Middle Belt group urges Shettima to step aside as APC presidential running mate 

The Middle-Belt Congress (MBC), has opined that in order to save the All Progressive Congress (APC) from what it called “impending electoral misfortune” in 2023 general elections, Senator Kashim Shettima should resign as the running mate to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Mr. Bilal Abdullahi, the Middle-Belt Congress leader, while briefing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, explained that the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC, came with its attendant political baggage.

He declared that if the APC, as a party, is desirous of making any meaningful impact in the 2023 presidential elections, the party should retrace its steps in the composition of its presidential ticket.

The group further explained that it believed that the self-confession of love towards the Christian community by Senator Kashim Shettima might be a ruse, adding that his actions of late do not indicate that of a religious tolerant individual.

The MBC stated that it was morally unjustifiable for Senator Kashim Shettima to hold onto the vice presidential slot of the APC, saying that such action had heated the polity in ways too numerous to mention in the country.

According to the statement, “The incomprehensible fact remains that the leadership of the APC is aware of the threats posed to its electoral success with the Muslim-Muslim ticket, yet, it has remained adamant about the uproar its choice of Muslim-Muslim ticket has elicited in the polity.”

The Middle-Belt Congress appealed to Shettima to act with honour by resigning his nomination as the presidential running mate of the APC in the interest of peace and tranquillity.

It stated that the nomination of Senator Kashim Shettima had brought about ethnic and religious tension in the country, saying that it remained unacceptable “in this critical period of the country’s existence where there are concerted efforts at unifying it along ethnic and religious lines.”