Some northern leaders have stated why they supported Bukola Saraki and Nasir el-Rufai to oppose Bola Tinubu’s quest for the vice presidency in 2015.
One of the northern elders, Rev. Bitrus Dangiwa, who is also a chieftain of the Northern Elders Forum, said he was one of those who threw their weight behind those who opposed Tinubu to become Buhari’s running mate.
“Tinubu’s thought of becoming (Nigeria’s) Vice President to a Muslim presidential candidate was not only self-centred or selfish, but it would have worked against the APC. We knew Tinubu’s move for a very long time – most northerners contributed to Saraki’s choice of working against a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2015 poll.
“So, Saraki’s decision not to have a Muslim-Muslim ticket was in the best interest of the socio-political development of the nation. There are still good Muslims and good Christians who mean well for this country, and Saraki is one of such good examples,” the NEF chieftain noted.
His views were corroborated by the National Leader of the Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Yerima Shettima.
“There’s no way that Muslim-Muslim ticket could have worked with the current way the country is set up and with Tinubu who wanted to run with Buhari. The APC would have lost the election. While the youths of this country want a situation whereby religion, ethnicity and language do not determine who govern the country, we are mindful of the fact that present realities wouldn’t have given victory to the APC if it had Muslims for its candidates (president and vice president). Everybody knows that Tinubu wasn’t an ideal person to be Buhari’s running mate.
“Making him Buhari’s running mate would have affected the party adversely. It is true that he has helped many people. He has been useful to many causes and people. But I am not sure anybody would have supported him as Buhari’s running mate. As he said during the week that Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Nasir el-Rufai blocked his chance of becoming Buhari’s running mate – that wasn’t a bad move because APC wouldn’t have won the election with a Muslim-Muslim ticket involving a Tinubu,” Shettima stated.
A National Executive Council member of the Arewa Consultative Forum, Mohammed Abdulrahman, also criticised Tinubu’s vice presidential move, saying a Muslim-Muslim ticket would have killed Buhari’s 2015 presidential bid.
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