A prominent Arise TV presenter, Rufai Oseni, has said if religion did not matter, the APC presidential candidate, Bola TInubu, would have emerged President Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate in the 2015 election.
He said this while addressing attempts to downplay the influence of religion on the APC presidential ticket in some quarters.
ALSO READ: Muslim-Muslim ticket: APC lawmaker proposes bill to stop same faith ticket
Speaking on VOP, Rufai stated that religion impacted Tinubu’s chances of becoming Nigeria’s vice president in 2015.
Oseni said: “Do not be deceived as religion truly matters. The APC has continuously searched for clerics to justify its Muslim-Muslim ticket and gather some level of support. This proves that religion matters. If religion did not matter, why was President Buhari not paired with a Muslim running mate in 2015? One of the reasons why Bola Tinubu was not picked as Buhari’s running mate in 2015 was because he is a Muslim, but they needed to balance the presidential ticket.
ALSO READ: Muslim-Muslim ticket: ‘I don’t give a damn’, says Soyinka
He continued, “The running mate has a vital impact on the ticket. For example, Sambo was influential on Jonathan’s presidential ticket. If religion did not matter in our politics, Bola Tinubu could have been the current vice president of Nigeria. It should be easy to sell the tickets if religion does not matter. Deborah’s death is also an example of how important religion is in Nigeria. We are yet to arrive at the desired situation where religion will not matter in politics.”