Veteran Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo, has announced his exit from the ruling All Progressives Congress after the presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, named former Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima as his running mate.
Prior to the announcement of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate, there have been controversies surrounding the decision to fly a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket for the 2023 election.
The former Lagos State governor who is a Muslim disregarded the warnings of bodies like the Christian Association of Nigeria to pick a Muslim running mate which he announced on Sunday after visiting the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd), in Daura, Katsina State.
However, in a shared on his Instagram page on Monday, Okonkwo expressed his disappointment with Tinubu’s choice of his running mate.
“Recall that joined APC because of its Constitutional vow, as true Progressives and Patriots, to eliminate all forms of discrimination and social injustice in Nigeria, thereby building the nation a nation which will guarantee equal opportunity for all and ensure mutual and peaceful co-existence among Nigerians.
“Those ideals are now alien to the APC, with their unfortunate decision to paint our Muslim brothers in bad light, by insinuating that the Muslims in Nigeria will not accept or vote for a Northern Christian as Vice-President to pair with a Southern Muslim.
“If Muslims could vote voluntarily for Southern Christian Presidents, it is then a fallacy to insinuate that they cannot accept a Northern Christian Vice-President. This will permanently destroy the political viability of Northern Christians in Nigeria, if allowed to stand.
“Being the convener of the Campaign for Equity and Justice in Nigeria, and as a former member of APC Presidential Campaign Council, which resisted same religion presidential ticket in the past, I can no longer continue to lend my name to these abnormalities in the interest of our peaceful co-existence, integration and progress of our beloved country,” the letter read partly.
