Be mindful of Nigeria’s diversity, Northern Christian Elders caution presidential candidates on choice of running mate

Damilola Aina, Abuja

Daily Courier – The Northern Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF) has once again, sounded a note of warning to presidential candidates of all political parties that the country’s diversity should be taken into consideration while choosing their running mates.

NOSCEF in its Democracy Day message to the nation, signed by its President, Engineer Ejoga Oyinehi Inalegwu, and made available to newsmen on Friday June 10, 2022, cautioned that Muslim-Muslim, Christian-Christian tickets would be insensitive.

“We therefore appeal to all patriotic Presidential Candidates to avoid manipulative but dangerous and insensitive Muslim/ Muslim ticket or Christian/Christian ticket that will further polarize the nation along religious lines when Nigerians are looking forward, with great expectations for a new dawn, come 2023.

“A new era and government devoid of politics of exclusion, discrimination and injustice,” NOSCEF said.

NOSCEF said they have watched with keen interest, particularly the emergence of various Presidential candidates on the platform of various parties for the 2023 general elections in Nigeria.

“We congratulate all the parties.

“As the parties therefore, make efforts to meet the deadline for the submission of their presidential and vice-presidential candidates, NOSCEF wants to again appeal to political parties to be sensitive to the mood of the nation, the religious diversity of our people and show patriotism by avoiding any action that will throw up our lines of divide, merely to win elections rather than steps that will unite our nation.

“We want to believe that anyone with the credentials to rule this nation from 2023, should be sensitive enough and not be a candidate that would take us back to our religious divides, through the instrument of Christian/Christian ticket or Muslim/Muslim ticket. We do not expect any patriot to, by so doing, again open the wounds for our past bitter religious divides.

“We need, as a nation, a united front to forge a new Nigeria, that will bring people together across religious divides because we do not lack quality across the religious and regional divides,” it insisted.