Former Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki has denied that he antagonized the ambition of the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu to become President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in 2014 for national interest.
The former presidential aspirant under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, stated this while reacting to Tinubu’s comment accusing Saraki of plotting against him in 2014.
Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State had during a meeting with delegates in Ogun State, claimed that Saraki and others opposed his desire to be Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 elections because he was a Muslim.
Reacting, Saraki, in a statement by the head of his Media Office, Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that he would always oppose any plan that is capable of causing a religious crisis in a multi-religious country like Nigeria.
According to Saraki, President Buhari was a Muslim and shouldn’t have another Muslim man as his running mate.
“When I and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2014 stood against having a Muslim-Muslim ticket, it was not a decision targeted at any individual or group but one taken in the national interest.
“Let me make it clear that the decision to oppose the plans by some people to make APC present a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2015 was in the national interest and I will take the same stand today, tomorrow, and any other day.
“My stance is based on the fact that such a ticket is not good for the unity of the country and will further accentuate one of our fault lines.
“The opposition to a Muslim- Muslim ticket was not targeted at Tinubu or any other person. It was a decision that even all party leaders know helped the victory of the party and also worked for the unity of the country”, he said.
Saraki was a member of the ruling party when President Buhari won the 2015 presidential election.
