Atiku Reveals Major Disagreement He Has with Tinubu, Speaks on Muslim-Muslim Ticket
- Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has aired his view on the APC's Muslim-Muslim ticket, which has been a source of controversy in the country
- The presidential candidate of the PDP said he rejected Tinubu as his running mate in 2007 because of the Muslim-Muslim ticket option
- Nevertheless, Atiku maintained he and Tinubu, presidential candidate of the APC, still remain friends despite their political differences
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Nigeria's former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, says the Muslim-Muslim ticket option made him reject Asiwaju Bola Tinubu when he wanted to be his running mate in 2007.
Atiku, who served as the deputy of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007, said this in an interview with ARISE TV on Friday, July 22, monitored by Legit.ng.
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After falling out with Obasanjo, Atiku clinched the presidential ticket of the defunct Action Congress (AC), a party Tinubu helped form after the political “Tsunami” that hit Alliance for Democracy (AD).
During the running battle with Obasanjo, Atiku defected from the PDP and clinched the AC presidential ticket.
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However, he came a distant third in the election, which was won by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.
Muslim-Muslim ticket major disagreement between me and Tinubu, says Atiku
In the interview with ARISE TV, Atiku said the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which is generating controversy in the country at the moment, made him not to choose Tinubu.
He said:
“The Muslim-Muslim ticket has always been my fundamental disagreement. Nigeria is a multiethnic and multi-religious nation and there should be a religious balance in our leadership."
Tinubu, who will square off with Atiku in the 2023 Presidential election, chose Senator Kashim Shettima, a fellow Muslim as his running mate and this has been generating controversy.
When asked about his relationship with Tinubu, Atiku said:
“I’m still a friend of him and being friends with him doesn’t mean we can’t have our political differences.”
I didn’t reject Wike, Atiku says, reveals why he picked Okowa as running mate
Meanwhile, Atiku has said he did not pick Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state as his running mate because he wanted someone he could work with “amicably”.
The former vice-president had picked Ifeanyi Okowa, governor of Delta, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election, despite the party’s National Working Committee (NWC) endorsing Wike for the role.
The choice had created a crisis within the party, with a group of aggrieved stakeholders insisting that Wike should be picked.
Source: Legit.ng
