The Presidential Candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has revealed why he settled for Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Saying, “I offer a confession; I selected Senator Shettima thinking more about who would best help me govern. Picking a Christian running mate would have been politically easier. But the easy way is rarely the right one. The selection of a running mate is at once a very momentous, yet very intimate decision”.
He made this known at the ‘Presidential Dialogue’ with presidential candidates for the 2023 presidential election.
According to him, “I did not choose Senator Shettima so that we could form the same faith ticket. The ticket was constructed as the same progressive and people-based ideology ticket. Resting such a key decision on religious affiliation as the primary weight did not sit well with me.
“I am not saying there were not good and adequate potential running mates of the Christian faith. What I am saying is that the times we inhabit do not lend themselves to the good or adequate. We have urgent problems that lend themselves not to a Christian or Muslim solution. We need the best solution.
“Every time I thought about it, and I did think a lot; I came to the same conclusion: Kashim Shettima. His faith was immaterial. He is a brilliant man, with superior intellectual capacity. He is studious and detail-oriented.
“Enjoying excellent organisational skills, Shettima fully understands the vital difference between governance and politics. This exceptionally gifted human being has the humility of spirit, the courage of his convictions and a strongly progressive worldview in harmony with my own perspectives on government and its relationship to the governed. I trust the calibre of the man.
“I know the great lengths he went in fighting Boko Haram in his State. He did his best to protect the Christian community and rebuilt damaged churches. This man understands the value of our national diversity in all of its ramifications, including religion. He possesses the courage to stand up to those who would wreck that diversity and freedom”, he explained.
Meanwhile, the President of CAN Archbishop, Daniel Okoh said the idea of this interaction is to come together to review our understanding of the Nigerian crisis of development and governance and collectively find a lasting solution.
