Minister of state for labour and productivity, Festus Keyamo, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) does not have an official stratification of Northern Christians or Muslims in the party.
He said they are all APC members and they registered as such into the party but not on the basis of their different faiths.
The Delta born Keyamo said this in a tweet in response to moves by certain aggrieved APC members in the north under the auspices of APC Northern Christians that have kicked against the party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
The minister who said he is not aware that the northern Christians within the APC family met anywhere to appoint spokespersons on their behalf, added that “they will vote according to their individual conscience.”
He continued: “Nobody has the authority to speak on behalf of every adherent of a particular faith within a party.”
Christian leaders of the APC from the north recently vowed to set up a committee to consult Christian and Muslim stakeholders on a different political party to support in the 2023 presidential election.
This was disclosed in a communiqué issued after the APC Northern Christian leaders summit held in Abuja and jointly signed by Doknan Sheni (Plateau) North Central; Ishaya Bauka (Taraba) North East and Saidu Ibrahim (Jigawa) North West.
The leaders said the committee is to arrive at the best platform that would better galvanise and steer their patriotic spirits and resolve towards collectively building a united multireligious, multi-ethnic society as guaranteed by Nigeria’s constitution.
The leaders said that after careful considerations and deliberations, the summit resolved that the adoption of a Muslim–Muslim ticket by their party was divisive, unjust and insensitive.
Meanwhile, Delta State government has taken a swipe on Keyamo over an uncharitable comment on the state-of-affairs in the state.
Commissioner for information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, reminded Keyamo that students who were supposed to be in school are still at home because of the lingering ASUU strike that the federal government failed to resolve.
“We need to remind Festus Keyamo that in Delta, our universities are working while the ones that belong to the federal government are still at home.
“We remind Festus Keyamo that our children who are supposed to be in school are still at home and we urge him to work seriously with his senior colleague to ensure that the issues raised by ASUU are resolved as soon as possible,” he stated.
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