The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the 2023 elections, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has told the flag bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, that his choice of a running mate was purely for competence and performance.
The ex-Governor of Lagos State said this in response to his criticism of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC for the poll.
Tinubu said if Abubakar would be honest with himself, his choice of a former Borno State Governor, Senator Kashim Shettima, was by far better than that of the PDP, who nominated the Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, for the position.
The National Leader of the APC, who castigated the former Vice President for also having made a choice of a Muslim-Muslim ticket twice in the past, said his co-contestant was economical with the truth.
He said after losing the presidential ticket of the then Social Democratic Party, Abubakar lobbied to be the running mate of the late Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola for the annulled June 12, 2023 election.
He also said that Abubakar offered him the vice presidential ticket of the Action Congress for the 2007 election after then President Olusegun Obasanjo denied him the PDP presidential ticket.
Tinubu, in the statement released by his Media Office, said: “Now, Atiku criticizes my selection as running mate based on religion.
“He does so because he cannot criticize it on other grounds.
“If Atiku were to have one of his rare moments of honesty, he would admit that the person I selected as my running mate is more qualified for the position than the man who joined him.
“And this conclusion has nothing to do with religious faith.
“It has everything to do with competence, experience, ability, and vision.
“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.
“It seems that Atiku is here trying to build an edifice of lies and call that the house into which Nigerians should walk and reside.
“He will fail in this sad attempt to trick an entire nation.
“Let me restate my position on religion and politics.
“When I decided that Senator Shettima was the best selection as my running mate, I listened to and weighed in serious balance the advice received from a broad and representative array of wonderful Nigerians who deeply care about this nation and the path it must go.
“Some people counselled that I should select a Christian to garner support of the Christian community.
“Some said I should select a Muslim for a similar reason.
“I clearly could not do both.
“Both positions had merit and right on their side.
“But neither position expressed what was most right and needed for the moment in which we find ourselves and the nation.
“All my life, the decisions regarding the team supporting me have always been guided by the principles of competence, innovation, compassion, integrity, fairness, and adherence to excellence.
“I was not going to depart from these principles at this important juncture.
“In fact, it was more important than ever before that I adhere 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 team that can do Nigeria proud.
“In this crucial moment, where so much is at stake, we must prioritize 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.
“I will select the best people for the right jobs so that we can construct a better Nigeria now and for generations yet to come.”
