From Noah Ebije, Kaduna and John Adams, Minna
Fresh facts have emerged that the idea of Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidency was actually mooted in Kaduna on May 12, 2022 when the All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, visited Kaduna delegates to canvass their votes as an aspirant.
Few minutes after the delegates had endorsed Tinubu for the presidency, the lawmaker representing Sabon Gari, Kaduna, Federal Constituency and Chairman House Committee on Ports and Harbours, Hon. Garba Datti Mohammed Babawo appealed to Tinubu to pick governor Nasir el-Rufai as his running mate.
Babawo said: “We have a request for you sir, what I’m about to say I did not tell our governor because I know if I tell him he would not support it. We want you to take our governor as your running mate. We don’t want him to go and settle outside the country after the election because we know his plan. His plan is to leave the country and live in overseas after his tenure as the governor. But we want him to serve the country as your running mate”.
Babawo’s request came on the heels of the closing ceremony of the event after all the speakers were done with their speeches, and, therefore, there was no provision for Tinubu to respond to the request on the spot.
However, unconfirmed reports said that the presidential hopeful showered the Kaduna delegates with large sum of money.
Earlier, in his remarks at the event, the former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima said that Tinubu has the leadership attributes of all the past leaders of the country, particularly General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) for his humility and peace loving manner.
Shettima added that one could as well find attributes of General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (IBB) and General Sani Abacha in Tinubu, explaining that the now APC presidential candidate is a pan-Nigerian to the core.
The delegates gave their support to Tinubu after Governor Nasir el-Rufai said that he would only rally round any candidate supported by the delegates.
When the delegates said they would support Tinubu, el-Rufai then said he would support Tinubu too.
El-Rufai also thanked Tinubu for the visit and for remembering Kaduna during its trying moments and for his generosity.
He said: “You are the first presidential aspirant to come to Kaduna, you are not taking us for granted, we will not forget that.
“You have spoken to our people, they appear convinced, and when the people of Kaduna give their words, sir, you can be rest assured of our support.
“We keep to our words and ensure that as we intend to keep our promise. We will also want you to promise to deal with insecurity, and infrastructure and support agriculture and empowerment.”
Earlier in his remarks, Tinubu assured Nigerians that his leadership would bring peace, stability and end banditry and killings if elected.
The APC national leader said that he remained the most capable candidate for the job.
“Governance is not about your physical strength, it is not about wrestling, it is about thinking, we are going to use the brain to bring development and innovations to Nigeria.
“I am the best of all of them. In terms of experience, private sector, governance, we joined hands together to form APC, We have never failed, and we will not fail, our broom will sweep them away. I know the road, follow the man who knows the road,” Tinubu pleaded.
…We’ve not forgiven el-Rufai over Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna –SOKAPU
Southern Kaduna People’s Union (SOKAPU) has said that any political party that fields a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket in the 2023 Kaduna State governorship polls will fail because the people have not forgiven Governor el-Rufai for introducing a Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna.
President of SOKAPU, Jonathan Asake, said that the people would never accept such political arrangement again in the state.
“On a good day, in 2023, Muslim-Muslim ticket or Christian-Christian ticket is dead on arrival in Kaduna State,” Asake vowed.
Governor Nasir el-Rufai had in the heels of the 2019 general elections, announced Dr Hadiza Balarabe, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate.
The move generated a lot of reactions from the Christian population because Balarabe like el-Rufai is a Muslim.
But el-Rufai had maintained that government house was not a worship centre and such consideration was not given to appointment based on religious or ethnic background.
However, the SOKAPU president said that if any political party goes with a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the state, there would be another way out, “because Kaduna people are wiser now”.
On current Muslim-Muslim ticket in Kaduna State, he alleged that Governor el-Rufai brought in the ticket to get in tune with the idea he nurtured as a divisive governor.
“In any case, diversity is manipulated, it brings in-fighting and lack of peace. When el-Rufai said Christians population were 30 per cent and Muslim 70 per cent on a national television, it was a precursor to introducing Muslim-Muslim ticket. He had to invoke sentiment to get away with it,” he said.
…You’re playing with fire, Vatsa, Niger APC chieftain, warns Governor el-Rufai,
As the battle of who becomes the running mate to the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential standard bearer in the 2023 general election, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, hots up, former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and an chieftain of APC in Niger State, Mr Jonathan Vatsa, has taken a swept on the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasiru el-Rufai over his comment that Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket will not be a problem for the 2023 election.
According to Vatsa such arrangement will not only spell doom for the party, but will also amount to “playing with fire”.
“Kaduna State is smaller than Nigeria, if el-Rufai succeeded in Kaduna with Muslim-Muslim ticket because he made sure the Christian communities in southern Kaduna did not come out to vote in 2019 general elections to show their anger, such experiment cannot work in the presidential election in 2023”.
The former APC publicity secretary in Niger State in a statement in Minna on Saturday, entitled: “the Christians are awake and alive in Nigeria ahead of 2023 general elections”, advised Bola Tinubu to disregard the comment by Governor el-Rufai “because no Christian in Nigeria can vote for Tinubu if he goes ahead with a Muslim-Muslim ticket”.
Vatsa said that those scheming for vice president position like el-Rufai are the ones advocating for a Muslim-Muslim ticket because of their unrealizable ambition even when they know full well that it is not absolutely possible, stressing that “this country called Nigeria has grown pass what people like el-Rufai think”.
While describing the Kaduna State governor as the “most unqualified” as running mate to Tinubu, Vatsa pointed out that “these type of people are capable of igniting religious war in the country, he failed woefully to govern Kaduna State, and turned the state into a killer field and now he wants to be vice president”.
According to Vatsa, “the entire Christian communities in Southern Kaduna came under attack few weeks to the 2019 general elections just because they don’t want the people to come out and vote and speak through the ballot box. It was an evil plot against the people and the whole world knew it.
“Our national leader and presidential flag bearer, Bola Tinubu is more intelligent than him, he is politically wiser than el-Rufai, he knows everybody’s antecedent so he cannot be deceived. Tinubu knows that Muslim-Muslim ticket will spell doom for him and APC in 2023”.
He reminded el-Rufai that politicians in the country, including himself, have made religion the first consideration in everything they do today, and recalled how Governor el-Rafuai declared every Friday as public holiday in the state because of his religious bigot, wondering why such a person should tell Nigerians not to lay emphasis on religion.
“Now that el-Rufai is looking for vice president, he wants Nigerians to put religious consideration in our dealings behind, when every form you fill in Nigeria today, they will ask you of your religion,” he pointed out.
He maintained that the governor should not talk about the issue of competence “because we can find competent people in all the religions in Nigeria, including among idol worshipers that can be Vice President.
“There are very intelligent, competent and highly respected Christians in the North that can be vice president to Tinubu. Those who have turned their state to war zone should not dream of becoming vice president of this country.”