Archbishop of Abuja says he will personally not vote for APC over same faith ticket

ARCHBISHOP Emeritus of Abuja Cardinal John Onaiyekan has revealed that the Catholic Church of Nigeria has not taken a position on the All Progressives Congress (APC) same faith presidential ticket but he would personally not vote for the party.

In June, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the former Lagos State governor,  emerged as the APC presidential candidate after coasting home in a landslide victory following the party's convention in Abuja. Following his victory, however, he laboured to select a running mate after publicly declaring that he will pick a Christian from the northeast geo-political zone as his deputy.

Eventually, after weeks of prevarication, Asiwaju Tinubu ended up selecting a fellow Muslim in the form of former Borno State governor Senator Shettima as his running mate. His choice has polarised the country as the Christian faithful feel highly marginalised, especially in the northeast and north central geo-political zones.

Several Christian groups have already urged their members not to vote for the APC as a result of its same faith ticket. Cardinal Onaiyekan, who has been quite on the subject up until now, said the Catholic faithful would decide individually the candidate to vote for in the presidential election.

Delivering a paper, titled The Church as an Agent of Dialogue and Reconciliation in Our Community in Quest For a Just and Peaceful Social Order, at the ongoing first synod of the Catholic Diocese of Osogbo at St Kizito Pastoral Centre, Ede, Osun State, Cardinal Onaiyekan said:  “You will note that the Catholic Bishop Conference has not taken any action on Muslim-Muslim ticket of All Progressives Congress on this matter.

”The reason is that the ticket is a political decision taken by the party on the calculation that it is their best way to win the election or assure their victory in 2023 general election. There is no point telling them not to take such a decision, all you can say is that they will have to accept responsibility for the decision they have taken.

"I only have one voter’s card and by God’s grace, I will use it. I will definitely not vote for Muslim/Muslim ticket, that is my decision. However, since it is a political decision of a political party, what the church can do officially is bring out this fact and tell people that they should take their political decision accordingly”.

He recalled that the church warned the director-general of the APC’s presidential campaign Governor Simon Lalong, for dragging the name of the Pope into his appointment, adding that his apology was, however, accepted having realised his short-comings. Cardinal Onaiyekan said: “When the APC leadership appointed Plateau State governor Solomon Lalong, who is a Catholic, as the director-general of its campaign council, he took the decision politically.

”The only time we called him to order was when he dragged the name of Pope into the appointment and political discussion.  He tendered his apologies which were accepted by us because he is a member of Papal knight.”

According to the archbishop, APC is a legitimate political party in the country, with its members cutting across various religious sects, including Catholic Church, hence individuals would have to take their decisions on their own. He added that many Catholics are in the APC, not only as members but also hold vital positions.