A coalition of North East and North Central stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has advised the National Working Committee (NWC) to drop Kashim Shettima and name a Christian as the party’s vice presidential candidate.
The stakeholders also asked the NWC to revisit the choice of Governor Simon Lalong as the Director-General of its campaign.
The coalition, which made the call at a briefing in Abuja, on Monday, urged the party to resolve the lingering impasse arising from its decision to float a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Secretary General of the group, Dauda Yakubu, cautioned that there was a lot at stake for the party should it go ahead with same-faith presidential ticket.
He said: “To avoid outright rejection in 2023, the coalition, therefore, urges the party to resolve the impasse that has come about as a result of Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“We urge the APC to initiate steps and measures toward replacing Shettima with a notable party member of Christian faith.
“The leadership of the APC must take advantage of INEC’s final list of presidential candidates, which is to be published on September 20, to quickly address the wrong and hand the party’s vice presidential ticket to a Christian to assuage the feelings of those still aggrieved.
“The party must not be perceived as disregarding and disrespecting the Christian community in Nigeria. The implication of such is massive electoral losses.
‘’The party’s leadership must also realise that other political parties adopted the Muslim-Christian tickets, and the APC must not be an exemption.
“The Muslim-Muslim ticket can only lead to the path of destruction for the party. As concerned stakeholders, we are using this medium to call on the party’s leadership to effect a change in the composition of the party’s presidential ticket.”