Okogie tells Tinubu, voters will vote their conscience
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Anthony Cardinal Olubunmi Okogie, former Archbishop of the Catholic Church, a lifelong critic of bad governance now aged 86, has reminded Bola Tinubu that sentiments about ethnicity and religion are key factors in Nigerian politics.
And he urged the electorate to vote for political parties and their candidates in the 2023 general elections based on these sentiments.
Okogie is also a former Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) President.
He stood up to the excesses of both military and civilian administrations in his vibrant and active heyday as a social critic and was well respected by the authorities.
Asked about the Islamic foray by Tinubu with Kashim Shettima as his presidential running mate on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Okogie said:
“Put simply, competence should be the defining factor for any government and not ethnoreligious sentiments. Unfortunately, ethnoreligious sentiments play a key role in Nigeria’s politics.
“In the final analysis, the voters make the choice, so whatever impression and/or expression about any of the candidates and political parties should be expressed by either voting for or against them.”
_______________________________________________________________
Related articles:
Lawal insists Tinubu’s Muslim cockup attacks Christians
Northern Christians rail against Tinubu’s Taliban takeover
Borno CAN rejects Tinubu’s Islamist time bomb
__________________________________________________________________
Abuja Catholic Archdiocese denies endorsing Shettima
Okogie spoke to The PUNCH, which also reports that the Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja describes as false claims that Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama endorsed Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate.
Archdiocese Communications Director Fr. Patrick Alumuku clarified this in a statement titled, “Archbishop Kaigama Endorses Shettima: A Disclaimer”.
Gombe CAN condemns Muslim-Muslim ticket
Gombe CAN chapter has also condemned the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC.
State CAN Chairman Rev. Fr. Joseph Shinga described it as an act geared towards disintegrating Nigeria.
He said the current political climate does not support same-faith presidential ticket, pointing out that President Muhammadu Buhari has divided the country along religious and ethnic lines.
