Plateau Governor Simon Lalong has dismissed claims that Catholic Pope Francis has told him to reject to serve as Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential campaign Organisation.
Governor Lalong told State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, that he also didn’t lobby to run as vice presidential candidate of the party.
The Governor, who disclosed he met with Buhari to thank him for approving the University of Jos as a national cancer centre, said being an ardent member of the Catholic faith, the Pope cannot be angry with his decision to accept the job.
A group under the aegis of Concerned Christians on the Plateau (CCP) called on Lalong to reject the offer to serve as the Director General of APC presidential campaign council, threatening Plateau Christians will not support him in ”the suspicious engagement or assignment.”
Lalong, who maintained he respects his faith as a Christian, noted that he was elected Governor for people of all faiths and non-believers, adding since politics is about interest, he is a member of the APC and will not engage in anti-party activities.
He said when he returned to Jos upon his appointment as the DG recently, the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), welcomed him.
The Governor said he is not sure where those who claimed to be Christians are opposing his appointment as against their faith are coming from.