The Northern Christian Youth Initiative (NCYI) has condemned the activities of politicians using religion to campaign for 2023 elections.
The group, in a statement Friday signed by its convener, Mike Msuaan, condemned the campaign allegedly championed by a former speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, in the wake of the same- faith ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the group, such a campaign could plunge the country into a religious war.
Msuaan alleged that the duo of Dogara and Lawal were staunch supporters of the candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He said “as a matter of fact, Babachir Lawal authored very damaging write-ups against the Vice president of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo; himself a Christian and a presidential aspirant in the APC primary that produced Tinubu.”
“Babachir Lawal demeaned his fellow Christian in support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is a Muslim.
“We did not find both Hon. Yakubu Dogara and Babachir Lawal canvassing votes for any Christian candidate during the APC primary. We expect the duo who have become accidental defenders of the Christian faith to have stood for either, Prof Osibanjo or Hon. Rotimi Amaechi who were also top presidential contenders during the party primary.
“We expect that people who have held such exalted positions like those held by Hon. Dogara and Babachir Lawal in the past would be cautious in sowing seeds of division, be it religious, ethnic or regional.
“Hon. Dogara was not elected as a member of the House of Representative and subsequently the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the basis of his faith, neither was Babachir Lawal appointed SGF because of his region,” the statement read in part.
