Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemihas said the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was not meant to undermine the influence or relevance of the Christians in the country.
The governor who allayed the fears of Christians over the raging issue clarified that it was simply a calculated political strategy by the party to win the presidential election.
Fayemi stated this at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti during a courtesy visit by the new executives of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ekiti State Chapter led by its Chairman, Dr Emmanuel Aribasoye to his office.
The new chairman of CAN in the state, Dr Aribasoye, however said the church was not in any way comfortable with the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling party, describing it as a “cause for concern”
The governor said picking a Muslim running mate for the party’s Presidential candidate was not because there were no competent Christian politicians from the North as being erroneously peddled in some quarters.
Fayemi, who noted that there are so many competent Christians in the North and all over Nigeria, said the responsibility of the church where social justice is being preached should include looking at the challenges being faced by Christians and seeking how good governance can address and improve upon them.
He said, “The quick steps that we should have taken earlier is by approaching the leadership in Christendom and explaining the context of the selection that was about to happen.
“Even if they don’t agree with our choice, they would have seen the sincerity of purpose and understood that the decision was not on grounds of competence because we have competent Christians all over Nigeria but on grounds of strategic political moves, which is what we do in politics. We have to look at scenarios and calculate where the votes would come from, it is a game of numbers.’’
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