The Presidency has reportedly stopped the unveiling of ex-Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima as the vice presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 presidential poll.
The presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s choice of Shettima as his running mate had sparked immediate backlash with the majority of Christians rejecting a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
According to a report, the Presidency decided to suspend Shettima’s unveiling to enable the party to clear all issues concerning his nomination.
Reported earlier that Tinubu had announced Shettima as his running mate on Sunday, saying the former Borno State Governor was picked to enable good governance.
But the APC had failed to officially announce Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate four days after.
Controversy has continued to greet Shettima emergence as Tinubu’s running mate ahead of presidential election in 2023.
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) among others had rejected the idea and warned parties against it, But the supporters of the candidate and the party had argued that competence, exposure and intellectual depth should be prioritised above religion.
Also, the APC is under intense criticism for preferring elderly men to younger persons that can attract the youths.
Ex-Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Babachir Lawal had criticized the choice of Shettima as running mate, describing him as “an overambitious man who has a Machiavellian bent and has lots of money with which to procure a preferred-candidate status among Tinubu’s lapdogs”.
Speaking on the suspension of the planned unveiling of the ex-governor, an APC leader claimed the Presidency ordered the suspension of the event.
