Nigerians have been advised to focus on electing a president who would appoint people with competence and capacity to build a government that works.
The National Coordinator of the All Progressives Congress, APC National Stakeholders Forum, Mr. Aliyu Audu stated this in an interview with Voice of Nigeria.
You may recall that the APC National Stakeholders Forum was one of the groups that called on the APC’s Presidential flag bearer, Mr. Bola Tinubu, to pick a northern Christian as his running mate.
Mr. Aliyu however noted that the APC Presidential flag bearer made them understand that selecting leaders based on religious sentiments will also affect how the government is formed after election.
“What the candidate has been able to say to made us understand that we cannot keep making leadership decisions based on religion and expect that the same thing will not trickle down to government when that government is formed. We don’t want to run a government of religion. And he ask if we think just having a Christian running mate is the only way.
“If we really want to deemphasize religion, then it’s to take religion out of the equation and to go by what we wish to promote which is competence, capacity, content and character in governance. These are what we expect to build a working nation on and these are the things that should determine how we fill in those positions and by such, it is clear that Shettima stands out as an exceptional governor” Audu said.
He stated that his (Tinubu’s) explanation gave them reasons to change their position on the choice of running mate because they want a peaceful working Nigeria.
Mr. Audu was confident that regardless of the religion of Mr. Tinubu’s running mate, the APC will win the election in 2023.
Also speaking on the recent Osun governorship election, Mr. Audu said the outcome of the election will build confidence of the transparency of electoral process in the minds of Nigerians.
“It is good for democracy, it is good for Nigeria, it is good for APC and most importantly, it is good for INEC and the confidence in the electoral process that we wish to instill among Nigerians,” he said.
On the loss of the APC in the Osun State election, he said the APC should see the election as a wakeup call to put the party in order.
“If there are internal issues that we (APC) are failing to fix, we are failing to resolve, then this probably will be the wakeup call that we need to understand that these issues are real and the dynamics of National Elections have changed” Audu said.
N.O
