Adamawa Senator Elisha Abbo has withdrawn from the Bola Tinubu Presidential Campaign Organization over the decision of the presidential candidate of the Congress of all progressives (APC) to choose a Muslim as his running mate.
Tinubu had announced on Sunday in Daura, Katsina state, Kashim Shettima, a Muslim and former governor of Borno state, as his running mate.
In a later statement, he explained that he heard arguments from both religions, but settled with the former governor of Borno on the basis of competition.
Abbo, in a statement on Monday, described Shettima’s choice as “irresponsible”, saying he cannot in good conscience campaign for the former Lagos state governor.
Abbo said the APC presidential candidate has dismissed a report brought to his attention about a possible Christian running mate.
The lawmaker, famous for assaulting a woman in a toy store, said Tinubu prioritized political survival over stability and peace in the country.
“It is highly irresponsible of Tinubu to put his political survival before stability and peace in Nigeria.
“For Tinubu to now get the ticket and turn around to do what he failed to accomplish in 2015 despite opposition from Catholics and other Christian leaders is grossly irresponsible.
“We sat down in Abuja and made a strategy, and we came to the conclusion that you shouldn’t take a Muslim as your running mate. He (Tinubu) threw away the report,” he said.
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Abbo added that, as a member of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), he believes that a government of the same faith is “illegitimate.”
“My conscience will not allow me to campaign for Tinubu. I am a member of the CAN; I can not deny CAN. I’m still at APC. But I prefer the survival of my country to political considerations.
We can’t work for a man like that. I will oppose the Christian-Christian ticket because I am committed to the stability of this country. A Christian-Christian banknote will be insensitive to Muslims in this country. The country is evenly divided between Muslims and Christians. So any government that is Muslim-Muslim will be illegitimate and will never earn the respect of Christians.”