The Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has assured the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, that if elected, he would not run his administration on the basis of religion.
Tinubu stated this in a meeting with CAN leadership in Abuja on Wednesday.
He assured them that the same way his administration did not discriminate against anyone on the basis of tribe, religion or gender when he was Lagos governor, he would not start discriminating as president.
A statement signed by Tinubu’s media adviser, Tunde Rahman, said the leadership of CAN under President Daniel Ukoh presented a charter of demands and issues to the APC presidential candidate.
They demanded among other things, state police or a decentralized policing system, devolution of power to states, equal rights for all religions and their adherents, right to self-determination by all ethnic groups, right to control natural resources by communities that bear them, no to open grazing, and equitable electoral system that guarantees the right to vote and be voted for by all.
Tinubu said, “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.
“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.
“As such, I see all Nigerians as equals and as brothers and sisters in our national family. This means no one is inherently inferior or superior to anyone else, regardless of faith, place of origin, social status and gender. Anyone who does not hold this fair and equitable view, should not run for president in a country such as ours,” he said.
According to the APC presidential candidate, “I did not choose Senator Shettima so that we could form a same faith ticket.
“I offer a confession. I selected Senator Shettima thinking more about who would best help me govern. Picking a Christian running mate would have been politically easier. But the easy way is rarely the right one. The selection of a running mate is at once a very momentous yet very intimate decision.
“What I am saying is that the times we inhabit do not lend themselves to the good or adequate.”