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The senator representing Adamawa North, Ishaku Abbo, has resigned his membership from the campaign group of the All Progressives Congress flagbearer, Bola Tinubu.
This was as he called Tinubu irresponsible for picking the former governor of Borno State, Kashhim Shettima, a Muslim, as APC vice presidential candidate.
Abbo had earlier tweeted about his stance but shared details of his decision with journalists on Monday in Abuja.
Abbo added that he met with a support group in Abuja in search of a running mate for Tinubu.
The group concluded that Tinubu should not pick a Muslim as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
Abbo said Tinubu has refused to learn from his predecessor, the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) Wleho opted for a Christian running mate in 2015.
He said, “For Tinubu now to be given the ticket and turn around to do what he couldn’t achieve in 2015 despite opposition from Catholics and other Christian leaders is extremely irresponsible.
“Buhari fought a civil war and understands the consequences of a divided nation. When Tinubu wanted to be VP in 2015, Buhari said no because he understood the importance of unity.
“We sat down in Abuja and strategised and we concluded that he should not take a Muslim as running mate. He (Tinubu) threw away the report.
“My conscience will not allow me to campaign for Tinubu. I am a member of CAN; I cannot deny CAN. I remain in APC. But I will take the survival of my country first over political considerations.”
He added, “We cannot work for such a man. I will oppose Christian-Christian ticket because I am interested in the stability of this country. A Christian-Christian ticket will be insensitive to Muslims of this country.
“The country is evenly divided among Muslims and Christians. So any government that is Muslim-Muslim will be illegitimate and will never gain the respect of Christians.”