A religious group, the Christian Organisation of Nigeria (CON) has declared its support for a former Governor of Zamfara State, Abdulaziz Yari, as the next Senate president.
The group’s message was contained in a statement jointly signed by CON President, Apostle Paul Nwokoro and Secretary General, Dr Mathew Arowolo on Thursday.
The clerics urged senators-elect to disregard those trying to use divide-and-rule tactics and religious sentiments to discourage lawmakers from voting Yari as the next Senate president.
“The 10th Nigerian Senate is not a place where cheap religious sentiments can fly hence propaganda machinery deployed to hoodwink Senators-elect into supporting a failed project is dead on arrival. We, therefore, call on the Senators-elect to jettison all such endorsements. Nigeria is our common patrimony and we must rise up to endorse only candidates who have not sold their souls,” the statement said.
Politics Nigeria understands that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has thrown its weight behind former Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Senator Godswill Akpabio, for the Senate president position and Senator Jibrin Barau as deputy.
The ruling party’s zoning arrangement sparked reactions from other aspirants in the including Yari, who threatened to go against the APC’s position if status quo is maintained.
According to the group, Nwokoro noted that after a critical assessment, it found Yari to be the most qualified for the Senate President position irrespective of his religious background.
The clerics commended the senator-elect stand of rejecting APC’s zoning arrangement and advised lawmakers to vote according to their conscience.
