El-Rufai disagrees with Fani-Kayode, says religion shouldn’t factor in APC’s choice of presidential ticket

A former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory and member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Nasir El-Rufai, has insisted that the party’s choice of presidential candidate would not be dictated by religion.

Mr. El-Rufai, in a statement on Tuesday, stated that the party’s candidates for the 2015 presidential poll should be picked on individual competence rather than religious affiliation.

“APC will present an integrity-competence ticket not religion. Politics and governance are not to be mixed or dictated to by any religion,” Mr. El-Rufai said.

“The APC will present to Nigerians the best persons with the integrity, capacity and competence to create jobs, fight corruption and rebuild our nation without discrimination.

Mr. El-Rufai’s statement is coming at a time another party chieftain, Femi Fani-Kayode, had admonished the APC leadership against contemplating a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.

“I have said it privately in countless political meetings and I will say it publicly today. Please mark it – the biggest mistake that my party, the APC, can make is to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket in the 2015 Presidential election. If we do that we will not only offend the Christian community, but we will also lose the election woefully,” Mr. Fani-Kayode, a former Aviation Minister, had said.

“Our party must have both a Christian and a Muslim on the ticket if we want to be taken seriously in the Presidential election. I implore those that think otherwise to sit down and think this through properly,” Mr. Fani-Kayode had added.

But Mr. El-Rufai argued that a candidate’s religious persuasion is a private affair that must not be linked with bad governance.

“How these persons worship the Almighty God is private to them and does not matter to discerning Nigerians particularly young people that suffer most from bad governance, unemployment and the Jonathanian culture of impunity,” Mr. El-Rufai said.

“The PDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) that has no record to show other than escalation in corruption, grand larceny, trillions missing, private jets and deaths of innocent people.

“The PDP’s only “winning strategy” is built around promoting and financing regional and religious division, and using the proceeds of corruption to buy the military, police and INEC officials rig the next elections.

“They will be defeated no matter what they think because Nigerians are wiser and will not be taken for a ride any longer,” Mr. El-Rufai said.