Adeyemi reveals why he sponsored bill to ban same-faith presidential ticket

Smart Adeyemi, Senator representing Kogi West senatorial district in the National Assembly, has revealed why he sponsored a bill seeking to ban same-faith presidential ticket.

Adeyemi said the bill was to give the two main religions a sense of belonging and that there was no deliberate attempt to oppress any other faith.

He added that the bill would also pacify those aggrieved with the All Progressives Congress (APC) Muslim-Muslim ticket.

The senator stated this while featuring on Trust TV’s Daily Politics.

Recall that the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket of a presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima, has been condemned by most Christians.

The ruling APC has been accused of relegating Christians and making them feel like second-class citizens. The leadership of the APC has, however, dismissed the claim.

To avoid future occurrences, Adeyemi is now seeking an amendment to the Electoral Act, 2022, to ban political parties from fielding single-faith presidential tickets.

Speaking about the proposed bill, he said, “I came up with this bill because of the reactions that APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket generated.

“As a party man, I want the APC to win election. In order to pacify the Christian community, we need to assure that it is not a policy that will stay.

“A number of Christians who are raising issues with the APC’s same-faith presidential ticket kept quiet when they heard about this bill. It was like a succour.”