Bishop Mohammed Naga, the chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), in Borno State, has praised Bola Tinubu's choice of Kashim Shettima as his running mate in the general elections of 2018.
Naga asserted that Shettima is not a bigot due to his religion and that he poses no threat to him.
According to DAILY POST, Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, disclosed on Sunday that Shettima will serve as his running mate in 2023.
Since then, reactions to the APC's Muslim-Muslim ticket have risen.
Despite reservations about the Muslim-Muslim ticket, Tinubu claimed that he chose Shettima because the former governor of Borno State will provide Nigerians, regardless of faith or ethnicity, with the greatest government possible.
In a statement released on Monday in response to the announcement, Naga expressed his happiness that Tinubu had publicly expressed his preference for Shettima as his running mate.
"My brothers, those who are not from Borno State may not know, but you and I know better," Naga said in part of his remarks.
"Gov. Shettima is the first governor in Borno State's history to have annually since 2011 sponsored the most Christian Pilgrims.
As the Chairman of CAN, I do not receive a salary or kobo from the Government or any other organisation, thus I am speaking firmly and without fear or favour, but the facts must be stated.
For instance, the Governor personally visited the CAN Center in the Jerusalem ward twice in June and July 2014 after the Gwoza people were expelled from their ancestral homes and fled to Maiduguri.
At initially, he gave N10 million for their maintenance, but there weren't many victims. IDPs from Gwoza grew to 42,000 people in one camp alone by the end of October 2014. Once again visiting, Governor Shettima presented another N10 million.
He also donated an additional N5 million to Borno Christians who had fled to Cameroon in order to be brought back home.
As a Christian and a pastor, I can honestly say that I have nothing to fear from Asiwaju choosing a Muslim as his running companion since he is not a religious bigot, and I am pleased that he has let the public know who he prefers as a running mate.
"For him and Asiwaju's fans, seeing another presidential contender acclaim him is positive. I wish the incoming president and vice president luck.