The Director-General (DG) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Organisation, Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State, has said that he remains a staunch Catholic despite his decision to accept to lead the Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket campaign.
The governor said this Wednesday while fielding questions from State House reporters after a closed door with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He said as a born, baptised and confirmed Catholic, who has the highest award from the papacy, Knight of Saint Gregory the Great, the Pope has not told him that it is wrong for him to lead the Muslim-Muslim presidential campaign team.
“I came back home and CAN welcomed me at the airport. The next day, I addressed stakeholders of Plateau State and I told them why I’m accepting it and then there was jubilation and all of them accepted.”
“So, if you see people talking about me rejecting… I’ve accepted already, is not issue of…. I told them. Some of them are already keying into it. I have accepted already. It’s not an issue. I’m a Christian, I said it and some people are misinterpreting it, that I said I was not a Christian.
If you see my TVC interview, I said I was born a Catholic. Baptized a Catholic, confirmed a Catholic. I went through missionary schools. Yes, I was taught by mission. I respect my being a Christian. I’ve been given the highest award by the Pope. I still hold that award, the highest Papal award, Knight of St. Gregory’s the Great. I have it. One day, if you want, I’ll wear my uniform and come here.
“I Hold a Papal Night and as a Catholic, everything we do, we do it and we send the advice to the Pope. The Pope has not told me that what I’m doing is bad, to accept (to be) Director-General. As a Catholic, we take that direction.
“But generally, as a governor of a state, I said as a governor of the state, I am not responsible to only my faith, I am responsible to other people who belong to other faiths, who are not Muslims or Christians. So that is why I took an oath of office. The purpose of my Oath of Office is to take care of those people.
“When it comes to politics, it’s a matter of choice, a matter of interest. In every political party, you have Christians and Muslims, in every political party, there’s opportunity for you to vote for a Christian or to vote for a Muslim. If you don’t want a Muslim, you wait until election when you’ll vote your choice. If you don’t want a Christian, you will go there and go to vote.”
Lalong said the Pleateau State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) came to the Yakubu Gowon Airport, Jos, to welcome him after his appointment as the APC presidential campaign DG.
He, therefore, said that he was not sure where those who claimed to be Christians but opposed his appointment as against their faith were coming from.
He also distanced himself from the allegation that he lobbied to become the running mate of the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Lalong said that he was at the Presidential Villa to thank the President for approving numerous infrastructural projects and for granting presidential pardon to the former governor of the state, Senator Joshua Dariye as well of a former governor of Taraba State, Rev. Jolly Nyame that were convicted for corruption.
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