Atiku Abubakar, former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has said that his major fallout with Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in 2007, was because he wanted to be his running mate in the 2007 presidential election.
Speaking on Friday on the Arise News TV, Atiku said the Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC was “unwelcoming and unripe for Nigeria as a democratic state.”
“Asiwaju planned to be my running mate in 2007 but I disagreed. I have always opposed Muslim-Muslim ticket. I don’t believe this is ripe for countries like Nigeria. There should be balance.
“Nigeria is a multi-ethnic and multi- religious nation and there should be a religious balance in our leadership,” Atiku said.
The PDP presidential candidate expressed confidence that he will defeat the APC presidential candidate in the 2023 presidential election.
He also dismissed the insinuation that the emergence of Senator Kashim Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate will reduce his chances in the North-East region come 2023.