The immediate past Secretary-General of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Anthony Sani has advised the All Progressive Congress (APC) and its Presidential flag bearer, Bola Ahmed Tinubu to pick a Christian from the North as Vice President.
He said this is very important in line with the principle of Federal Character as enshrined in the constitution.
Sani stated this on Monday. June 13, 2022, in Jos during an interaction with journalists.
“This is the only way to ensure peace and unity in view of the prevailing realities in the country.
“Tinubu should not be intimidated by anyone putting him under pressure to fall for what can bring disunity and increased suspicion in the country”, Sani said
On the choice of whom to pick, he advised him to go for the former speaker of the federal house of representatives Hon. Yakubu Dogara, saying that Dogara fits perfectly into the new consideration.
“Dogara is a young man with sufficient public intelligence with a rich electoral asset. If you look at his electoral value he has never lost any election.
“The former speaker was also able to command national respect because of his liberal disposition and because of that, he earned a liberal posture.
“My suggestion does not mean that I have influence on Tinubu and the leadership of APC, but Tinubu has earlier said he knows how to hunt for his first eleven and as far as I am concerned Dogara can make Tinubu’s first eleven”.
Wondered why the controversy on whether Tinubu should pick a Christian northerner or a Muslim, Sani said that the constitution is very clear on it, in respect to the federal character which says “No any group should dominate, as such a thing will not promote unity of the country.”
“As far as Nigeria is concerned, we have three dividing lines which are ethnicity, religion and regions and there is no way the president can pick his running mate from his region.
“For instance, if the president comes from a region, the vice president must come from another region. If the President is coming from the South, naturally the vice president should come from the North”.
Sani argued that because religion is also part of the three dividing lines, the constitution expects that the Vice President should come from the opposite of the President’s religion.
“Some people have been saying it should not happen that way, but there is no way Tinubu will pick his vice from the south or northern Muslim as Vice President”, he said
He, however, said that Tinubu has made it very clear that he is coming to unite the country and not to divide it, adding that if people are talking of Muslim, Muslim ticket he wonders if they are mindful of the federal character.