By Abraham Olatunbosun
Thousands of All Progressives Congress (APC) members, on Tuesday, stormed the party’s national headquarters to register their disapproval over reports of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
The party faithful, under the auspices of Concerned APC Stakeholders Vanguard, said their motive is to bring the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari, national chairman Abdullahi Adamu and other leaders of “well-orchestrated plot to put our party at risk of losing the presidential elections”.
In a statement signed by Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi and Hon. Bako Lucas, the group’s national coordinator and secretary respectively, they noted that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is insensitive, considering “the avalanche of notable Christian members that have sacrificed tremendously for the growth and development of our party”.
According to the group, those calling for a Muslim running mate for Bola Tinubu “must realize that the north-central is a critical constituency
that needs to be harnessed to present a formidable team that would guarantee electoral success at the elections”.
They, therefore, urged President Buhari to intervene “in this contentious issue that could destroy our great party, given the current complexities with our party by not sanctioning a Muslim-Muslim ticket at the critical hour”.
The group added that the “collective interest of our great party should be our guiding principle, given that Nigeria is a plural society with several factors constantly interplaying with one another, including religious, ethnic, and social aspects”.
They, however, vowed not to relent in their quest for a Christian running mate from north-central, noting that “ we are convinced that our position is in the best interest of our party”.
Read full statement below:
We are gathered here to drive home a crucial point that has the potential to cause an electoral upset for our great party in the forthcoming presidential elections.
As concerned members of the APC under the auspices of Concerned APC Stakeholders’ Vanguard , we have been relentless in our resolve to ensure our great party emerges victorious in the 2023 general elections. As such, this protest march is geared towards bringing to the attention of our father and indefatigable President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abduallahi Adamu that there seems to be a well-orchestrated plot to put our party at risk of losing the presidential elections.
We are all witnesses to the issues that surrounded the conduct of our presidential primaries that saw the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as our presidential flag bearer for the presidential elections.
The clamour for power shift to the south was achieved, which is a plus for our democracy and indeed portrayed our party as a democratic party that accommodates all segments of the Nigerian nation regardless of ethnic or religious factors.
Be that as it may, some urgent grey areas need to be addressed in the quest to position our party for electoral success in the general elections, which is the choice of the running mate to our presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
We wish to inform our indefatigable President Muhammadu Buhari , the National Working Committee and all men of good conscience that some vested interests within the party hierarchy are toying with the idea of fielding a Muslim-Muslim Ticket for the presidential elections.
This will be the highest sense of insensitivity if the Muslim-Muslim ticket is allowed to see the light of the day, considering the avalanche of notable Christian members of our great party that have sacrificed tremendously for the growth and development of our party from its inception.
Those toying with the idea of a Muslim-Muslim ticket must realize that the north-central is a critical constituency that needs to be harnessed to present a formidable team that would guarantee electoral success at the elections.
In the light of the above, if this critical constituency is ignored and the party goes ahead with a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it would be tantamount to political Armageddon. Therefore, it is expedient for our great party’s leadership to come to terms with the reality of the prevailing circumstances that have enveloped the country.
The leadership of our great party must realize that it is not enough that we are the ruling party, as achieving electoral success goes beyond that. It also entails that the party is strategic in its choices, including but not limited to the vice-presidential candidate.
We must realize that the opposition parties are roaring to wrestle power from the APC. If this does not give the leadership of our party a source of concern, we can only wonder what else would do.
Therefore, we are using this medium to appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari as the father of our party, to intervene in this contentious issue that could destroy our great party, given the current complexities with our party by not sanctioning a Muslim-Muslim ticket at the critical hour.
This would not only bring about a litany of disenchantment within the party, but it would also portray our party as an insensitive congregation of people in the minds of the generality of Nigerians.
The men and women of goodwill in our great party must lend their voices to this cause to ensure that our party does not disintegrate as we prepare for the general elections as the impact would be felt across the board.
Mr President, as the father of the party, your position on the imposition of a Muslim-Muslim ticket should not be viewed as supporting such injustice to the religious sensitivity of the country.
Mr President must do all within his means to save the party from imminent collapse. The indices in this regard are apparent with the plot to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the presidential elections.
It is indeed instructive for us to emphasize that the party leadership cannot feign ignorance that there are no credible candidates for our party’s presidential candidate to pick from the north-central region. And we must not disappoint them, for such action’s consequences might be politically unpalatable.
We are appealing to those who think otherwise with our position against a Muslim-Muslim ticket that they should have a change of heart and factor in the risk involved in such enterprise, which is counter-productive by all ramifications.
The collective interest of our great party should be our guiding principle, given that Nigeria is a plural society with several factors constantly interplaying with one another, including religious, ethnic, and social aspects.
Mr President, this protest is not by any stretch of imagination designed to cause an embarrassment but rather to bring to your attention on the need for the party to get it right as we march towards the 2023 general elections.
We are convinced that our message will elicit a positive response because our indefatigable President Muhammadu Buhari is a listening president who sacrificed tremendously for the unity of our great party and country.
We are also convinced that in the weeks and months to come, our great party shall do the needful towards presenting to Nigerians a formidable presidential team poised to give life meaning to the teeming Nigerian population.
We shall not relent in this regard because we are convinced that our position is in the best interest of our party. We enjoin all well-meaning members and stakeholders of our party to lend their voices to this noble cause.
Long Live the All Progressive Congress
Long Live Nigeria
