The Middle Belt Congres (MBC) a North Central socio-political organization has called for the immediate resignation of the vice-presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 general election.
Newsonline reports that the Middle Belt Congress stated that the nomination of Shettima by the APC without consideration of the religious plurality of the country has reduced the national acceptance of the ruling party.
The President of MBC, Mohammed Bilal, who made the plea during a press conference in Abuja, said the ruling APC’s nomination Shettima was morally unjustifiable, stating that it heated the polity in too numerous ways to mention.
The statement read in part, “The Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC indeed comes with its attendant political baggage. If the APC as a party is desirous of making any meaningful impact in the 2023 presidential elections, in that case, it behooves the party to retrace its steps in the composition of its presidential ticket.
“We are constrained to believe that self-confession of Senator Kashim Shettima towards the Christian community might be a ruse as his actions of late does not indicate that of a religiously tolerant individual.
“It remains a statement that since the nomination of Senator Kashim Shettima, the APC evolved into a riotous organization with various stakeholders in abhorrence for the choice of a Northern Muslim at the detriment of credible and capable Northern Christians.
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“It remains morally unjustifiable for Senator Kashim Shetimma to hold onto the vice presidential slot of the APC because such action has heated the polity in ways too numerous to mention. The incomprehensible fact remains that the leadership of the APC is aware of the threats posed to its electoral success with the Muslim-Muslim Ticket, yet, it has remained adamant about the uproar its choice of Muslim-Muslim ticket has elicited in the polity.”
Middle Belt Congress further added that Shettima must admit in good conscience that his nomination brought about ethnic and religious tension in the country.
The group called on Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the APC to choose another vice-presidential candidate in the place of Shettima to preserve the unity of the country.
“Senator Kashim Shettima must, in good conscience, admit that his nomination had indeed brought about ethnic and religious tension in the country, which remains unacceptable in this critical period of our existence where there are concerted efforts at unifying the country along ethnic and religious lines.
“The fact that a Muslim-Muslim ticket cannot unite the country is enough for Senator Kashim Shettima to reconsider his vice presidential candidature. And as a former governor who witnessed one of the bloodiest conflicts in Nigeria, he should know better about the cost of conflict in society.
“The Middle Belt Congress strongly advises Senator Kashim Shettima to look at the presidential ticket of other political parties to understand that he stands to go in history as that individual whose blind pursuit of power undermined the Christian community in Nigeria,” Bilal added.
