Muslim-Muslim ticket: Shettima is hard choice, says Tinubu

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Wednesday said he had made a hard choice in settling for former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, as his running mate in the 2023 election.

In a statement on his verified Twitter handle, the former governor of Lagos State said he made the hard choice because he believed it was the best choice.

Some Christians and Muslims have condemned his choice of Shettima, which they considered as being against religion balancing.

Some APC Muslim youths on Tuesday rejected his choice of Senator Shettima as his running mate, advising him to replace the former governor of Borno with a Christian political leader or cleric from the North.

A former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Tinubu’s ally, Babachir Lawal, has also described as a “disastrous error” Tinubu’s resort to picking a fellow Muslim as his running mate.

But Tinubu said in a statement via Twitter, “This chapter in our nation’s history demands a bold yet pragmatic approach. In selecting Senator Shettima I have committed myself to this path. I have made the hard choice because I believe it is the best choice.”

“Together, we shall build this party and this nation.

“This is where politics must end and leadership must begin. True leadership is not grounded in religious pandering, populism or sentiment. To forge ahead as a nation toward development and prosperity, we must, instead, break the shackles of old thinking.”