Hundreds of constituents of a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday declared their support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, saying the Muslim-Muslim ticket should not be a factor in next year’s election.
Our correspondent reports that Dogara, who represents the Dass/Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, has been one of the leading voices in the country opposing the same-faith ticket put up by the APC.
Not satisfied with his party’s decision, Dogara dumped the APC and joined the Peoples Democratic Party, where he expressed support for the party’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar.
But his kinsmen from the three local government areas of Dass, Tafawa Balewa, and Bogoro, which make up his constituency, held a rally to show their support for Tinubu; his running mate, Kashim Shettima; the governorship candidate of the APC, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar (retd.); and others candidates of the APC in the state.
The supporters, under the umbrella of “Bogoro, Dass, and Tafawa Balewa Christian Support Group for APC,” said they rallied to tell their presidential candidate and the party that they would go house-to-house to mobilise support ahead of the general elections.
Speaking at the event, one of the organisers of the rally and former aspirant of Dass/Tafawa Balewa/Bogoro, Dr Godfrey Manasseh, said their decision to support Tinubu was because of his achievements in Lagos State when he was governor.
He said, “We are here today as Christians from this constituency to declare that we have decided collectively to support the Jagaban Nigeria. We have endorsed all candidates, including Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
“Our resolution is borne out of several factors, a few of which include the fact that Jagaban, as the governor of Lagos State, was able to raise men who are Nigerians. Jagaban alone is an institution.
“He also has a wife who is a Christian, and he is a Muslim.”
Manasseh added that “APC allowed us to produce the Speaker of the House of Representatives; under the APC, this constituency has gotten many projects, including the Air Force University, roads, and others; we also had our brother and father, Prof. Elias Bogoro, become the Executive Secretary of the TETFund.”