The Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, CSN has issued a stern warning to Political Parties against presenting a ‘Muslim-Muslim’ Ticket in 2023.
This is coming amidst calls for a ‘Muslim-Muslim’ Ticket in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. It can be recalled that the National leader of the party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the 2023 presidential flagbearer of the party.
The Statement on Tuesday signed by the Secretary-General, Very Rev. Fr. Zacharia Nyantiso Samjumi and the Director for Social Communications, Very Rev. Fr. Michael Nsikak Umoh, kicked against the agenda in light of the current situation in the country “that has unfortunately been badly polarized.”
The statement read in part; “We must not lose sight of the fact that the unity of this country has, over the years, been maintained by a delicate balancing of the religious and the regional,”.
“Some individuals have tried to suggest the Muslim-Muslim ticket for the Presidential election in a country like Nigeria that has unfortunately been badly polarized.”
The statement made reference to reference to past governments in Nigeria’s history, noting that even in the “despotic military era, most juntas ensured a balance of the religious architecture in their regimes” including their choice of the heads of the various military formations and the different government parastatals.
The Catholic Secretariat said that there is nothing ordinarily wrong with a Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian ticket in a democratic dispensation where there is mutual trust and respect for the human person, and the common good is the overriding desire of those seeking political office, however, “one cannot really say so of our country at the moment.”
They called on political parties to present a more inclusive ticket, cautioning that a Muslim-Muslim ticket “would be most insensitive and a tacit endorsement of the negative voices of many non-state actors who have been threatening [the] nation’s unity and peaceful coexistence without an arrest.”
“In pursuit of peace, it is imperative to remind everyone that all Nigerians, irrespective of creed or region, are equal,” CSN insisted, adding that as such, “there must be sensitivity in the spread of political positions without compromising competence.”
