2023: Why APC Must Never Contemplate Fielding Muslim/Muslim Presidential Ticket – HURIWA
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Human Rights Writers Association Of Nigeria (HURIWA) has applauded and commended the APC for their transparent conduct of its National convention which resulted in the election of former Lagos State governor and former Senator, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the winner.
According to the group, the decision of the All Progressive Congress (APC ) delegates and the APC Governors from the North excluding Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State to give it’s presidential candidate to southern Nigeria is salutary and it has the potential of dousing the tension that has emanated from the fraudulent national convention of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that led to the emergence of a Northern muslim in the person of Atiku Abubakar which is travesty of justice because it is inconceivable that one section of Nigeria should dominate the political firmament of Nigeria.
HURIWA in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko, has however warned the All Progressives Congress never to contemplate committing the national suicide of selecting a Moslem Vice President to run together with Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu to avoid throwing Nigeria into a religious debacle in the event that APC wins the main election.
This is even as HURIWA doubted that APC winning the presidential election may materialise given that an APC government in the past 7 years has ruined the economy of Nigeria and created the most nightmarish security problems for Nigerians and has turned out as one of the most corrupt governments in the whole World.
“APC’s election of a southerner as it’s presidential candidate has restored national unity in Nigeria, in as much as expectations remain that the South East deservedly should produce the next President of Nigeria come 2023, the coming of Tinubu as a candidate in APC is not totally bad.
“Even with the election of Tinubu by the APC, the burning desire, national zeal, and the phenomenal momentum behind Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party are still unquenchable.
“So, patriots from all-across Nigeria, from north and south, still have the opportunity to elect the best among all, which, to millions of Nigerians from opinion polls, is definitely Mr. Peter Obi.
“It is the expectation of the Nigerian youths that INEC must be impartial, neutral and transparently ready to conduct free , fair and accountable election.
“Anything short of these could lead to a civil war in the 2023 election because Nigerians will not accept the same kind of Election robbery that took place in 2015 and 2019”, HURIWA said.
It would be recalled that former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu was announced the winner of the All Progressives Congress, primary elections that ended on Wednesday.
The Asiwaju of Lagos, as he is called, garnered half of the total votes to beat his major opponents, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, and the former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi.
About 2,322 delegates from across the country had voted at the Eagles Square to elect the flagbearer of the party ahead of the 2023 general elections.
On May 30, 2023, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, had warned the All Progressives Congress, APC, against picking a Northerner as its presidential candidate for the 2023 general elections.
This warning came on the backdrop of the emergence of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a Northeasterner, as the presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) last week Saturday.
HURIWA had said that it believes that picking another northerner to battle Atiku in the presidential race will totally destabilise the peace and unity of Nigeria.
The group, therefore, warned the APC to move against picking a northern candidate and make a southerner its presidential flagbearer in the spirit of fairness and to preserve the unity of Nigeria.
HURIWA warned that “should APC concede her ticket to the North, it, therefore, signposts the end of Nigeria as a united country.”
Atiku polled 371 delegates’ votes to defeat his closest challenger and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who polled 237 votes.
“There is no longer any basis for anyone to preach unity in Nigeria when the South-East is ostracised politically and then the North continues to insist on producing the President of Nigeria for 16 years if another northerner is produced in APC after the eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari who is from Katsina State in the North-West,” HURIWA said.
HURIWA had urged the APC to “give its ticket to the South East or at least the Southern region so as to preserve the unity of Nigeria or else if APC goes North like PDP, it is a vote of no confidence on the continuous existence of Nigeria.”
HURIWA said it is now incumbent on all Nigerians to ensure that the President of Nigeria returns to the South and Preferably to the South East and the Rights group said judging from antecedents, the former Governor of Anambra State is remarkably qualified to be elected as President of our Country for equity, National cohesion, unity and progress of Nigeria.
HURIWA stated that to most Nigerians, both Atiku Abubakar and Bola Ahmed Tinubu are two sides of the same coin made up of old breed politicians that have destroyed Nigeria totally.
