Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has stated that when he opposed the plan to foist a Muslim-Muslim presidency on Nigeria in 2014, he acted in the national interest and believed Nigeria was bigger than anybody’s ambition, including that of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Saraki, in a statement signed by the head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, on Friday, in response to the speech by Tinubu in Abeokuta on Thursday claiming that Saraki and others opposed his desire to be running mate to President Mohammadu Buhari in the 2015 elections, noted that he will oppose any plan that causes a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.
“When I and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest. Asiwaju knows this and he is just being mischievous by presenting this decision as something aimed at stopping his ambition.
“Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day. My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.