Adams Oshiomhole, former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says Nigerians must be wary of those trying to cause a religious war in the country over his party’s Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
The former Edo governor spoke in a chat with Arise TV on Wednesday.
Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, picked Kashim Shettima, the former governor of Borno, who is also a Muslim, as his running mate for the 2023 presidential election.
The development elicited outrage from key stakeholders, particularly the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and several Christians within the party.
APC bigwigs like Babachir Lawal and Yakubu Dogara have also kicked against the choice while describing it as a slight on northern Christians.
Reacting to the backlash, Oshiomhole described the detractors as “Christians by mouth and devils by heart” and accused them of trying to incite religious violence.
He added that Tinubu has shown religious tolerance by being married to a “Christian wife for about 40 years”.
This country has survived religious wars. Even people who are on record of being prosecuted for misappropriating money that a Muslim governor appropriated in favour of Christian children who were displaced. They are now the new voice of Christianity,” Oshiomhole said.
“So we must distinguish between Christian by mouth and devil by heart who wants to see Nigeria engulfed in a war that nobody can win. Asiwaju [Tinubu] has a Christian wife of about 40 years and is happily married. Is that not an example of what the nation should be?” (Arise News)