Elder statesman, Tanko Yakasai had said there is no need for controversies regarding the Bola Tinubu/Kashim Shettima joint ticket for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election as it is not unusual.
Yakasai who spoke in Kano on Monday noted that he is confident that “the joint ticket is representational and it would fly.”
The former Special Adviser to late President Shehu Shagari said that “This is not the first time a candidate or leaders of this country and their deputy shared the same faith.”
He explained that “When Major General Muhammadu Buhari seized power in 1983, his deputy who was the Chief of staff, Supreme headquarters, Major General Tunde Idiagbon were both Muslim from the north geopolitical region.”
Yakasai stressed that “Late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, a southern Muslim and his running mate, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe recorded a landslide victory in 1993 general election.”
He noted, “Therefore, it’s not something new to Nigeria, and I’m particularly not disturbed that history has repeated itself, certainly it will work.”
According to him “Tinubu is from the South West from a minority religion, if you ask him to take a minority Northern Christian, it will be minority ticket, and such arrangements negate the principle of participatory democracy.”
Yakasai stated that “Northern population consist of 85 percent Muslims, and in the principle of fairness, you must choose from the dominant faith to enable the ticket fly.”
“Don’t forget, Christian faithful in the north consist less than 20 percent of the region’s population, therefore Tinubu’s choice is representational, balance and fair to competing stakeholders in Nigeria.”, the Elder statesman stressed.
He declared that “Those canvassing for anything contrary to the existing arrangements want Tinubu to fail. A combination of minority from the south and the north can’t win a competitive election in Nigeria.”
On why the choice of running mate from the Northeast instead of Northwest where the voting block lies, the Elder statesman said “From the military dictatorship to civil administration, the North west produced five Heads of State, North Central produced three, and apart from late Prime Minister, Tafawa Balewa, the North east was nowhere near control of political power, and I felt this time around, the region should be given the opportunity. “