•Dogara: CAN’s rejection of same faith ticket is God’s position
•PDP federal lawmakers lobby Daniel Bwala to join opposition party
Chuks Okocha, Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja and Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the Anglican Church has joined other Christians as well as groups in the country in condemning the decision of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to choose a former governor of Borno state, Kashim Shetima as his running mate.
Also, the immediate past Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara has aligned with the position of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) which rejected the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.
According to the Anglican Church, the decision of the party to go with a Muslim-Muslim ticket was unacceptable, indefensible and a great insult to Christians in Nigeria.
Addressing journalists in Abuja the Anglican Bishop of the Diocese of Kubwa and Director of Ecumenism and Inter-faith Dialogue, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rev. Duke Akamisoko, said the action of the ruling party could never be rationalised.
He said: “There can never be a rational explanation for such a selfish, greedy and self -centeredness decision by the APC. This is totally unacceptable to us as a Church it constitutes a gross abuse of our collective sensitivity as a nation.
“Muslim-Muslim ticket at a time like this is a demonstration of insensitivity to the plurality of religion; the polarised nature of Nigeria; the plight of Christians in Nigeria and the feelings of Christians in northern Nigeria etc.
“In fact, it is a direct insult on the entire Christendom. APC has made a choice; it is left for Christians in Nigeria to also make their choice,” he said.
Akamisoko said it was irresponsible of APC to choose its political survival over the stability and peace of Nigeria.
“The party ought to have taken a cue from the opposition against his vice presidential ambition and how President Muhammadu Buhari opted for a Christian running mate in 2015 instead of the Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“A Muslim-Muslim ticket is the greatest insult on the Christian community, especially in the Northern region. Is APC saying that there is no northern Christian who is intelligent enough to be its running mate? Is APC saying that there is no Northern Christian who has a political value to deliver victory to it? Definitely, the answer is no,” he said.
The church also said its plan was to complete its ultra-modern, 250 bed hospital. Also the church said it intends to raise funds for the face-lifting and upgrading of its Anglican Comprehensive Secondary School, which is situated on 25 Hectares of land in Kpeyeghi, Abuja.
Akamisoko said that one of the cardinal focus of this year’s Synod was to raise funds for the face-lifting and upgrading of the Anglican Comprehensive Secondary School, which is situated on 25 Hectares of land in Kpeyeghi, Abuja.
Dogara: CAN’s Rejection of Muslim-Muslim Ticket is God’s Position
Meanwhile, Dogara said the position of CAN was the position of God. He maintained that adopting a Muslim-Muslim ticket in a diverse country like Nigeria was a recipe for disunity and disaster.
He spoke yesterday at the 12th General Assembly and Leadership Transition Ceremony and Symposium on the Role of Christian Women and Youths in Politics, organised by CAN in Abuja.
“The position taken by CAN is not only CAN’s position, it is not only the position of notable Christian leaders like Babachir David Lawal, the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation and many others who have spoken against it. It is also God’s position because we serve the God of justice, our God is righteous, our God is the author of diversity and He wants as diverse as we are to come together.
“So, CAN’s position as much as it is a righteous position, it is the position of all of us who love righteousness, justice, diversity and are working to harness it for the advancement of this country.
“Anybody can say anything but in as much as what we are standing on is godly, any other position is ungodly. It is either you are for righteousness, inclusiveness, justice or you are against the unity of this great country.”
PDP Federal Lawmakers Lobby Daniel Bwala to Join PDP
In a related development, the House of Representative Minority caucus yesterday called on the former Special Adviser to the Deputy Senate President on Constitutional and Legal Matters, Daniel Bwala to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Bwala a member of the APC had resigned his membership of his party because the presidential candidate of the APC picked a Muslim as his presidential running mate.
He equally resigned as a special adviser to the deputy Senate president.
But yesterday, Ndudi Elumelu leading other principal officers of the PDP in the House of Representatives urged Bwala to join the PDP, describing the APC as bus bound to nowhere.
Speaking at a meeting with Bwala, Elumelu said: “This is the first time that parliamentarians will come to an individual in Nigeria, it is because of your kind of person. That shows that we respect you and we Nigerians want you to participate in rescuing Nigeria.
“This is the first time the parliament will deem it feat to recognise a Nigerian, so we decide to come and see that personality. We are doing that because of your kind of person, we are doing because of your belief in our diversity.
“We’re doing that because of the way you have distinguished yourself. You speak like somebody who is a true Nigerian, a man who does not believe whether you are a Christian or a Muslim or a pagan or whatever, you just speak based on the law and the truth.
“‘We have come to ask you to join the PDP to rescue Nigeria. Our presidential candidate provides such body. Of all of them, at least he is the first to face the press with undiluted submission to the Nigerian people about what he intends to do when he becomes the president. He didn’t hide it. So we have come to tell you to join PDP and let us rescue Nigeria,” Elumelu told Bwala.
In his response, Bwala said, “I feel honoured by your coming. I will reflect on your request, but I must say I am deeply, deeply honoured. It is not a request you will naturally say no to but it is something that you have to pray.
“It will be an example to every Nigerian citizen to know if eminent Federal House of Representatives members constituting an institution of government will decide on their own to look at a private citizen and say your contribution to nation building. I think Nigerians will be inspired by that I will want to be patriotic,” he stated.
