By Hammed Shittu in Ilorin
The Council of Church Leaders and Ministers on Monday expressed disappointment with the choice of a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 election.
The group said the behaviour of the political class in the country most of the time evidently shows that personal ambition and interest are the overriding goal and not patriotism.
Speaking at a press conference in Ilorin on the state of the nation, the chairman of the council, Pastor Abel Aiyedogbon, said “our political leaders are not sensitive to the feelings of the citizens of the country”.
He queried: “How will anybody think about fielding candidates of the same religion for the first and the second place when the constitution of the country recognizes secularity.
“One will not be wrong to say that trampling on the religious rights of Nigerians is manifest in the idea of the Muslim-Muslim ticket, which some people are now championing.
“It should be noted that people maligned and presented as inconsequential are not likely to forget.
“The suggestion of a Muslim-Muslim ticket is all about impunity and a callous, and most importantly, it is a lack of consideration for others.
“It is a form of religious intolerance to even contemplate either a Muslim-Muslim ticket or Christian-Christian ticket”.
He added that, “Any party that thinks or believes that the Christian population can be ignored without consequences will be doing so to her peril.
“One may ask; As the case presents, does it mean that the Northern Christians have no electoral value?
“Contrary to the perception of some political leaders who believe that religion will not be a factor in the choice of presidential running mate, this body, we hasten to warn that any party that underrates our electoral value will be doing so to her disadvantage.
“The political class can decide to field whosoever they like just as much as we have our right to vote candidate of our choice”.
