Muslim-Muslim Ticket: Lalong Reacts, Writes Catholic Over Recent Comments (Details)

Lalong Has To Recent Comments Over Role In Tinubu’s Muslim-Muslim Ticket

EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, has written to Catholics, tendering an apology over comments he made referencing Pope Francis.

Recall that while defending his decision to accept his appointment as Director-General of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Lalong had told State House correspondents that as a born, baptised and confirmed Catholic, who has the highest award from the papacy, Knight of Saint Gregory the Great, the Pope has not told him there was anything wrong leading the campaign of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

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He had said, “For those who are talking about Muslim-Muslim ticket, I don’t even know where they are. I Hold a Papal Night and as a Catholic, everything we do, we do it and we send the advice to the Pope. The Pope has not told me that what I’m doing is bad as Director-General.”

His comments had received widespread backlash from Christians, especially Catholics, for dragging the name of the Holy Father into politics, with some calling for his suspension as a Papal Night for alleged blasphemy.

In a letter to the Catholic Church through the Bishops’ Conference, Lalong admitted making an error when he linked Pope Francis with Nigeria politics.

His letter read: “I have followed with some shock and deep regret, the reactions that have trailed my appointment as the Director-General of the Campaign Council for the presidential candidate of our party, the APC, Ahmed Tinubu, and his running mate, Ibrahim Shettima.

“The appointment, understandably was received with mixed reactions across the Christian community, who genuinely feel aggrieved by the decision of our party to settle for a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“While many people commended me for the appointment and saw it as a way of remaining within the system to fight for our own interests, others cast aspersions on it on the grounds that our faith had been insulted and denigrated.

“In the course of this, many of my opponents turned the issue into a political weapon with some spreading rumours and questioning the integrity of my credentials as a Catholic and a Papal Knight.

“In trying to make my case, I have granted interviews to justify why I believe that the appointment did not in any way undermine my commitment to the Catholic Church.

“During the week, in the course of defending myself, I had cause to make reference to my credentials as a Catholic and a Papal Knight. In the process, I made reference to the Holy Father. I now realise that this was an error on my part and has caused some level of concern and even embarrassment to many, especially the Members of the family of Papal Knights to which I belong.

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