Northern APC Christian Forum to Lalong, Others: Resign From Tinubu Campaign Council
Northern Christians in Tinubu campaign council have been urged to resign in protest of Muslim-Muslim ticket
The call was made specifically by the Northern APC Christian Forum, urging them to resign their respective positions
According to the forum, under the present arrangement in the APC, Christians would be subjected to untold persecution
The Northern APC Christian Forum, NACF, has asked Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong, and other Christians faithful inaugurated as members of the party’s presidential campaign council to resign their respective positions.
The Forum, which made the call at a briefing in Abuja yesterday, said doing so became imperative to protest what it described as the party’s adamant refusal to respect the religious diversity of its members and ensure balance in its presidential ticket.
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Speaking, General Secretary of NACF, Lukas Bako, raised the alarm that under the present arrangement in the APC, Christians would be subjected to untold persecution, if the party should win the presidential election come 2023.
He said: “It is our firm position that the issue of Muslim-Muslim Ticket has been treated with kids’ gloves by the leadership of the APC.
“This, in our considered opinion, is a gross disregard for the religious configuration of the country and the need to ensure a balanced ticket that would address the concerns and reservations of the religious groups in the country.
“It remains a hard pill to swallow for the country’s Christian community with the APC’s action in fielding a Muslim-Muslim Ticket for the 2023 presidential elections.
”We also find it worrisome that the APC has not deemed it necessary to address this genuine concern in the overarching objective of carrying all members of the APC family along in preparation for the 2023 presidential elections.
“The Northern APC Christians Forum is concerned that the APC leadership’s lack of respect for the Christians in Northern Nigeria has reached an alarming crescendo, which could pass for a deliberate attempt to delineate the Christian population in Northern Nigeria.
”Our concern also stems from the fact that the action of the APC can breed distrust among the religious groupings in the country. It must be stated that with the Muslim-Muslim Ticket, the Northern Christians have been marginalized and without recourse to the implication of such actions in the overall psyche of the people.
“We are using this medium to reiterate that Northern Christians won’t support the APC presidential ticket unless the leadership of the APC addresses its concerns.
“We also stand with the position of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, that the Christians in the APC Presidential Campaign Council are betrayers who have sold their conscience in return for a plate of porridge, which is a slap on the Body of Christ in Nigeria.
“It is more worrisome that they have carried on recklessly as if there are no credible northern Christians suitable enough to be a vice presidential candidate. This is unacceptable and indicates that under the present arrangement, the Christians would suffer untold persecution under an APC government in Nigeria.
“The Concerned Northern APC Christians Forum is demanding unequivocally that the presidential candidate and the APC leadership should do the needful by replacing the APC vice presidential candidate with a Christian before the commencement of the campaigns.
“We are also urging all the Christians in the APC Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, to resign their campaign council membership in protest until the needful is done.
”The APC must come to terms with the reality that Northern Christians were, indeed, notable stakeholders in the APC, and their contributions to the growth and development of the party over the years cannot be overemphasized.
“What is good for the goose should be good for the gander, and this much the Northern Christians in the APC are demanding, which, in all intent and purposes, is not too much to ask in the overarching objective of entrenching equity and fairness.
“The APC leadership must desist from treating Northern Christians as inconsequential in the country’s scheme of affairs, hence the choice of the Muslim-Muslim Ticket.
”The danger of such misgiving could ignite a religious crisis in the country, hence the need for caution from the leadership of the APC.
“The Concerned Northern APC Christians Forum is stating unequivocally that Christians will not support the APC Presidential Team until the Muslim – Muslim Ticket issue is resolved holistically.
“We trust that the APC presidential candidate would see reason with the demands from Northern Christians and consequently do the needful in furtherance of his message of uniting Nigerians.”
2023 campaign council: Northern APC Christians call for boycott over party's Muslim-Muslim ticket
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that with the recent inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign council, some Christians within the party have called for a total boycott of the ruling party at the 2023 presidential election.
The Christians during a press conference in Abuja on Sunday, October 23, reiterated their rejection of a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC. Led by their general secretary, Lukas Bako, the Christians under the aegis of the Concerned Northern APC Christians Forum insisted that the ruling party must jettison its current combination of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima to get the support of Christians.
Bako described the party's recent inauguration of its 2023 presidential campaign council as a mere charade while stating that the APC's chances at the presidency are a failed mission.
2023: APC not a party to support, they are destroyers, Atiku declares
PDP candidate, Atiku Abubakar had advised Nigerians to reject the APC, describing the ruling party as destroyers.
The former vice president urged Nigerians to be loyal to the PDP, adding that the party will also be loyal to them.
Atiku made the comments in Benin, the Edo state capital at a rally attended by thousands of PDP supporters.
Source: Legit.ng