Civil society knocks el-Rufai on Muslim-Muslim ticket
Two civil society organisations, Campaign for Democracy and Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, have condemned Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State for approving Muslim-Muslim ticket as governorship candidates/running mate of the All Progressives Party for the state.
They asked the governor to consult with stakeholders in the state instead President Muhammadu Buhari.
The CD President, Usman Abdul, said considering the religious composition and tension in the state, it was not proper for el-Rufai to go with a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
The governor announced on Tuesday that he settled for Dr Hadiza Balarabe, a fellow Muslim, as his running mate for the 2019 election because she was the right person for the job.
El-Rufai had noted that he consulted Buhari before making his choice, saying his critics were people who did not vote for him in 2015.
But Abdul, said the governor must consider the cosmopolitan nature of the state and religious interests in his leadership.
He said, “Having gone through the antecedents in the state, I think it is wrong for the governor to pick a running mate who is a Muslim.
“He knows how cosmopolitan Kaduna is with almost all diverse religious interests. Having seen the population of Muslims and Christians in the state and the diverse interests coming for businesses in the state, it is not proper to have two Muslims governing the state.
“There is suspicion in the state already and this decision could worsen the situation. The President is not an indigene of the state and does not know the feelings of those at the grass roots. The crises erupting in the state are both political and religious. The governor must consult with his people and the stakeholders, not the President.”
Also, CACOL Director, Debo Adeniran, said, “We need to be sensitive to the sensibilities of the people. We need to listen to them. I think the governor needs to listen to the desires of his people and their tolerance.
“That he consulted with the President does not mean that the President will advise him otherwise. It is not the President he needs to consult but the stakeholders in the state.
“I believe that the governor must have done his own homework before such decision. Ordinarily, some of us believe that merit rather than primordial considerations should determine who does what in any public office.”
(PUNCH)
