Festus Keyamo, Nigeria’s minister of state for labour and employment, has backed Bola Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate over his choice to run a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 election.
Keyamo issued his defence on Monday via his Twitter handle.
“Govt. doesn’t exist to assuage the egos of religious leaders, but to bring about development for everyone. Today, most religious leaders in Nigeria go to Dubai and the USA for shopping & holidays when the UAE is being governed by Muslims & the USA is being governed by Christians,” he tweeted.
Read also: Tinubu picks Shettima as running mate
“There’s no country in the world where history tells us that its development was as a result of ‘balanced’ presidential ticket (in terms of religion) over the years; countries developed as a result of visionary leadership and not because they pandered to some religious sentiments.”
On July 10, Tinubu unveiled Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno State, as his running mate. Since then, reactions to the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket have risen.
However, Tinubu said he chose Shettima because he is capable and will provide Nigerians with the best governance, regardless of religion or ethnicity.
