An elder statesman, Tanko Yakassai has said that the choice of Kashim Shettima as the running mate of Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC would fly in 2023.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state on Sunday announced Kashim Shettima current Senator and former governor of Borno state as vice presidential candidate.
Speaking in Kano on Monday, Yakassai said the Muslim/Muslim ticket is not strange.
The former Special Adviser to late President Shehu Shagari on National Assembly Matters said that he was confident that the joint ticket is representative and it will fly.
“This is not the first time a candidate or leaders of this country and their deputies shared the same faith.”
“When Major General Muhammadu Buhari seized power in 1983, his deputy who was the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Major General Tunde Idiagbon, were both Muslim from the North.
“Late MKO Abiola – a southern Muslim – and his running mate, Babagana Kingibe, recorded a landslide victory in 1993 general elections. Therefore, it’s not something new to Nigeria, and I’m particularly not disturbed that history has repeated itself. Certainly it will work.
“Tinubu is from the South-West from a minority religion; if you ask him to take a minority Northern Christian, it will be a minority ticket, and such arrangements negate the principle of participatory democracy.”