2023 Election: Northern Group Ask APC Presidential Candidate To Pick VP From Other Faith
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By Abdullahi Alhassan, Kaduna.
A Northern Nigeria Front for Equity and Good Governance (NNFEGG) has called on the All progressive Congress,A P C Presidential Candidate , Mr, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,for the interest of Justice and fairness to consider Christian from North as his running mate in the Presidential election comes 2023.
"For equity and fairness in handling sensitive Issues that have a bearing on our peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity , inclusion should be our collective pursuit as against exclusion.
Addressing Newsmen at Nigerian Union of Journalists,(N U J) Secretariat in Kaduna the President of the group , Zakariya Abdul'aziz said"we wish to remind Nigerians that the North has always participated in National politics as diverse but United entities with common goals and aspirations.
"In the same vein our voting pattern has been characteristically nationalistic without regards for sectional ethnic and religious considerations.
"As a group we are very concerned and disturbed by the utterances of some few voices that have attempted to push out their narratives using religion and ethnicity under the guise of speaking for the North over the choice of Political party candidates and their running mates.
"In particular we find it very divise, careless and callous for some persons to say that the choice of a Christian from the North will not guarantee Northern votes for certain political parties,for instance they have brezenly and openly said that only the choice of a Muslim from the North as running mate to candidate of the ruling party can the votes of the North.in other words,they are saying that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is the only way to victory for the ruling party, this is misleading and very unfortunate the group added.
"Northerns have always voted inclusively with reservations,for instance in 1979, Northerns across the North voted for the late Alhaji Shehu Shagari Without divisive considerations,
"Also During the 1993 aborted elections the North again Voted dispassionately with the late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe as winners.in the same 1999 the two Major candidates were equally massively voted for in the North despite their being Yoruba Christians and Southerners,this unique voting pattern ensured the victory of former president Obasanjo In 1999 and 2023 as well as former president Jonathan in 2011 respectively.
The group further explain "the position is not only incorrect,but an attempt to mislead the good people of the region into thinking that religion or ethnicity is the measure determining factor for the voting pattern of the North,and again such very unfortunate voices seem to destroy the foundation of Unity oneness and equity which the founding fathers of the region toiled for.
"To demonstrate how untrue such positions of religion are one can give as example with the current leadership of the Northern Governor's Forum which is chaired by the Governor of Plateau State Mr Simon Bako Lalong who happens to be a Christian amidst his colleagues that are Majorly Muslims , despite that he has led them well and enjoyed their full cooperation and support,where then the religious dichotomy coming from,the group asked.
