The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, says it is “sad and pathetic” that Nigerians remained fixated on the religion of political office holders.
El-Rufai made the assertion on a Channels Television programme while weighing in on the feasibility of a Muslim-Muslim ticket for the APC in 2023.
Some powerful interest groups including the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have called on the APC and PDP, which have Muslim candidates, to pick Christian vice presidential candidates.
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However, there have been speculations that the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola TInubu, who is a Muslim, could pick a Northern Muslim as his running mate.
Asked to react to the speculation, El-Rufai noted that religion should not be prioritised in choosing a running mate.
“I don’t look at people from the lens of Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian, some of my closest friends are Christians.
“It was Pastor Tunde Bakare, a pentecostal pastor, who took me to CPC, not President Muhammadu Buhari. I’m very close to Pastor Bakare. I’m very close to many Christians.
“I don’t think the business of governance has to do with religion. I think we should look for the best person for the job. The person who will get the job done.
“I’m the wrong person to ask that question because in my state I picked a very competent and qualified woman as my running mate in the 2019 elections.
“But just because she happens to be a Muslim, people were calling it Muslim-Muslim ticket and they said we are going to lose. We didn’t. We won overwhelmingly.
“This fixation of Nigerians with religion instead of competence, capacity and capability is quite sad and pathetic and I urge you as the media to take religion out of governance and let’s look for capacity, competence and delivery.
“I don’t think we should be looking at religion. We want to develop this country. When I get into a plane I don’t ask about the religion of the pilot. When I go to the hospital, I don’t ask about the religion of the doctor. I just want to get well and get to my destination even on an aircraft.
“Nigeria is at crossroads. We face very serious dangers in security, economic meltdown, and global issues affecting us. All that people are concerned with as far as who will be president and vice-president, is religion.
“It is not our religion that will solve our problems. It is people who are competent, capable that will address Nigeria’s problems, unite the country and put it on a progressive path,” El-Rufai said.
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