A group of pastors in Abuja, under the aegis of Nigerian Coalition of Pastors for Good Leadership, have endorsed the APC’s Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for president.
The pastors, in a statement jointly signed by the coalition president, Apostle Babatunde Oguntimehin, and secretary, Revd Friday Obi, took the decision after a town hall meeting with some party chieftains of Tinubu’s support group, City Boy Movement.
The pastors said it was with a deep sense of duty that they had decided to make known their position on the coming national election, especially as it concerned the vexed issue of Muslim-Muslim ticket as adopted by the ruling APC.
They said their primary responsibility would be less arduous with a functional nation and a working system and that it was in view of this that they had not only considered it a civil responsibility, but also a noble cause to support and promote the candidates that could best serve the interest of the nation toward realising her dreams.
“For a start, we are fully in support of the power shift to South after President Muhammadu Buhari, a northerner, would have ruled for eight years. This is for equity and fairness as well as in the spirit of the existing unwritten rule to have power rotate between North and South.
“We were left to choose between His Excellencies Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Peter Gregory Obi, who are the frontline candidates from the South. After consideration of so many critical factors and wide consultation, we have decided to settle for the candidacy of Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima.
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“We have since noted that making religion or faith the top factor in choosing a candidate for the nation has never helped and will never help this nation. We cannot therefore sacrifice quality leadership on the altar of religion or tribe,” they said.
The pastors said it was therefore with sadness that they note the unnecessary controversies that had trailed the partnership of Tinubu and Shettima both of whom are Muslims.
“It would be pretentious and preposterous of the NCPGL to be dismissive of the concerns from some quarter over the Muslim-Muslim ticket. But it is important to urge Nigerians to look beyond religion in choosing the leadership of the nation,” they added in the statement obtained by The Punch.
According to them, their interaction here today had shown that politics goes beyond religion, saying that “we must look at capacity and who can get the job done in today’s Nigeria. We must focus on capacity and professionalism. The moment we start introducing ethnic and religious sentiments, it wouldn’t give us the needed transparency to run good governance.”
credit: PM News
