Clerics at Shettima’s Unveiling Not Fake, Says Tinubu Campaign
Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja
The Tinubu Campaign Organisation (TCO) has said that the unveiling of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Vice Presidential candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, was an open event which allowed members of the public to attend, including clergymen.
The ruling APC had on Wednesday formally presented Shettima to the public as the running mate of the party’s presidential standard-bearer, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Abuja.
The TCO through its Director of Media and Communication, Mr. Bayo Onanuga in a statement issued Thursday described as unwarranted distractions the viral pictures and videos of some Christian clergymen and women at the unveiling.
He said: “The event was an open affair, which allowed members of the public to attend, including the clergymen and some others now being derided by hirelings of the opposition.
“We want to say that those clergymen were not fake, not mechanics or yam sellers as the purveyors of hatred have made Nigerians to believe in the social media. They are not big names in Christendom yet, they are gradually building up their missions.
“They are church leaders who genuinely believe that Nigerians must eschew politics of hatred and religious bigotry and rather embrace politics of peace and nation building.
“We therefore deplore the hysterical twisting of the presence of these men and women in cassocks and the false accusation against our candidates, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Shettima.”
Onanuga noted that the orchestrated social media sensation over the presence of the men was needless and all calculated to detract from the huge success recorded at the momentous event on Wednesday.
He said TCO was aware that the opposition parties and the sponsors of the social media charade are jittery and threatened by the intimidating political credentials of Tinubu and Shettima, adding that the only way they hope to shift attention of public scrutiny away from their uninspiring candidates and credentials was to create social media distraction
“We believe Nigerians are too wise and discerning to see through this shenanigan. Asiwaju Tinubu and his running mate and our great party are working very hard to provide purposeful leadership and good progressive governance that will improve the quality of life of Nigerians,” Onanuga stressed
He said TCO was determined to focus on core governance issues that affect all Nigerians with a view to confronting them and making the desired improvements in the standard of living of the people.
