A supporter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and rights activist, Shehu Mahdi, has said that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu cannot be trusted.
OsunDaily News understands that Mahdi said this in reaction to Tinubu’s address during the inauguration of members for the women’s presidential campaign team chaired by his wife, Oluremi Tinubu.
Speaking at the event that was held in Abuja earlier this week, Tinubu said: “Assurance is here, the promise is here, prosperity is here, health is here, security is here, banditry has ended”.
Reacting to the former Governor of Lagos State’s comment, Mahdi who is a staunch supporter of PDP’s presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, said Tinubu’s followers would be disappointed after the 2023 general elections.
“If you believe BAT, then you can as well believe anything. With everything about him shrouded in the coat of doubt, suspicion, and uncertainty.
“Huge disappointment from Tinubu awaits those believing him,” Mahdi said via his microblogging platform, Twitter.
It could be recalled that the Katsina-born commentator recently made news headlines after advising Christians in the North not to vote for candidates from the South. Mahdi claimed that a vote for Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) standard bearer, would amount to support for Biafra secession agitation.
The Conference Of Northern Christians And Minority (CNCM), and the Coalition of Northern Elders For Peace and National Unity (CNEFPNU), among other organizations, condemned the comments.
‘Arrest Mahdi Shehu For Saying ‘A Vote For Peter Obi Is Vote To Biafra’ – Ohanaeze Blows Hot
The Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide in September called for the arrest of Mahdi for alleging that a vote for Obi is a vote for Biafra.
The renowned activist had in a viral video advised Christians in the North against voting for a presidential candidate of southern extraction in the forthcoming election.
According to the Katsina-born activist, a vote for a Christian Southern candidate, particularly the LP candidate will amount to a vote for Biafra, and a secessionist.
Mahdi further alleged that Northerners both Christians and Muslims are being discriminated against in the South East, South West, and South-South, regardless their religion.
Reacting to the development, the national publicity secretary, Dr. Alex Ogbonnia in a statement made available to newsmen described Mahdi’s comments against the LP candidate as ‘distasteful and capable of igniting ethnoreligious tensions across the country.
Ogbonnia noted that persons with such primitive mindsets are the ‘Pernicious incubus’ which had long held the country down.
He reminded the activist that ‘Christian Southerners in the past willingly voted President Shehu Shagari, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and President Muhammadu Buhari on account of the manifestoes they presented to the populace’.
The group further urged the federal government to arrest and prosecute the activist to serve as a deterrent for others.
This article was originally published on OsunDaily News
