Adelowo Oladipo
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Niger State chapter has urged the Christian faithful in the State to vote for only credible candidates at the governorship and State Assembly elections of March 18, 2023.
The Christian body in a statement signed by the Media Aide to the CAN Chairman, Daniel Atori on Sunday, stated that such candidates should be those who would ensure development and peaceful co-existence among the people.
According to the statement, “we enjoin everyone to vote for candidates of your choice, who must ensure quality education and free healthcare for the people”.
“The Candidates and Parties have done their own, it is now our turn to do our own; By now, we should all know the difference between day and night. But let it be known that Christians can not be relegated, we are as important as everyone and our votes must count”.
The statement added further that after consultation and collaboration with the National Body, the State chapter of CAN, decided that members must consider candidates’ character, competence, capacity and policies before deciding on who to vote for.
“The candidate must be God-fearing, honest and respectful of the rule of law, justice and fairness for all, and must have respect for religious and ethnic diversity.
“Vote for the candidate who has shown a sense of belonging to all faith in the State, because this is the time to look out for those who have respect for the body of Christ as a show of equity, fairness, partnership and peaceful coexistence in the State.
“The candidate must be compassionate, disciplined and live a credible lifestyle; must not be cultists, religious fanatics, or involved in illicit drugs and must not have a relationship with bandits and thugs,” it maintained.
The CAN Chairman who doubles as the Catholic Bishop of Kontagora Diocese further urged eligible registered voters who are members of the faith based Organization to consider the antecedents of candidates in terms of performance in positions they occupied in the past,saying that “the preferred candidates must be those who can guarantee internal security, religious neutrality, and enforcement of fundamental rights and be fair in appointments.”
Furthermore, the statement called on Nigerlites especially Christians to choose any day between Wednesday and Friday to fast and pray for the success of the elections.