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From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has formally written to all political parties to register their unacceptance of the plan by some political parties to field candidates from same religion, Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian, for the 2023 presidential elections.
CAN General Secretary, Joseph Daramola, who signed the letter recognized the exclusive right of political parties to choose their candidates for general elections as contained in the constitution and the electoral law, but stated that such rights call for a deep sense of responsibility and accountability.
He noted that, in exercising such rights, party members ought to be sensitive and promote the common good of the people, insisting that good politics is about promoting the common good, not only about promoting self-interest.
The CAN scribe said: “As servants of God, our responsibility is to watch carefully, pray intensely and speak truth about the workings of constitutional arrangements. And as umbrella body of Christians in Nigeria, we call on all the presidential candidates to choose men or women of alternative religion as their runningmates.
“CAN will not accept any presidential ticket that is Christian-Christian or Muslim- Muslim. This simply means that where the presidential candidate of the party is a Christian, the deputy should be a Muslim; and where the presidential candidate is a Muslim, the deputy should be a Christian.
“There should not be a situation where the presidential ticket of a political party in Nigeria, whether a major or minor party, will be two Christians as presidential candidate and runningmate, or two Muslims as presidential candidate and runningmate.
“We must try as much as possible to douse religious and ethnic tensions in the land. Anything short of a Christian-Muslim or Muslim-Christian ticket is an undisguised effort to nurture religious conflicts and destabilize the country.
“Whereas CAN is not a partisan organization and does not involve itself with the process of partisan politics, it has a responsibility to defend the religious freedom of Nigerian citizens, whether Christians or not. CAN has a responsibility to speak out and mobilize civic action against threats to the unity, peace and security of the Nigerian state.
“We, therefore, give notice to all political parties that we will protect the religious diversity of the Nigerian state and will mobilize politically against any political party that sows the seed of religious conflict by presenting to Nigerians, a presidential ticket that is Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian.
“We will consider such action as a declaration of war against the freedom of religion, the peace and security of the Nigerian state. We will, equally, consider such insensitive action as evidence of a deliberate action to plunge the country further into religious violence and extremism and destroy the foundations of the continuation of the Nigerian state.
“As the presidential candidates prepare to nominate their runningmates, we sound the note of warning, through this letter, that only a diversified presidential ticket will be acceptable to Nigeria in line with the constitutional requirement of power sharing and the responsibility of sensitivity to Nigeria’s deep religious diversity.”
He prayed that God will give the political elites the wisdom to seek peace and prosperity for the mistreated citizens of Nigeria and avoid the path of provocations that could lead to violent conflict.
