Solomon Dalung, former minister of youths and sports has said he doesn’t think the All Progressives Congress (APC) can win the 2023 presidential election because the party has squandered its goodwill.
Dalung who served as minister during President Muhammadu Buhari’s first term, also accused the ruling party of having hidden agenda with its Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket.
Asked if he thought the APC could retain power next year during an interview with The Punch, Dalung said, “I don’t think so. It is going to be a serious and herculean task for the party to win because, apart from squandering the goodwill of managing the country in the past seven years, the APC has also introduced a dimension that is going to make it impossible for it to be an option for Nigerians to consider. If it had performed, Nigerians would have overlooked the issue of the same religious ticket it introduced.”
Speaking on the controversy over the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, the Plateau State born politician said it was a manifestation of religious intolerance and insensitivity.
“It’s the highest manifestation of religious intolerance and insensitivity to the sentiments of Nigerians and an attack on our diversity that has squandered the goodwill of Nigeria,” he said.
“For me, the worst thing the APC has done is to bring in a joint religious ticket from the same faith. The Muslims in this country have twice elected southern Christians as northern deputies. So, why would Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate and the APC think they would not elect a Southern Muslim and a Northern Christian as his deputy?
“The reason why he thought of changing this tradition is that it creates more fear than the ticket itself because it means he has something he is hiding away from Nigerians.
“What I suspect he may be hiding from Nigerians is that he may be playing the script of an unpatriotic political elite that uses religion to manipulate people and access power.
“In reality, they are not religious people because, once they form a government, they use nepotism to appoint family members, in-laws, and other unqualified people to strategic government positions. Their children will be marrying each other and their cronies using the state’s funds.
“That does not resemble an agenda for national development; an understanding that there is endemic poverty; hunger; and unemployment ravaging everywhere.
“For me, there is a hidden agenda that they are playing the religious card to get power just for the sake of getting power and using it irresponsibly. If they get the power, then they will now manifest their real intentions.”
