinubu now to be given the ticket and turn around to do what he couldn’t achieve in 2015, despite opposition from Catholics and other Christian leaders, is extremely irresponsible.
“Buhari fought a civil war and understands the consequences of a divided nation. When Tinubu wanted to be VP in 2015, Buhari said no because he understood the importance of unity.”
