Controversies have surrounded the conversations as to picking a vice-president from people of opposite faiths in order to allow for the inclusion of ethnic and religious divides.
Various groups including the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Catholic Society of Nigeria have warned political parties against fielding a Muslim-Muslim ticket in the 2023 presidential election.
However, Kalu, while addressing journalists at the National Assembly on Wednesday, told Christians that there was nothing to fear as Bola Tinubu’s wife is a pastor who would always have the interest of the people at heart.
He said, “If I am in Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s position, the wife is a pastor in a Pentecostal Church. I will go for a Muslim-Muslim ticket. The most important thing is for the party to win. We should stop this rubbish about religion.
“If we win, already the wife is a pastor and they have been living together for over 40 years. These are facts. So, don’t blame anyone, Tinubu’s wife is already like a deputy president. I am saying my opinion. I am a Catholic. This is Orji Kalu’s opinion. You cannot deny me my opinion.”
He added that it wasn’t about a person’s religion but the person’s conscience and more importantly for the party to win.
He added, “But you can also play Christian-Christian ticket, depending on the scenario. Because, if we don’t play the Muslim-Muslim ticket, we are in trouble, and it will be difficult to win the election because the only thing left for Ahmed Tinubu today is to play a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
“I know the church I go to, the Catholic secretary may not be happy about this but what is wrong with Muslim-Muslim ticket? I don’t see anything wrong with it. There is nothing wrong with a Christian-Christian ticket, it depends on the condition. The condition we find ourselves in today is that you cannot play two minorities.
“Tinubu is a minority Muslim from the South, if you put a minority from the North, the minority can’t get it. It is difficult. What I am telling you is my position, it is not the position of my party. This is Orji Kalu’s position.”
“Let me tell you, in my house, my wife is the head of the house in reality. Even you men that are here, now that your wives aren’t here, they are the head. Like if I wear this clothe, my wife will tell me, ‘My dear, this clothe is not good remove it.’ Your wife will tell you, you are supposed to eat Akara and Akamu, whether you argue with her, you must take that Akamu and your wife want you to pay children’s school fees, whether you argue or not, you must pay.
“The Christians should relax because Tinubu’s wife is a pastor and once she’s a pastor, we are protected because she’s not a housewife. She has political knowledge,” he said.
Tinubu’s wife, who currently represents Lagos Central in the Senate, was ordained an Assistant Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in 2018.
