By Elohor Igbru
If Smart Adeyemi, the Senator representing Kogi West in the Nigerian senate has his way, with a new bill he is proposing, the nomination of people of the same faith in a joint ticket would be prohibited.
If it passes into law- and we strongly doubt this- then presidential and gubernatorial candidates in Nigeria will not be able to nominate people of the same faith as running mates.
This thinking is riding on the back of the nomination by the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, who chose former governor of Borno, a Kanuri Muslim as running mate.
The move continues to divided not just the party but the nation as a whole and may be a major Archiles heels in the 2023 elections for the ruling party.
But Adeyemi speaking at an event on Sunday is proposing a law to ban such divisive nominations.
He said: “I hereby propose an amendment of section 84 of the Electoral Act 2022 by inserting a new sub-section 3,” NAN quoted him as saying.
“When this is accommodated, it will serve as a guide against any oversight such as this in the future, as further occurrences will be deemed as silent policies which will be capable of bringing down the fabrics of the nation. For me, as a statesman, I owe myself the responsibility to speak the truth at all times, irrespective of mischievous misinterpretations.”
“But we must not confront these issues in such a manner that will obstruct the fabric of our national unity, peace and stability which we have all fought very hard to keep,” he said.
“Yes, there have been oversights in key appointments in the past, which tends to keep the Christians at a disadvantage, and this has caused apprehension amongst us.
“However, let us, in unity of faith in our nation and above all, in the almighty God, give our support to the APC presidential and vice-presidential candidates to pilot the affairs of our nation within the stipulated time.”
