The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, said it was not moved by the announcement of Senator Kashim Shettima as the running mate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The umbrella Christian organisation said its leaders were determined to stand their ground against every form of intimidation, including the floating of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the political party.
The association’s chairman, Kaduna state chapter, Rev. John Hayab, said this in an interview with Vanguard on Sunday.
Tinubu, a Muslim, had while fielding questions from journalists earlier in Daura, Katsina state, said he had picked Shettima (another Muslim) as a substantive running mate to replace Ibrahim Masari, who was a place holder for the APC vice-presidential slot.
However, reacting to the political development, Hayab said, “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 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,” the CAN leader in the Northern region added.
He reiterated that a more profound reaction would be made available to the public through the media soon.
Christian Association Of Nigeria CAN has no business soliciting with Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinumbu about who he decides to choose as his running mate. If you ask me, it’s an absolute waste of time. I mean, his choice of running mate doesn’t concern the Christians. Rather, his choice of his running mate should serve as a pointer to the fact that Bola Tinumbu presidency has nothing good to offer, not only to the Christians, but to Nigerians that he has no interest in uniting this nation. And if that is so, it’s a complete waste of precious time to coax him about who he opts to become his running mate. As far as I’m concerned he can decide to choose a cow. But the fact remains that he is going nowhere near that presidential seat.