2023: APC Speaks On Calls For Lalong’s Resignation As Tinubu’s Campaign DG

The Presidential Support Council of the All Progressives Congress has reacted to the call for the resignation of the Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, as the Director General of the Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Organisation for the 2023 elections.

Naija News recalls a few weeks ago, some Northern Christians urged Lalong to resign his appointment as DG of the presidential campaign team, stating he is been used to secure votes from Christians.

However, the National Coordinator of the APC Presidential Council, Kassim Muhammad, during an interactive session with journalists on Thursday in Lafia, said Lalong will not resign.

According to Kassim, who was a former Member of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Lalong is a better Christian politician than other partisan Christian politicians.

He noted that the Presidential Support Council had over 300 registered members and Governor Lalong had no reason to resign his appointment because he did not violate any known law in the country.

Kassim added that the likes of Babachir Lawal and Yakubu Dogara should not introduce religious politics in the country because they lost out in their attempts to be the vice-presidential candidate to Bola Tinubu.

He said: “Governor Lalong will not resign because he is a better Christian politician than other partisan Christian politicians and shall enjoy the support of so many youth groups in this campaign.

“We have an outgoing President who is a northern Muslim, that is why some of us supported that power should shift to the South and being a Muslim myself, I supported Rotimi Ameachi to emerge as the presidential candidate but it was an election, and Tinubu won.

“Babachir Lawal and Yakubu Dogara heavily supported Tinubu at the primary, Akpabio and Fayemi who are Christians, stepped down their presidential ambitions for Tinubu who is a Muslim to emerge even when there was a Christian aspirant in the race, and if their actions were on the ground that Tinubu was more qualified, then Lalong has not done anything wrong in accepting to be the DG of the campaign.

“Lalong supported a Christian, it was an election and Tinubu, who is a Muslim won. If the likes of Babachir Lawal, Yakubu Dogara, Godswill Akpabio, Governor Fayemi and a host of other Christians had supported a southern Christian, all these issues would not have arisen.

“The presidential primary was free and fair, and majority of those who voted for Tinubu during the presidential primary are Christians and it makes no sense for any right-thinking Christians to call Lalong to resign as the DG of the presidential candidate.

“Majority of the votes garnered by Rotimi Ameachi were from the Muslims which clearly shows that they were committed to a southern Presidency through a Christian but because it was an election, Tinubu won.

“We have Muslims in the South-West but all the governors in the zone are Christians except the Osun State Governor who recently lost to a Christian, but no Muslim protested.”