TheCable

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has disowned the “clerics” present at the unveiling of Kashim Shettima as the vice-presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The unveiling ceremony took place on Wednesday at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua centre in Abuja.

Bola Tinubu, APC presidential candidate and a Muslim from the south-west, had, on July 10, announced Shettima, a Muslim from the north-east, as his running mate.

While the Muslim-Muslim ticket has elicited criticism, the former Borno governor had said his becoming the APC vice-presidential candidate shows Nigeria is ready to move beyond “primordial sentiments” and vote based on competence.

At the unveiling ceremony, some persons were spotted wearing clerical outfits.

However, Joseph Hayab, Kaduna CAN chairman, said the outfit of some of the supposed clerics looked like something from a Nollywood movie.

“The people we saw at the unveiling of Shettima as the presidential running mate to Bola Tinubu, paraded as bishops, are people who did not have enough time to learn how to wear bishops garments,” Hayab said.

“Take a closer look at their photo and you will see another Nollywood movie.

“If Christians are not important, why the desperation? Tinubu is free to hire mechanics and other artisans and sew clerical garments for them, but it will not change the demand for fairness and justice that CAN is calling for.

“CAN appreciates that we are in a democracy. No need to do funny and dubious things just to prove a point, because it will, at the end, bounce back.

“Because of desperation, the newly-robed bishops took the shine off the occasion, more than the candidate that was unveiled. What an irony!”

Hayab also urged Nigerians to ensure they vote credible candidates in the 2023 general election for the country to take its place among the comity of nations.