Nasarawa governor: Clerics’ presence at Shettima unveiling shows acceptance beyond religion

Abdullahi Sule, governor of Nasarawa, says the presence of clerics at the unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) shows acceptance of the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

Sule spoke on Wednesday in an interview with Channels Television.

On July 10, Bola Tinubu, a Muslim from the south-west, announced Shettima, a Muslim from the north-east, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.

The Muslim-Muslim ticket had elicited criticism from some Nigerians who described it as an “injustice” to the Christian community.

Earlier on Wednesday, the unveiling ceremony took place at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua centre in Abuja.

Some persons robed in apparel peculiar to Christian clerics, attended the event to show support for the APC vice-presidential candidate.

Photographs and video clips showing the “clerics” have appeared on social media — a development that has elicited criticism, especially over the clerical outfits.

Speaking on the development, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) had criticised the APC, saying “artisans” were hired to act like clerics.

Reacting to questions on the Muslim-Muslim ticket, the Nasarawa governor said Tinubu convinced members of the party that Shettima is the right vice-presidential candidate owing to the latter’s qualities.

“Shettima is somebody who is bold and not afraid. He was out there with Boko Haram at the beginning of these issues and he is somebody who believes in the economy. He was a one-time banker,” Sule said.

“He (Tinubu) presented all these factors that made it possible for him to select this gentleman. So, at the end of the day, he was able to convince the party and most of us that he (Shettima) is the the right candidate.

“We are really convinced, but a lot of work needs to be done because there are a lot of people who are not going to feel comfortable. What I found even amazing today, I saw a group of reverend fathers, pastors and the rest of that — over 30 of them — who came forward at the event to show their support for this gentleman, because of what he has done for them when he was the governor and banker.

“That is why I said you have some who will support and some who will not support, and it is not according to religious lines, because if you have all these men of God — leaders in their churches — who have come forward to say that they are 100 percent in support of this, then you know it has gone beyond religious lines.”

Asked why the APC fielded a Muslim-Muslim ticket, the Nasarawa governor said only the ruling party has the “guts” to take Nigeria in the “right direction”.

“It is only the party that has the guts to actually look at the right direction and take it. We are not going to be a party that is just going to look round and then just go with the flow of what it is. We are going to look at the sensitivity of this nation. We have to look at what is right for this country,” he said.

“We have to look at the economy of the country. We have to look at how to solve the issues of this country, and our presidential candidate believes; he is someone who is tested.

“Today, the economy of Lagos is the best economy in the entire country. He did it during his time and he said ‘I want to repeat it right now for the nation’.”