The Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Kalu, has disclosed that a Muslim-Muslim ticket may not be a problem because the All-Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is married to a Christian for the past 50 years.
This is even as he reiterated that a Muslim-Muslim ticket is a critical factor for the APC to win the presidential election in 2023.
Senator Kalu made the remarks on Wednesday in an interview with journalists at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“If I am in Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s situation – the wife is a senior pastor in a Pentecostal church, I will go (for a) Muslim-Muslim ticket,” the lawmaker said. “The most important thing is for the party to win.
“Already the wife is a pastor and they have been living together for over 50 years. She’s already like a deputy president, if I’m to say; I am saying my opinion, this is Orji Kalu’s opinion. You cannot deny me my opinion, but you can also play a Christian-Christian ticket, depending on the scenario.”
He believes the ruling party may lose the election if it fails to go for the option of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, considering the present situation it has found itself.
“If we don’t play Muslim-Muslim (ticket), we are in trouble,” he stated. “It will be difficult to win the election because the only thing left for Ahmed Tinubu today is to play Muslim-Muslim.
“What is wrong with Muslim-Muslim ticket? I don’t see anything wrong. There is nothing wrong with a Christian-Christian ticket also, it depends on the condition.
“The condition that we have found ourselves today is that you cannot play two minorities – Tinubu is a minority Muslim from the South and if you put a Christian from the North, it is a minority Christian from the North. What I am telling you is sincerely from my mind; it is not the position of our party.”
The lawmaker stressed that there was nothing wrong if the APC decides to field a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the election.
He argued that it was impossible for a southern minority Muslim and a northern minority Christian to win a presidential election in Nigeria.
According to Senator Kalu, the priority of the ruling party should be winning the presidential election in 2023 and not the religious and ethnic affiliation of its vice-presidential candidate.
He thanked President Buhari for ensuring a level playing ground for all candidates at the party’s presidential primary election.
