- APC, PDP two sides of same coin, says Babachir Lawal
Onwuka Nzeshi, Abuja
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr Babachir Lawal has charged Christians across the 19 states in northern Nigeria, to reject the same faith ticket being promoted by the All Progressives Congress (APC) and back the Labour Party in the forthcoming presidential election.
Lawal, a chieftain of the APC, broke ranks with his party since the presidential candidate of the APC Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a Muslim of South West extraction, chose Sen. Kashim Shettima, another Muslim of North East extraction, as running mate. The aggrieved politician has been leading other Christian leaders in the party to demand a change on the configuration of the personalities on the presidential ticket of the party but to no avail.
In an open declaration Wednesday, Lawan said that after a painstaking review and analysis of the presidential tickets, he and his followers have decided to endorse Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and his running mate Dr Datti Yusuf Baba-Ahmed as the only viable alternative. According to him, the endorsement of the Obi/Datti ticket was borne out of the conviction that the ticket represents justice, equity and a harmonious co-existence of all Nigerians across tribes, religion and geopolitical regions.
He debunked the speculations that he had thrown his weight behind the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), stressing that he could not have done so since the PDP and APC were two sides of the same coin.
