Oham Precious
…urge electorates to vote merit, competence, experience
A Northern Christian group, Progressive Christian Clerics, North-West Zone, said it has thrown their weight behind the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The group with members drawn from the 19 northern states including the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, said Nigerians should be concerned with candidates that have merit and competence to lead the country.
In a statement by the North-West Zonal Chairman, Reverend Moses Bitrus, in Kaduna, decried that religion should not be the basis for electing a President and his running mate.
The group added that their decision was informed on the proven track records of the candidates during their tenure as governors of Lagos and Borno states respectively.
The statement reads in part: “Nigeria is collapsing and needs leaders with proven track record of performance that are adequately equipped to fight the threats by insurgency with all seriousness.We need committed leaders with the capacity to deliver on campaign promises without excuses once elected.
“These among several reasons are why we disagreed with Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and other churches kicking against the issue of Muslim -Muslim Ticket.
”Though Nigeria is a cosmopolitan state with a multi-ethnic and religious diversity, it is high time we begin to speak about leadership on the basis of merit, competence, experience and record of performance in choice of who leads across all tiers of government. “
“The records of their examplary leadership in the area of religious tolerance, economic development and other indices of development are in the public domain.
“We therefore resolve to stand by our faith that preach love for our neighbours and peaceful coexistence without any fear of intimidation to urge Nigerians to vote on basis of record of performance and not religion.”