23rd September, 2022
Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), said his running mate Kassim Shettima protected Christians during the crisis in Borno.
Tinubu stated this in his meeting with the Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria in Abuja on Thursday.
The former Governor of Lagos told the bishops that his choice of Shettima was not a threat to the Christian community.
He explained that his choice of Shettima was based on competence and not religious considerations.
He added that only competence can resolve the political and socio-economic challenges bedeviling the nation.
The APC presidential candidate said he has always been a friend of the Christian community and he should be considered based on his track records, plans, and agenda for developing Nigeria.
“How will Nigeria develop? How do we banish hunger? How do we improve the insecurity and how do we eliminate killing one another, and shedding of the blood of innocent citizens, that is what we must take to the office and not our religion.
“My intention is clear, not religiosity. My intention is to develop this country, to bring prosperity to our country and I have better qualifications, better track records, better exposure, and better vision than any of my mates.
“When the shortlisted names came, I looked at the characters on the list, their background and everything and here is somebody (Kassim Shetimma) who is so brilliant, so committed, who, during the crisis in Borno protected Christians,” Tinubu stated.
However, in his brief comment after the meeting, Chairman of Pentecostal Bishops Forum of Northern Nigeria, Archbishop John Praise, said, “We are not committed to endorsing anybody, but you should ask your conscience and from what you have heard and from the explanation, he (Tinubu) had given to us to make your own judgment of who will better rule and handle the country.”