2023 presidency: APC leaders in north central reject Tinubu/Shettima

The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shetima have suffered a rejection in North Central Nigeria.

This is just as political leaders from the region said Tinubu and Shettima will not get their support ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, stakeholders from the North Central, stated this while faulting the adoption of Muslim-Muslim ticket by the party.

The over 1,000 supporters of the APC, from the six North-central states, also rejected the appointment of Governor Simon Lalong as Director General, DG, of Bola Tinubu Campaign Council.

The aggrieved APC loyalists, under the aegis of the North-Central APC Stakeholders, chanted solidarity songs and marched to the Presidential Villa to submit a protest letter.

Addressing journalists, the leader of the group, Dauda Yakubu, among others, said: “We are worried that the various indices at play with our great party do not suggest that the Christians from Northern Nigeria are considered in the party’s scheme of affairs.

“As concerned stakeholders of the party in North Central, we feel humiliated by the actions of the party’s leadership which do not demonstrate ethnic and religious inclusion.

“We, consequently, feel the appointment of Governor Simon Lalong as the Director General of the Presidential Campaign Council is an insult to our collective sensibilities as devoted party faithful in North Central.”

The group, in a protest letter, addressed directly to President Muhammadu Buhari, reads in part, “You may wish to recall that in the annals of the party, the North Central zone has demonstrated an unalloyed commitment to the growth and development of the party. But what has the north central received in return?

“As stakeholders of our party, we have consistently advocated for Governor Simon Lalong to be the party’s vice presidential candidate because he possesses all the necessary qualities. But to our dismay, he was appointed the DG of the presidential campaign council.

“So many questions are left unanswered in our minds regarding the position of the party in the interest of Northern Christians.

“We beg to ask the question whether a Northern Christian is good enough to lead the Presidential Campaign Council, why then is a Northern Christian not good enough to be nominated as the Vice Presidential Candidate of our party?