Ahead of 2019, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on Nigerians, especially in Kaduna state, to ensure that they vote people with credibility and integrity in the forthcoming general elections.
Speaking yesterday when he received the leadership of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kaduna state Council on a courtesy visit, the state secretary of CAN, Rev. Sunday Ibrahim, said the election should be based on individual performances and not on party affiliations.
“Nigerians must be prepared to vote credible people and not criminals that will continue to tell us lies when they get there. Voting pattern this time around should be based on individual performances and not on party platform. Politicians must learn from the 2015 experience, whoever wins should be allowed to lead and whoever loses must accept defeat in good faith.
“Today, we have a lot of hunger in the land, Nigerians are suffering and our leaders seem to be comfortable with what is happening. What we need in 2019 is a complete shift from what we are having now and the only way to do it is for Nigerians to obtain the Permanent Voter Cards and use it appropriately when the time comes,” he said.
Speaking on the clashes between Fulani herdsmen and farmers across the country, Ibrahim condemned the attitude of the federal and state governments in handling the crisis, lamenting that the nation “has shed enough blood in the several attacks, thus government should stop the killings and attacks.”
“The federal government has consistently told us that these Fulani herdsmen attackers are foreigners. They said the attackers are members of the Islamic State of West Africa ISWA who are on jihad mission. If that is true it then means that the government of Nigeria has failed us. But we are saying that enough of this bloodshed in our land.
“For us, we will continue to tell the populace the truth. And we will continue to partner with the Kaduna NUJ.”
The NUJ chairman, Comrade Adamu Yusuf, told the CAN secretary that the visit became necessary in view of the recent happenings in the state and the NUJ’s desire for peace in the state.
He said Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and CAN were the two religious bodies in the country that had the largest followers.
Yusuf urged both bodies to “make good use of such advantage in achieving peace in the state and Nigeria at large,” assuring CAN that “NUJ will continue to partner with the two religious bodies to achieve lasting peace in the state.”
