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The immediate past President of the Nigerian Senate, Bukola Saraki, has ascribed the recent outburst of the national leader and presidential aspirant of the All Progressive Congress, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, to be mischievous, and very unnecessary, adding that his decision to stand against Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and we will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day.
Saraki, in a statement signed by the head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, in response to the speech by Tinubu in Abeokuta claiming that Saraki and others opposed his desire to be running mate to President Mohammadu Buhari in the 2015 elections, noted that he will oppose any plan that causes a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.
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“When I and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest. Asiwaju knows this and he is just being mischievous by presenting this decision as something aimed at stopping his ambition.
“Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day. My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.
“Even Asiwaju Tinubu knows that I am a man who does not shy away from standing for what is right. He knows that I don’t follow the crowd and I take a stand based on my conviction of what is good for the country and what is not good for her. It is also obvious that I have paid prices for this stand.
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“The opposition to a Muslim- Muslim ticket was not targeted at Tinubu or any other person. It was a decision that even all party leaders know helped the victory of the party and also worked for the unity of the country. That decision is not about self but national and collective interests. It is a decision which served the purpose of the people of Nigeria and I have no regret supporting it”, Saraki stated.”
