President of the Senate, Ovie Omo-Agege, has assured that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will not present two people from the same religion as its presidential and vice-presidential candidates for the 2023 general elections.
He gave this assurance while playing host to the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), led by the President, Dr. Samson Ayokunle, on Thursday.
Omo-Agege said, “On the issue of balancing in the presidential tickets of political parties, it is commendable but while I am the Deputy President of the Senate, I am also of a political party extraction which is the All Progressives Congress.
“What that means in effect is I am not in a position to influence the thinking of other parties.
“At least within our own APC, that is a position we have always respected and I believe we will continue to respect. In all that we do, we take that into account that we have two major faiths.
“That will continue to be our guiding principle as we move to 2023 not just in identifying and picking presidential and vice-presidential candidates but also here in the National Assembly.
“I will appreciate if the same message is passed on to other political parties. For us, the message has been well received but it’s like you are preaching to the converted”. He called for prayers for the country.
Earlier, the CAN President warned political parties against heating up the polity with either Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim ticket in the Presidency.
This was contained in a statement signed by the CAN President’s Special Assistant (Media and Communication), Adebayo Oladeji, in Abuja.
According to the statement, Ayokunle spoke during a private meeting with the Deputy Senate President at the National Assembly complex.
He said, “This parley is first of all an identification of the Church in Nigeria with you as one of us who is occupying the highest legislative office currently in Nigeria.
“Secondly, it is to let you know that we desire that you would be more open and available to the church which is your faith family so that if there is any pressing issue in the nation over which we are bothered. We can easily discuss such with you and by so doing help the nation to move forward.”
