Fani-Kayode Faults PDP, NNPP for Nominating Northern Presidential Candidates

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode yesterday faulted the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for nominating northerners as their presidential candidates.

Fani-Kayode, however, assured Nigerians, particularly Christians, to worry about the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He gave the assurance in a statement, saying the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu “has not plan to Islamise the country.”

For picking northerners as their presidential candidates, the former minister said the PDP and NNPP “are offering a “very dangerous narrative and volatile cocktail.

“The point is that, whoever your candidate may be, we must ensure that power comes to the south in order to stop this dangerous cycle of regional and ethnic tension, enhance and entrench national unity and give Nigeria a chance to survive and experience the peace that we seek,” he said.

Speaking on the Muslim-Muslim ticket, Fani-Kayode noted that the presidential candidate of the APC would make major concessions to Christians as regards appointments.

He said: “Not only can Nigeria not be Islamised, but under a Tinubu APC presidency I have no doubt that major concessions will be made in terms of key positions for Christians not just in the executive, but also across the three arms of government in order to make up the balance and assuage the feelings of the many Christians that are concerned, aggrieved and even offended by the prospect and fielding of a Muslim/Muslim ticket.

“There are other key positions that can and will be given to Christians in the three arms of government which are even more powerful and relevant than that of a vice-president which, with all due respect to those that occupy that position today, is essentially nothing but a spare tyre.

“Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, will ensure that the necessary concessions are made to Christians and that everyone, regardless of their faith, has a fair and full portion in their administration. Of this, I have no doubt.”