Both Muslims and Christians in the All Progressives Congress (CPC) are equal, former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has said, insisting that such a party could not be dubbed a ‘Muslim party’.
In a statement in Abuja, Fani-Kayode said out of the 37-member Interim National Executive Committee of the APC, 18 are Muslims and 17 are Christians.
He posited that the tag of a Muslim party being placed on APC was the handiwork of propagandists in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
“Those that say that APC is a Muslim party and are citing and passing around a long list of newly-appointed Muslim interim officers as evidence of this are either being mischievous or are just plain ignorant.
“The APC has 37 interim national officers on its interim National Executive Committee. 18 of those officers are Muslims and 17 are Christian.
“Those that are publishing and spreading the all-Muslim list in the media and the social websites and networks should be advised to go and publish the full list of all the national officers of the APC and not just the list of Muslim ones.
“This is merely a PDP ploy to sell a lie to the public and attempt to clothe it as truth and it shall not stand. The truth is that there are many more religious and ethnic bigots in the PDP and much more ignorance than there is in any other party in Nigeria.
“It is the National Chairman of the PDP by the name of Alhaji Bamanga Tukur and not that of the APC that recently described the Islamist terrorist organisation called Boko Haram as ‘freedom fighters’.
“It is the leader of the PDP by the name of President Goodluck Jonathan and not any APC leader that recently described Boko Haram as his ‘siblings’ whom he ‘could not move against’.
“It is a leader of the PDP in the person of Governor Isa Yuguda who recently said that he knew the various factions in Boko Haram very well and that he knew what they could do and not do.
“If you are looking for those that are ready to dine with that terrorist organisation and that have slaughtered over 7000 Nigerians in the last two years look to the PDP and not the APC. Our PDP Federal Government has been soft on terrorism from day one and this has led to the burning down and bombing of hundreds of churches all over the North.
“You tell me who has assisted the Boko Haram terrorists more in their evil quest- the weakness and cowardice of the Jonathan administration and its inability to provide the Nigerian people with security and protection when faced with terror or the rhetoric of the leadership of the APC. Those that accuse the APC of being a party of Islamic fundamentalists, Islamists and terrorist sympathisers or a party for only Muslims are completely wrong,” the former Minister said.
