Some prominent members of the aggrieved northern Christian leaders in the All Progressives Congress (APC) have said they have yet to endorse a presidential candidate in the 2023 general election.
The group distanced itself from the statement accredited to its president and former government secretary of the federation (SGF), Ing. Babachir David Lawal, who claims to have supported the presidential candidate of the Labor Party (LP), Peter Obi, in protest against the ballot APC Muslim-Muslim.
This clarification comes just hours after Lawal’s statement, in which he noted that members of his group within the APC had opted for Peter Obi due to his opposition to the same faith’s candidacy and LP’s potential to win. the 2023 presidential election.
The views of the other 8 members of the group, headed by former House Speaker Yakubu Dogara, were contained in a statement co-signed by them and released Thursday, saying that after all due diligence, they had taken a position and had agreed on a particular time and occasion to reveal the position.
The group, which also includes former Kogi state deputy governor Simon Achuba, said Babachir Lawal’s position was his personal opinion and did not represent the position of the group.
No mandate to convey the group’s decision: The group also said that none of the group members, including Eng. Babachir, had been mandated to speak to the public about their position at this material time.
- The group’s statement reads: “We want to draw the attention of the general public to the recent position requested by our president, Eng. BD Lawal, as the position of our Group. We wish to state that the necessary consultations have been concluded and, based on manifestly irrefutable empirical data, the group is ready to take a position, which will be made public at an interfaith event to be held very soon.
- “Suffice to say that no one in the group, including the president, has been mandated to speak to the public about our position at this important moment. Based on our modus operandi, our position was to be presented to the general public at the aforementioned event. That has not changed.
- “Consequently, the decision to endorse a particular candidate and the statement accredited to the president are solely the president’s decision and views, to which he is fully entitled, and not those of the group. We hope this statement clears up all the doubts that most of us have been inundated with on this very important issue.”
Other members of the group include Hon. Albert Atiwurcha, Prof. Doknan Sheni, Mela A. Nunge, SAN, Gen Ishaya Bauka (rtd), Prof. Ibrahim Haruna and Ms. Leah Olusiyi.
To catch: Recall that earlier on Thursday, Babachir Lawal, in a signed statement, declared that members of his group and their supporters will back Obi/Datti’s presidential bid for the 2023 election.
- Lawal in the statement said the group made the decision to support Labor Party presidential candidate Peter Obi and his running mate Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed after careful review and analysis of alternative candidates.
- He described APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket as satanic, saying it is a deliberate and well-calculated plan to sow a seed of religious discord among Nigerians, with northerners as its intended target.
…Muslim-Muslim Ticket: Northern APC Christian Leaders Deny Endorsing Peter Obi, To Soon State Their Position Read More On… Naijaonpoint.