Tinubu’s Choice Of Running Mate Presents ‘Opportunities’ For Nigeria – TCO

The Tinubu Campaign Organisation, TCO, on Tuesday said the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, chose Kashim Shettima as his Vice Presidential candidate because he is a tested and trusted technocrat that can help his government tackle the challenges facing the country.

He said instead of the ensuing criticism, Tinubu deserved to be commended for his bold decision.

The TCO stated this in a statement issued in Abuja by its Director of Media and Communication, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday.

Onanuga argued that religion or ethnicity was far from the calculations of Tinubu in picking his running mate.

Tinubu had picked Shettima after visiting President Muhammadu Buhari for Sallah break in the president’s country home of Katsina.

This has led to heated debate and criticism as to the reason for floating a Muslim-Muslim ticket amid alleged persecution of Christians, especially northern Christians.

It has led to a gale of defection across the country hitting the APC but Tinubu said his decision was based on the need to arrest the deplorable situation in the country.

The TCO said the criticism and fears expressed over the ticket were unwarranted.

According to Onanuga, if Tinubu “wanted to appeal to the base instincts of religion, he would have also gone for a candidate in the Christian-dominated parts of Nigeria. But there was no such consideration. Instead, he picked a tested politician and technocrat from the minority Kanuri ethnic group from the North East.

“The factors at play were issues germane to confronting the multi-dimensional crisis our nation faces today: insecurity, economic problems, such as the unemployment crisis facing our youths. Our candidate canvassed on his track record in Lagos to win the APC primary last June. As governor between 1999 and 2007, he transformed a decadent state into the fourth biggest economy in Africa. He believes his feat in Lagos can be replicated all over Nigeria.

“Surely, only the deep know how to call onto the deep. Nigerians have a lot to gain in having the two tested leaders at the helm of affairs.

“Naturally, some Nigerians with closet motives have failed to see the opportunities and possibilities the twin candidates present to our country at this time of complex security, economic and political developments, preferring to fan the embers of religion and ethnic divisions among their unsuspecting and vulnerable compatriots,” he stated.

He opined further that, “When Nigerians stand together, they have been known to achieve incredibly positive outcomes. That is the lesson from our history. To now succumb to the base ends of identity by further straining our already complex ethnic and religious cleavages is a great disservice to the country and to citizens who had no choice about their parentage, ethnicity, or religion at birth.

“Either as Christians, Muslims, or traditional worshipers, as Nigerians, what should be important to us today and tomorrow is our commonwealth as citizens of this great nation.

“The TCO would like to recall the statement by Asiwaju Tinubu, by way of a closing note, when he assured all Nigerians that he was not oblivious of the religious and ethnic sensitivities of the nation and that he picked Shettima in fulfillment of the overriding interest of the country,” he added.