By Sani Idris.
Some groups of Northern Christians, have adopted and endorsed the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election.
The various groups on Tuesday in Kaduna, adopted Tinubu as their candidates at an endorsement ceremony, organised by the Christian Northern Nigerian Political Forum (CNNPF).
The endorsement followed the donation of food items to Christian communities in the North, by Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, wife of Tinubu, at the famous Murtala Muhammad Square in Kaduna.
Tinubu who donated over 2,000 bags of rice and wrappers to women in the state, assured the Christian communities in the North of inclusive administration if her husband is elected president.
Tinubu, who was the special guest of honour at the event, maintained that her husband’s track record of inclusiveness made his campaign promises regarding equitable representation believable.
Earlier, Mr. Ibrahim Itodo, Coodinator of CNNPF, reminded the Christian communities of the nation’s need of a visionary leader.
He added that if Tinubu could turn insecure Lagos state into a thriving economy, then he would lead the nation out of its current socio-economic and security challenges.
He said the issue of the APC Muslim-Muslim ticket which was conceived to Islamize Nigeria was a past issue and had been resolved.
Also, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sideline of the event, Mr. Isacc Abrak, the Chairman of the Northern Christian Youth Professionals (NCYP), said they were at the event to show to the world that Christians in the Northern part of Nigeria knew who Bola Tinubu was.
He said that the Northern Christians had understood and bought the idea of Tinubu’s choice of Muslim as a running mate.
“Northern Christians have understood that the Muslim-Muslim ticket by Tinubu is basically for strategy and not as wrongly said and perceived by other Christians that it was a look down on them.
“When Tinubu emerges the President, he will carry the Northern Christians and everybody along, so we are at this event to show the country that we are with the him and his wife,” Abrak said.
He explained “To quench that assertion of Northern Christians that Tinubu doesn’t care about them, we mobilised ourselves massively from the 19 Northern states to show our solidarity with Tinubu and the APC.”
He further said that Tinubu is competent leader looking at his antecedent.
“Tinubu has changed Lagos State, he is going to change Northern Nigeria, he will bring mass youths employment to solve our insecurity,”Abrak said.
He assured that if Tinubu becomes the president, he will revive the moribund textile Industries in the Northern part of the country as he promised in his manifesto.
“When the moribund textile industries are revived, it will do away with the issues of insecurity bedeviling the North,” he said.
NAN reports that at the event were the governors of Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, as well as Hajiya Hafstat Ganduje, among other APC stalwarts.
NAN also reports that Mrs. Tinubu called for a minute silence in honour of the recent 38 people slain by bandits in Kaura local council area of kaduna. (NAN)