I resigned from Tinubu campaign team because of Muslim-Muslim ticket – APC Senator, Abbo

Elisha Abbo, a senator representing Adamawa North has stated reasons he left the campaign team of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Following the announcement of former Governor Kashim Shettima as the running mate to Tinubu, Abbo announced his resignation from Tinubu Support Organisation.

• Muslim-Muslim ticket: Akeredolu asks Nigerians to choose competence over religion
• 5 killed in fresh Benue attack

According to him, with the Muslim-Muslim ticket adopted by the party, his conscience will not allow him to campaign for the APC presidential candidate and his running mate.

He also described the ruling party’s choice of Muslim-Muslim ticket as “irresponsible, insensitive and ignorant of the country’s political system.”

While speaking to Arise TV over his displeasure with the decision as well as his resignation from the campaign organization, Abbo said despite supporting Tinubu in the past, he cannot remain loyal to  a “government that breaks its own constitution.”

He said, “You can’t be loyal to a government that breaks its own constitution. I’ve been one of the fighters, even before he came out that he (Tinubu) wanted to contest for this office.

“We knew he would contest, so we have been in the movement. We pushed him to the point where he won the primary election. His first act as a candidate of the party was to be against the constitution. How do you command loyalty from people you’ve thrown away?”

The senator added that Tinubu did not consult anybody in the party before taking the decision.

He said, ”The truth is he didn’t consult anyone. There was no consultation. What he did was, they had made up their mind from the beginning that they would bring in Shettima as vice-presidential candidate of the APC. So, at the time they placed the placeholder person, they were only buying time so they would go and meet one or two people and probably bribe them.

“In 2015, Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted to be Buhari’s running mate, but Buhari rejected it. Because Buhari knew deeply that a Muslim-Muslim ticket was problematic. Buhari is a soldier. He understands the importance of national unity. Buhari can’t do anything that will jeopardize the unity of Nigeria.”

On whether he had plans of leaving the APC, Abbo said he was not considering such plans because a single person can make a change.

“At this point now, I’m not leaving the party for anybody. We will remain in the APC and clean APC of this rot. I believe in the power of one man. I believe in the voice of one man,” he said.