From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has told the Christian community in Nigeria and in the Diaspora that the same-faith presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) was not calculated to undermine the Christians in the country.

The APC has produced a former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Muslim from South West, as its presidential candidate, and a former governor of Borno State, Kashim Shettima, as its vice presidential candidate. The development met a stiff objection from the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) before the emergence of Shettima, who is from North East.

Akeredolu gave the assurance to the Christian community on Sunday at the 40th Holy Ghost Convention Dinner of The Sword of the Spirit Ministries, held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, Agbowo, Ibadan, Oyo State. The dinner was graced by many ministers of God, including the the founder of the Christ Life Church, Bishop Wale Oke, who is the current National President of PFN; and former Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, Most Rev’d Sunday Ola-Makinde.

The governor, who appealed to Christians not to be angry with APC, stated that he too was worried like millions of Christians in the country about the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket of his party, the APC, saying: “I discussed with Bishop Francis Wale Oke that presidency must come to the South.”

Take it or leave it, it is the minimum we can get. It must come to the South.

“The North cannot produce President for eight years and still want to retain it for another eight years. It is not going to work.

“That is why under the Southern Governors’ Forum, where, luckily, God made me the chairman, I kept hammering on that. It must come to the South. And when it also got to our party in APC, we fought that it must come to the South.

“Luckily, it did not only come to South, it came to the South West. Now, where do we stand? I understand our feelings because I’m one of you. I am a Christian. All of us here are worried. What will be our gain, and that, why is my party, the APC throwing up a Muslim/Muslim ticket?

“It has been a real issue for all of us. Even members of the party, it has been an issue for us. We have debated it, fought it and we have done so many things about it. I have always said to people, my fight was for Southern President.”