The Northern States Christian Elders Forum (NOSCEF) has called on Nigerians, irrespective of ethno-religious differences to ensure that the same faith ticket for the 2023 general elections does not see the light of day.
The elders noted that if the same faith is not rendered useless in 2023, it may end up standing the test of time in subsequent elections in the country to further divide the people.
In his welcome address yesterday at the 2022 annual congress of the forum, the National Chairman of NOSCEF, Ejoga Inalegwu said: “It is our responsibility as Christians in the North to kill Muslim-Muslim ticket for the 2023 presidential election.”
The theme of the congress was “Politics Today: Which Way for Northern Christians?
Inalegwu also charged President Muhammadu Buhari to demonstrate national unity by appointing a Christian of Katsina State origin into a national position.
“We came into office when the attacks on Christians in the North and insecurity were at the peak and have witnessed further escalation of the deliberate attempt on the part of the governments to increasingly marginalize Christians in public appointments, economic patronage, political and social space.
“Unpatriotic politicians will use any formula they can apply to win an election, whether it hurts or not and promise to placate as APC is doing after all the pleas. They will discard any formula that makes them lose an election in the future.
“Make the single faith ticket unattractive for the future, by killing it now or render yourselves forever an irrelevant commodity in the election equation for the future.
“We enjoin all lovers of Nigeria across faith to reject the single faith ticket to frustrate politics of exclusion that is mindful of regional balance, but insensitive to faith inclusion.
“Insecurity in Kaduna has taken its toll on the attendance at the congress, we trust that at our next congress, the insecurity would have been overcome,” Inalegwu said.