Election: Presidential candidates engaging in political exploitation of religion

Two days to the much-anticipated presidential election, a former lawmaker, Senator Shehu Sani, has said that the candidates are engaging in the political exploitation of religion.

Sani, who represented Kaduna Central in the 8th Senate, stated this in a tweet on Thursday.

He said that this was evident in the scramble by the presidential candidates to get the endorsement of Islamic and Christian leaders, a practice he described as “crude”.

Recall that Dr Paul Enenche, the Founder of Dunamis International Gospel Church recently endorsed the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, for Saturday’s presidential election.

Acting under the aegis of Rivers Pastors Unite for Tinubu, over 100 clerics and prophets in Rivers State endorsed the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Monday.

Rising from a Kano meeting on Wednesday, Amalgamated Union of Islamic Scholars endorsed the presidential candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

Reacting to the flurry of endorsements, Sani said, “The desperation by the Presidential candidates to get the endorsement of Islamic and Christian leaders in Nigeria has never been as crude as this time in our political history.

“The political exploitation of religion is what is happening here.”

The desperation by the Presidential candidates to get the endorsement of Islamic and Christian leaders in Nigeria has never been as crude as this time in our political history.The Political exploitation of religion is what is happening here.

— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) February 23, 2023