John Shiklam in Kaduna
The governorship candidate of New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), Senator Suleiman Hunkuyi, has urged residents of the state to reject governorship candidates promoting religion and tribal sentiments for the March 18 election.
Speaking with journalists in Kaduna yesterday, Hunkuyi warned of the dangers of using religion and ethnicity for electioneering campaigns in a complex state like Kaduna.
According to him, “using religion or tribal antics in a complex state such as Kaduna for electioneering was dangerous to democracy.”
He called on the electorates to be wary of candidates deploying religion or tribal sentiments to get their support for the governorship election.
Hunkuyi also condemned the endorsement of candidates by religious bodies and questioned the rationale behind jostling for the endorsement of religious leaders by some governorship candidates.
He urged voters to shun divisive politics and vote for a credible candidate that will move the state forward in terms of development.
The NNPP governorship candidate who dismissed allegations that he was also running on a Muslim-Muslim ticket, said if elected, he will operate an all inclusive government that would carry everybody along irrespective of age, religion and tribe.
He said, claims and counterclaims by both the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, that their candidates were endorsed by some clerics, were aimed at deceiving the electorates.
“Where do we go from here where a governor that will emerge after the poll will be tagged a governor for Christians or a governor for Muslims in this metropolitan state?”
“Kaduna State is known as the centre of learning; therefore, I don’t expect any sensible person whether citizen or resident of the state to be carried away by religious and tribal sentiments,” he said.
He added that he believes in a state “where nobody is treated as a second class citizen for the purpose of peace and unity; progress, growth and development.”
