Religion
Road To 2023; Muslim-Muslim Ticket, ‘You Are Playing With Fire’ Niger APC Chieftain, Vatsa Tells Governor El-Rufai
***Says El-Rufai is Most Unqualified as running mate to Tinubu
A former Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and Chieftain of APC in Niger state, Mr. Jonathan Vatsa has taken a swipe at the Kaduna state Governor, Mallam Nasiru El-Rufai over his recent comment that Muslim-Muslim Presidential ticket will not be a problem for the 2023 election, insisting that such arrangement will not only spell doom for the party, it will amount to “playing with Fire”.
According to him,
“Kaduna state is smaller than Nigeria, if El-Rufai succeeded in Kaduna with Muslim-Muslim ticket because he made sure the Christian communities in southern Kaduna did not come out to vote in 2019 general elections to show their anger, such experiment can not work in the presidential election in 2023”.
The former APC publicity secretary in Niger state in a statement in Minna on Saturday, titled “The Christians are awake and alive in Nigeria ahead of 2023 general elections”, advised Bola Tinubu to disregard the comment by Governor El-Rufai “because no Christian in Nigeria can vote for Tinubu if he goes ahead with Muslim-Muslim ticket”.
Vatsa said that those scheming for Vice President position like El-Rufai are the ones advocating for a Muslim-Muslim ticket because of their unrealizable ambition even when they know that it is not possible absolutely, stressing that “This country called Nigeria has grown past what people like El-Rufai think”.
While describing the Kaduna state Governor as the “most unqualified” as running mate to Bola Tinubu, Vatsa pointed out that “These type of people are capable of igniting religious war in the country, he failed woefully to govern Kaduna state, and turned the state into a killer field and now he wants to be Vice President”.
According to Vatsa, “the entire Christian community in southern Kaduna came under attack few weeks to the 2019 general elections just because they don’t want the people to come out and vote and speak through the ballot box. It was an evil plot against the people and the whole world knew it.
“Our National Leader and Presidential flag bearer, Bola Tinubu is more intelligent than him, he is politically wiser than El-Rufai, he knows everybody’s antecedent so he can not be deceived. Tinubu knows that Muslim-Muslim ticket will spell doom for him and APC in 2023”.
He reminded El-Rufai that politicians in the country, including himself have made religion the first consideration in everything they do today, and recalled how Governor El-Rafuai declared every Friday as public holiday in the state because of his religious bigotry tendency, wondering why such a person should tell Nigerians not to lay emphasis on religion.
“Now that El-Rufai is looking for Vice President, he wants Nigerians to put religious consideration aside in our dealings, when every form you fill in Nigeria today, they will ask you of your religion”
He maintained that the governor should not talk about the issue of competence “because we can find competent people in all the religions in Nigeria, including among idol worshipers that can be Vice President.
“There are very intelligent, competent and highly respected Christians in the north that can be Vice President to Tinubu. Those who have turned their state to war zone should not dream of becoming Vice President of this country”, he submitted.