I have Never, Will Run My Administration on Religious Basis -Tinubu
Track Upnews17 November 2022
The Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Wednesday assured the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria his readiness to run his administration without without religious sentiment if elected President of Nigeria.
This Was Contained in a press Statement made available to newsmen by his Media Officer, Tunde Rahman.
According to the statement, Tinubu met with the CAN leadership in Abuja on Wednesday at an interactive session and assured them that his administration will maintain his previous administrate style as the governor of Lagos State where everyone irrespective of his or her religious background or gender were given equal opportunity to thrive.
The leadership of CAN under new president Daniel Ukoh on behalf of the body however demanded among others, state police or a decentralized policing system, devolution of power to states, equal rights for all religions and their adherents.
CAN who said no to open grazing also demanded for the right to self-determination by all ethnic groups, right to control natural resources by communities that bear them, equitable electoral system that guarantees the right to vote and be voted for by all.
Earlier on, Tinubu has said his belief in the need for secular government and faith-based organizations to work in unison is not something he adopted recently to benefit his campaign.
“As Governor of Lagos, I partnered with the Christian to improve lives and foster education. For instance, I returned mission schools to their owners, most of who are Christians. “I instituted yearly Christian Denomination Service at the Governor’s residence as we approached the New Year. This tradition continues in Lagos. “More importantly, we fostered an atmosphere of religious tolerance and inter-faith collaboration. My cabinet was diverse and talented. “In the exercise of government, I did not give a thought to whether a team member was Christian or Muslim, Yoruba, Igbo or Arewa. “I have never lent myself to baseless prejudice and discrimination. To do so would be a recipe for failure in the governance of a diverse society and I am not a man that is familiar with failing.”I never chased people out of Lagos nor made them feel unwanted. Under my administration Lagos welcomed all comers and continues to do so today.”After me, Lagos has had one Muslim and two Christian governors. I may not be perfect. What human being is? But I am not a petty man secretly wedded to secret biases and prejudices. he explained.
The APC presidential Candidates says he sees all Nigerians as equals and as brothers and sisters in the national family as no one is inherently inferior or superior to anyone else, regardless of faith, place of origin, social status and gender. Tinubu who said the Christian body has a great role as the moral compass of the society which he cherishes and will always support assured the Christian body that he made the choice of Kashim Shettima as his running mate because that was the best available at his disposal without recourse to religious sentiments.
“I did not choose Senator Shettima so that we could form a same faith ticket. The ticket was constructed as a same progressive and people- based ideology ticket. He explained that his Runjing Mate is a brilliant man with superior intellectual capacity. He is studious and detailed oriented. Enjoying excellent organization skills and fully understands the vital difference between governance and politics.“This exceptionally gifted human being has humility of spirit, courage of his convictions and a strongly progressive world view in harmony with my own perspectives on government and its relationship to the governed. I trust the calibre of the man. I know the great lengths he went in fighting Boko Haram in his state. He did his best to protect the Christian community and rebuilt damaged churches. He further explained.
