By Nathaniel Zacchaeus, Abuja
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Smart Adeyemi, yesterday said the National Assembly would soon consider a bill to prevent any political party’s candidate from picking a running mate of the same religion.
Adeyemi disclosed this at a press conference in Abuja.
Specifically, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain said the arrangement had been perfected by him to present a Bill before the Senate, seeking to amend Section 84 of the Electoral Act.
The proposed legislation he explained, would ensure that no political party in the country fields the same faith tickets in the future, after the current one involving the APC presidential candidate.
The candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had picked a fellow Muslim, Kashim Shettima as his running mate ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
But the Senator who is representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly said his bill would address the anomaly in the future.
He, nevertheless, expressed support for the joint ticket of Tinubu and Shettima.
He insisted that Tinubu and Shettima can revamp the economy and fight insecurity if elected into office next year.
He noted that the track record of Tinubu and Shettima shows that Nigerians have nothing to fear by electing them into office.
He said he does not doubt that Tinubu’s presidency will further promote national unity, peace, stability, and economic recovery, accelerate the socio-economic and political development of the nation and enhance its global image in the committee of Nations.
Adeyemi said, “Now on the very contentious issue of the Muslim/Muslim ticket, let me say very clearly that I am in total support of the issues and concerns raised by the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN). I am a practising Christian.
“After Asiwaju emerged as the APC presidential candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima was nominated as his running mate. And that has of course generated a lot of reactions and agitation. The CAN has made a lot of cogent observations.
“For instance, many key positions were seen to be given to people who belong to the same fate. No doubt, these were pressing factors that ignited the position of CAN, and for good reason. During my many consultations and mediations, a colleague of mine asked me a question.
“In his words and I quote, ‘when was the last time we produced an Inspector General of Police from the Igbo extraction? When last have you seen anyone from certain parts of the country as Service Chiefs?’ and I had no definite answers to these questions.
“Having noted all of these very cogent points, we must not confront these issues in such a manner that will obstruct the fabric of our national unity, peace, and stability which we have all fought very hard to keep.
“Yes, there have been oversights in key appoints in the past, which tends to keep the Christians at a disadvantage and this has caused apprehension amongst us.
“As I mentioned above, I have had the privilege of knowing the candidates personally before now, and my support for them as individuals is not based on the fact that they are members of the APC or because they are Muslims as I am a Christian myself.
“It is simply based on my knowledge of them as individuals, it is based on their track records and antecedents.”
He added, “Generally when you want to assess an individual, you look at his records, his person, his family life, then you ask questions from his friends and associates, you look at those he mentors but more importantly, you look at the antecedents of such a person.
“In this case, the factors to consider are: Is the individual in question qualified and worthy of the position he seeks to occupy?
“Does he have the capacity to revamp and reshape our nation? And my simple answer to that is yes. Asiwaju, Ahmed Tinubu possesses the capacity to change the face of the Nigerian economy.
“I am in no doubt that his Presidency will further promote national unity, peace, stability, economic recovery, accelerate the socio-economic and political development of our nation and enhance our global image in the committee of Nations.
“When I was NUJ president, a position I held for two terms, the media received tremendous support from Asiwaju.
“For my second tenure, he supported me immensely with no conditions attached. Ironically, one of my major contenders who happened to come from the South West (where Asiwaju is from) did not receive the level of support given to me by BAT, and all of this cumulated to my emergence.
“This is I, Smart Adeyemi, from Kogi State, a northerner and a proud Okun man. But yet, he gave his support, simply on the consideration of my capacity to get the job done.
“Such is Asiwaju’s nature as a person. The problem Nigeria has had in the time past is that we have had leaders who a parochial.
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“Today, people speak about the great potentials of Lagos, had it not been utilised for the well-being of the people, it would have all gone to rots.
“Nigeria is a blessed Nation and what we need is a leader who will harness these potentials for national growth and development to improve our country’s GDP and strengthen our currency.
“In my view, the two candidates who have been presented by our party are well equipped to tackle the issues of our economy and security challenges.
“I hold the view that what some prominent Nigerians have said about other Presidential Candidates from the other parties is worthy of note.
“For instance, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said so much about his former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is now the presidential candidate of the PDP.”
On agitations in some quarters that certain sections of the country seemed to be marginalized, Adeyemi said every part of the country needs to be accommodated to facilitate peaceful co-existence and development.
