Prominent Christians in the country’s biggest opposition party, All Progressives Congress, are threatening to quit the party over an alleged plan to field a Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket. There has been speculation in recent times that power brokers in the party have concluded plans to present a Muslim/Muslim ticket for the 2015 presidential election.
But it was gathered that some leaders of the party, who are Christians, are insisting that the party should present a Muslim/Christian ticket through a primary election or they would leave the party.
The leaders also kicked against a consensus candidature, which they described as an imposition by a section of the leadership.
There were reports last week that the hierarchy of the party had concluded plans to field a former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and a former Governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, as the party’s presidential candidates through a consensus arrangement.
Both Buhari and Tinubu are Muslims.
Sources said party strategists hoped that the Muslim/Muslim arrangement would help the party sweep the North-West, North-East, South-West and Edo State in the South-South. Buhari is hugely popular in the North-West and North-East while his proposed running mate, Tinubu is a major political power broker in the South-West and some parts of the South-South.
Even though the party, through its spokesman, Mr. Lai Mohammed, has denied the plan to present a Buhari/Tinubu ticket, it has not stopped prominent Christian members from protesting and threatening to quit the party.
It was further learnt that those angry with the leadership of the party included members who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the APC.
Five PDP governors, 37 members of the House of Representatives and members of the defunct New PDP, a breakaway faction of the PDP, had dumped the ruling party for the opposition party in 2013.
On Friday, majority of the Christian leaders described the alleged plan to field Buhari and Tinubu as the party’s candidates as “unfair and inconsiderate.”
A top Christian official of the party, who spoke to one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity, said aspirants should go through a primary election and the party must present a Muslim/Christian ticket to the electorate.
“They have been nursing the plan for long and they are close to hatching it. Any Buhari/Tinubu or Muslim/Muslim ticket may mark the end of the party. It will be an insult to us the Christians and we will not hesitate to leave their party for them,” the source stated.
Another aggrieved top shot of the party, who also pleaded anonymity, said although Buhari and Tinubu had not made their intention to contest known, the alleged plan was already creating tension in the party.
“That is what they want to do and we will not agree with it. A lot of us are aware but nobody wants to speak out yet. It is an open secret; everybody is aware. There is a massive reaction against it from all corners. Even APC members in the United Kingdom and America are protesting. Christian leaders in Nigeria have been calling us to say they will not support a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
“They stand the risk of splitting this party if they are not careful. This is a very sad development. The Peoples Democratic Party will take advantage of it. Some people that joined us from the PDP are already threatening to go back because of this Muslim/Muslim ticket controversy,” the source stated
Similarly, the first civilian governor of Edo State, John Odigie-Oyegun, who is a prominent member of APC said that a primary election must take place to elect candidates.
He said, “I know the party has been discussing this issue (ticket) and we are in the process of setting up our structures. It is for the people to decide; not even the national executive can take that decision. We must have primaries. Even if there is only one aspirant, we will still conduct a primary election to confirm the aspirant. It is impossible to impose. Who can impose? With the way the party is structured, it won’t be easy for anybody to impose.”
A former Minister of Aviation and member of the APC, Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, had on Monday warned the leadership of the party against fielding Muslims as both its presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the election.
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