A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Jonathan Vatsa, has said Kaduna State Governor, Uba Sani, has “shamed” President Bola Tinubu and Niger State Governor, Umaru Bago, by opting for a Christian running mate ahead of the 2027 governorship election.
Vatsa, a former Niger State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism and former Special Adviser on Media and Communication to Governor Bago, said Sani’s decision to choose a Christian from Southern Kaduna as his running mate demonstrated political sensitivity lacking in the same-faith tickets adopted by Tinubu and Bago.
Speaking in Minna on Monday, the former APC publicity secretary said the Kaduna governor had shown that religious diversity could be accommodated in political leadership without undermining party interests.
According to him, Sani’s Muslim-Christian ticket is a major departure from the political arrangement associated with the administration of former Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai, and could help rebuild confidence among Christians in the state.
Vatsa said, “I want to commend Governor Uba Sani for this singular gesture towards the Christian community in Kaduna State. He is a true lover of the Christian faith, not only in Kaduna State but the country in general.
“He has distinguished himself from those who pay lip-service towards love for Christians in the afternoon but marginalise them in the night when it comes to political appointments and elective offices.”
The APC chieftain described religious balancing as critical to peace and political stability in Kaduna, a state with a history of religious and communal tensions.
He argued that the inclusion of a Christian in the state’s top political leadership could provide a sense of security and belonging to Christians who, he claimed, had experienced political marginalisation in the past.
“The Christian community in Kaduna State can now heave a sigh of relief and sense of security after years of religious marginalisation,” Vatsa said.
He urged Christians in the state to rally behind Sani, insisting that the governor deserved their support for what he described as a bold demonstration of political inclusiveness.
The former commissioner, however, did not spare Tinubu and Bago, whose Muslim-Muslim tickets he has consistently criticised.
Vatsa reiterated his opposition to Tinubu’s decision to retain a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for 2027, describing it as “a collective insult” to Christians in Nigeria.
He also accused Bago of betraying the confidence of Christians in Niger State by maintaining the same-faith arrangement ahead of the 2027 election.
“I want to also reiterate my earlier stand on the same-faith ticket arrangements at the federal and in my state. These decisions are politically insensitive and unacceptable,” he declared.
Vatsa said he would not be intimidated into abandoning his position, regardless of the political consequences.
“No amount of harassment, intimidation and blackmail will make me change my position. Those who don’t have skills for survival are the ones who see the truth and keep quiet,” he said.
He challenged political leaders to match their public expressions of solidarity with Christians with concrete political inclusion.
“Even if you don’t like the messenger, you should take the message. You don’t go to church to sing choruses and dance with Christians and when it comes to giving appointments or consensus arrangements for elective offices, you marginalise the Christians,” Vatsa stated.
The former APC state publicity secretary further warned that political power was temporary and that those currently wielding influence should not use it to silence dissenting voices.
“I will continue to speak against any form of marginalisation regardless of any threat to my life. I am a critical stakeholder and a pioneer member who has sacrificed everything, including my life, for this great party ahead of the 2015 election, therefore nobody can intimidate me,” he said.
Vatsa added, “Anything anybody thinks he has acquired to make him believe that he can harass and intimidate people is temporary because when the time comes, we will all leave with empty hands.”