June 22, (THEWILL) – The Commissioner of Lands, Survey and Town Planning in Plateau State, Mr Yakubu Dati, has stated that the Plateau State Governor, Hon. Simon Lalong, is the best to be chosen among Christian aspirants, jostling to be the Vice President to the All Progressive Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dati in a statement he issued to newsmen Tuesday, pointed out that the support Lalong has enjoyed from the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) and his track record for promoting peaceful coexistence in the country, has distinguished him as a great leader who could be trusted with a higher responsibility.
He said Tinubu/Lalong ticket will bring regional and religious balance and ensure equity and justice.
Dati said Lalong’s Chairmanship of the Northern Governors Forum and membership of the Progressive Governors’ Forum will attract the support of the governors, just as he maintained that his candidature will attract Christian votes from the northern and southern parts of Nigeria.
Affirming that a Tinubu/Lalong ticket will stall the exodus to the Peter Obi/Labour Party frenzy, which is gaining traction, Dati added that, “Buhari demonstrated those virtues when he insisted on Muslim/Christian ticket in 2015.
“Tinubu must demonstrate statesmanship by allowing a Muslim/Christian ticket in 2023.
This would take after the pattern in our recent history as a nation where, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo paired with Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; Umaru Yar’Adua with Goodluck Jonathan; Jonathan with Nnamadi Sambo and now Buhari with Osinbajo, which took care of the regional and religious balancing.
“With the support of President Muhammadu Buhari, Lalong will replicate the winning formula that Asiwaju brought to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in 2015, with the additional value of equity, justice and fairness”, Dati said.
He further said, “ Lalong as a Catholic and a KSGG (Knight of Saint Gregory the Great), bestowed on him by the Pope, there’s is the possibility that pairing Tinubu with Lalong will resonate with the predominantly Catholic South East and probably make the ticket more appealing to those who are demanding for fairness”, he further said.
Dati, who commended the emergence of Tinubu as the candidate of the APC, however, said that “Being a Muslim has thrown up another challenge to the APC and this has to do with the choice of a running mate for Tinubu and the need for religious balancing to give all a sense of belonging.”
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
