By; TINA PHINEAS, Yola
The Chairman Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Adamawa State chapter, Bishop Stephen Dami Mamza, has said that the agitation for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket in some quarters is discriminatory.
Mamza, who stated this while addressing newsman, explained that it has become necessary to address the press regarding the present political situation in the country, particularly the issue of choosing running mates by the two major political parties, People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).
He said that there are lots of debates in the ruling political party about running Muslim-Muslim ticket, saying Nigeria has passed the stage of Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian tickets.
“Nigeria of 1993, during the time Abiola and Kingibe is different from the Nigeria of 2022 or 2023.
So if you talk about Muslim-Muslim ticket, it is discriminatory. It is a kind of politics of exclusion and there is no need to play such in Nigeria” he warned.
He said that everybody needs to be carried along, saying that there are both Muslims and Christians in the South and the North respectively, saying that majority of Muslims are in the North, while the majority of Christians are in the South.
According to him, that does not mean that there are no indigenous Christians in the North or indigenous Muslims in the South, saying for someone to think of running Muslim-Muslim ticket is discriminatory and dead on arrival.
He disclosed that he is speaking the minds of Christians not only in Adamawa, but across the nation, saying that if that happens, the party should not expect Christian votes.
He said that it is also the same thing with Christian-Christian ticket, adding that if a Christian-Christian ticket happens, Muslims should not vote for that political party because they do not want a situation where the country will be divided.
He said that some governors are saying that they have done it in their states and nothing happens, saying that people who live in those states face a lot of frustration, tension and lack of inclusion.
Bishop Mamza, stated that for a party to win election in 2023, it should be Muslim-Christian or Christian-Muslim ticket; otherwise, no amount of rigging can make a Muslim-Muslim ticket to win election.
