Borno CAN chairman alleges ‘frame up,’ denies endorsing Shettima, APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket

Embattled Chairman of the Borno State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Bishop Naga Williams Mohammed, has denied endorsing the choice of Kashim Ibrahim Shettima, as running mate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

This is also as the cleric alleged that he has been framed up by interest groups in the controversy over a Muslim-Muslim ticket presented by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2023 General Elections in the country.

It would be recalled that Asiwaju had, last Sunday, picked the former Borno State Governor, Senator Shettima, as his running mate in the 2023 General Elections, a decision which has sparked disquiet among Christians in the country who had flayed the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling party.

Shettima, a Muslim from the North East region of the country, is a two-term governor of the state and presently the senator representing Borno Central senatorial zone in the National Assembly; a position he has held since 2019.

Addressing journalists in Katsina State on Sunday, Tinubu said he has settled for Senator Shettima as his running mate.

Tinubu and some stakeholders of the ruling party met President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura Katsina State on Sunday.

The selection of Shettima has now put to bed the hopes of some political and religious advocates to see the APC standard bearer pick a Christian for the position.

Further sparking outrage, the Borno CAN chairman was reported to have endorsed the Shettima candidacy as he reportedly hailed the APC for selecting the former Borno governor and giving credence to the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the party in variance with the national CAN body which had flayed the move.

“My brothers, those who are not from Borno State may not know, but you and I know better. In the history of Borno State, there is no Governor that has been fair to the Christian Community in this State as much as Governor Kashim Shettima. I am saying this in the presence of God Almighty and this is nothing but the truth. Governor Shettima, in the history of Borno, is the only Governor that has sponsored highest number of Christian Pilgrims every year since 2011.

“I am speaking boldly without fear or favour because as CAN Chairman I do not receive salary or kobo from Government or any institution, but the facts need to be told. This Governor has shown compassion to the Christian Community.

“For example, when Gwoza people were driven from their ancestral homes, they fled to Maiduguri, and the Governor personally came to CAN Centre in Jerusalem ward two times in June and July 2014. He gave N10 million for their upkeep at first instance, but the victims were not many. By the end of October 2014, the IDPs from Gwoza increased to 42,000 in that camp alone. Governor Shettima came again and gave another N10 million.

“He also gave additional N5 million for Christians from Borno who fled to Cameroon to be returned home.

“He gave another N5 million for non-indigenes who fled to Cameroon to come back to Nigeria,” the Borno CAN chairman was reported to have said, on Monday.

However, Bishop Naga has denied endorsing Shettima or a Muslim-Muslim ticket by the APC, insisting that the comments were taken out of context. This is also as he stated that he neither granted any interview to any journalist nor issued any press statement to that effect.

According to the bishop, the story which had gone viral was taken from what he said in 2017 when Boko Haram was devastating Borno State at a time when Shettima was the governor.

“I have not granted an interview to anybody and never issued any statement. Was it not yesterday (Sunday) they said they had appointed him (Shettima)?

“How come I granted interview at the APC secretariat?

“Nobody called me. No journalist called me, except when this thing happened, when the papers were carrying it viral, then people were calling me.

“Right now, I’m somehow angry and not even composed to talk very well. The story they are carrying was in 2017 when Boko Haram was devastating Borno when Kashim Shettima was the governor.

“They picked that story and I, being CAN chairman, they now levelled it against me.

“I am just framed up and I don’t even have trust speaking with journalists, including you, because I don’t know what else you will write,” the bishop lamented.