Senator Bola Tinubu, All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, has stated that the selection of his running mate has nothing to do with religious faith.
He said the selection of Senator Kashim Shettima, a Muslim, as his running mate had to do with competence, experience, ability, and vision.
Tinubu made this known in a statement by his spokesperson, Mr Tunde Rahman on Saturday, July 23, in Lagos.
The APC presidential candidate was reacting to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s comment in a television interview on Friday.
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Abubakar had said that a Muslim-Muslim Ticket made him reject Tinubu when he wanted to be his running mate in 2007.
According to Tinubu, Atiku can attest that the person I selected as my running mate is more qualified for the position than the man who joined him.
He said;
In his desperate attempt to win the election by stoking religious bias, Atiku has reduced himself to uttering baseless lies.
My running mate and I are here to build a more just and prosperous society for all Nigerians, be they Christian, Muslim or adherents of other faiths.
Atiku will fail in this sad attempt to trick an entire nation.
Reason For Shettima
The former governor of Lagos State, therefore, restated his position on religion and politics, saying that when he decided that Shettima was the best selection as his running mate, he listened to, weighed, and balanced the advice received from a broad and representative array of wonderful Nigerians.
Tinubu explained;
Nigerians who deeply care about this nation and the path it must go.
Some people counselled that I should select a Christian to garner the support of the Christian community.
Some said I should select a Muslim for a similar reason but l clearly could not do both because both positions had merit and right on their side.
Neither position expressed what was most right and needed for the moment in which we find ourselves and the nation.
The APC presidential candidate noted that all his life, the decisions regarding the team supporting him had always been guided by the principles of competence, innovation, compassion, integrity, fairness, and adherence to excellence.
He stressed that he was not going to depart from those principles during this important period.
Tinubu added that it was more important than ever before, that he adhered to these principles.
As governor of Lagos state, these principles helped me assemble one of the most capable governing cabinets any state or this nation has seen.
I trust in these principles to allow them to, once more, guide me to construct another exemplary teams that can do Nigeria proud.
In this crucial moment, where so much is at stake, we must prioritise leadership, competence, and the ability to work as a team over other considerations.
This is the standard I will use to select the rest of my campaign team and if you elect me as your president when I staff my government.
