Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has said his appointment as the Director General of All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council is not against his Christian faith despite being a Muslim/Muslim ticket.
He said the Pope, who is the head of the Roman Catholic Church to which he belongs, has not faulted his decision to accept the job of ensuring the victory of Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Kashim Shettima, in the 2023 election.
Mr Lalong stated this during an interview with the State House correspondents on Wednesday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari.
His appointment as the the DG of the APC Presidential Campaign Council last week had generated some controversy with many believing that it was made to assuage the feelings of northern Christians.
Both Messrs Tinubu and Shettima are Muslims.
The decision of the ruling party to field a Muslim/Muslim ticket has generated uproar in some quarters in the country, most notably the Christain Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Northern APC Christian Leader led by Babachir Lawal, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Mr Lalong said he had the support of the Plateau State Chapter of CAN.
He added that as a Catholic, he has one of the highest awards from the Pope; the Knight of Saint Gregory the Great.
“Everything we do, we send the advice to the Pope. The Pope has not told me that what I am doing is bad— to accept Director General. As a Catholic, we take that direction. As a Governor of a state, I am not responsible for only my faith. As a governor, I am responsible for those who are not even Muslim or Christian. So that is what I do.
“When it comes to politics, it is a matter of interest. It is a matter of choice. In every political party, there is opportunity for you to vote for a Muslim or Christian,” he said.
Mr Lalong added that the Pope had not told him that accepting to lead the Muslim-Muslim APC presidential ticket was against the tenets of Christianity.”
The governor stressed that he would not reject the position just to satisfy the wishes of certain individuals or groups.
“So, if you see people talking about me rejecting the position, I have accepted it already – is not an issue. Some of them have already keyed into it.
“I’m a Christian. If you watch my TVC interview I said, I was born a Catholic, baptized a catholic, confirmed a Catholic,” he said.
The statement by Mr Lalong has generated blowback from some quarters.
Reacting swiftly, some aggrieved members of the Catholic Church, at a press conference in Abuja, asked Mr Lalong to tender an unreserved apology for dragging the Pope into local politics.
President of the Concerned Catholics in Nigeria, Ben Amodu, said the governor caused the head of the Catholic Church global embarrassment with his ‘unguarded’ remarks.
But in a statement on Thursday by Makut Macham, his media aide, Mr Lalong said his comment was not meant to ridicule Christians.
“My reference to the Holy Father the Pope was to emphasise that as a Christian born and raised in the Catholic faith, accepting the assignment given to me by my party the APC of which I am a founding member does not in any way remove my faith in Jesus Christ or my commitment to the Church in Nigeria and universally.
“Those who know me can attest to my respect for the Church, Christianity and Spiritual Fathers of all denominations. They know my modest contribution to the growth of the Church in Plateau State, Northern Nigerian and Nigeria at large and can testify to it,” the statement said.
