El-Rufai wants politicians using religion as campaign tool punished

The governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has stressed the need to punish politicians using religion as a campaign tool.

The governor spoke yesterday in Kaduna at the commissioning ceremony of the head office of the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development.

He expressed concern over the way and manner some politicians were using religion and ethnicity to create division in their campaigns.

He said the 2023 elections presented a unique opportunity for Nigerians to take religion out of politics.

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El-Rufai also called on royal fathers and scholars to pray to God to choose the best leader that will unite and move the country forward in the forthcoming general elections in February, 2023.

He further called on the royal fathers and scholars to communicate to the people the absolute need to ensure that future elections did not centre on religion but on what a person could do to improve the lot of the ordinary.

“People are united in their poverty, in their need for education, in decent healthcare and to put food on their table, that is what we should focus on but some people are holding meetings to promote religious and ethnic division. That is the last thing Nigeria needs at a time when the whole world is facing challenges of ultra-nationalism and global supply chain disruption.”

He then asked for forgiveness, saying, “We try to do what is right but only God is right, my apologies to anyone that I have offended, we have five months to go and I will like to leave and sleep in peace.”

The Sultan of Sokoto and grand patron of the foundation, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar said the foundation has been engaging with various stakeholders and working towards uplifting the standard of living of the ummah.

The coordinator of the foundation and Emir of Argungu, Alhaji Samaila Muhammad Mere commended the governor of Kaduna State for allocating the land for the construction of the foundation’s head office and also donating N25 million to support the building.