The announcement that Senator Kashim Shettima would be Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s running mate for the presidency in the All Progressives Congress (APC) did not go well with the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).
The umbrella Christian group declared that its leaders were committed to resisting all forms of intimidation, including the political party’s announcement of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
In an interview with Vanguard on Sunday, the association’s chairman and head of the Kaduna state branch, Rev. John Hayab, made this statement.
When answering questions from reporters earlier in Daura, Katsina state, Tinubu, a Muslim, revealed that he had chosen Shettima (another Muslim) as a running mate to replace Ibrahim Masari, who was serving as a placeholder for the APC vice-presidential position.
Hayab, however, responded to the political development by saying, “We were ready for this announcement. We have put some media outlets on notice. All we are waiting for is the right signal to give a full-blown reaction.
“We’ll escalate this issue because our call for fairness and the balancing of the presidential ticket for the sake of justice, unity and fairness apparently fell on deaf ears.
“However, CAN is strongly determined to sacrifice everything to protect the interest of the Church in Nigeria. We will not be moved by any form of intimidation.”
He stated that the public would soon receive a more detailed response through the media.