The All Progressives Congress flagbearer for the 2023 Presidential election, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, says he picked Kashim Shettima for the common good of the country.
In a statement issued by the Director, Media & Communications, Tinubu Campaign Organisation, (TCO), Bayo Onanuga, noted that the former Lagos State Governor picked Shettima, based on his antecedents as a tested politician and technocrat from the minority Kanuri ethnic group of North East Nigeria.
There has been heated debate on the choice of Kashim Shettima as Vice – A presidential candidate, based on his religious background.
The former Governor of Borno State is billed to be officially unveiled on Wednesday by Bola Tinubu, in Abuja.
Onanuga said Nigerians have a lot to gain in having the two tested leaders at the helm of affairs, adding that the commonwealth, as citizens of Nigeria should be important, rather than religious affiliations and sentiments.
The Tinubu Campaign Organisation said, if the APC standard bearer had intended to cash in on ethnicity, he would have picked a running mate from North West, with the highest number of registered voters, adding that the factors at play were issues, Germaine to confronting the multi-dimensional crisis that the nation faces.
The Tinubu Campaign Organisation appealed to Nigerians to embrace the best elements of “our common purpose, and reject the campaign and incitement against fellow citizens”.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
