Ayiri Reveals Why South-South and South-East APC Chieftains Were Not Present at Shettima’s Unveiling

By Adeleye Kunle

Chief Ariyi Emami, a Delta State chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, has dismissed media reports that party chieftains from the South-south and South-east boycotted the unveiling of former Governor of Borno, Senator Kashim Shettima, as the party’s vice presidential candidate to express their displeasure.

Despite opposition to the Muslim-Muslim ticket, the ruling APC’s presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, announced Shettima as his running mate ahead of the 2023 elections.

However, Ayiri insisted to select journalists on Saturday in Abuja that most people who did not attend the unveiling did so because they believed that since Shettima had been presented to President Muhammadu Buhari, the ceremony of the formal unveiling of Shettima was no longer necessary.

“Even me,” he said. I was not present because Asiwaju had previously revealed Shettima to us. So I was sleeping at home on that particular day when they called. What was I supposed to do there? So I don’t see any political implication in that. We’ve been told it’s Shettima, and we’ve been talking about it. Everyone congratulated him. The unveiling was purely ceremonial. I assumed the other leaders who were not present were exhausted and unable to attend. So it’s not a problem for me.”

Tinubu, according to the APC chieftain, consulted widely before naming Shettima as his running mate.

“Some of us even supported Shettima’s candidacy,” he said. We advised Asiwaju to go find a good person who will support him, whether he is Muslim or not. Religion has contributed nothing to our table.

“For example, the Niger Delta Development Commission is an agency that is supposed to be looking after the Niger Delta, and a lot of money has gone into the NDDC, but the people overseeing those affairs are all Christians, no Muslims.” Check to see if there has been any progress. The region’s governors are all Christians. So, if Asiwaju has a partner who will help him succeed, who will provide us with security, good roads, and good schools, I don’t mind because not everyone is even Christian.”

To some of us, the majority of people who will vote do not understand what they are saying about the Muslim-Muslim ticket. At the moment, we are saying Asiwaju for transformation. We’re not seeing the religious aspect of it because, according to some of us, the Vice President is a Christian under Buhari, so what’s the difference? Because of politics, some Christians will travel to the north to wear turbans. If you know you strongly oppose something, don’t even go to their palace to turban. “Why are you going there, don’t you realize it’s a different religion?”