Governor Yahaya Bello has defended the All Progressives Congress (APC) same faith presidential ticket, expressing optimism that Nigerians will be happy with the duo of Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
The Kogi State leaderโs comment followed the backlash that greeted the partyโs unveiling of Shettima, a former governor of Borno State and a Muslim, as Tinubuโs running mate for the 2023 polls.
โNigerian politicians should be more mature; we should take politics out of it,โ he said on Channels Televisionโs Sunrise Daily Friday.
โSenator Ahmed Bola Tinubu and his Excellency Shettima is a perfect match. When you have a one-on-one with these gentlemen, you will know that we are coming up with a combination that, largely, Nigerians will be happy with.โ
The former APC presidential aspirant said despite the outrage that followed the partyโs ticket, the duo of Tinubu and Shettima is a โcomplete departure from what is happening nowโ.
He told those criticising the partyโs same-faith ticket to have a rethink, asking: โwho told you that it cannot be Christian-Christian tomorrow?โ
Away from politics, the governor noted that he has been monitoring the impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, a faceoff he blamed on the countryโs elites.
Nigerian elites, he argued, are toying with the countryโs future, explaining that they โcut across board โ both those in government and ASUU themselvesโ.
Governor Bello criticised those handling the dispute. He said they are unseriousness about Nigeriaโs progress, maintaining that the lingering strike would have been resolved if they wanted the nationโs progress.
The APC chieftain sympathised with students and their parents over the protracted industrial action and asked Nigerians to quit playing politics with the countryโs future.
