Vote your conscience, Sultan, CAN advise Nigerians

Prominent religious leaders on Wednesday advised Nigerians to get their permanent voter cards and be prepared to vote conscientiously in the February 25 presidential election.

They included the Sultan of Sokoto and the President General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar; and the President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Archbishop Daniel Okoh.

The clergy spoke in Abuja at the Interfaith Dialogue Forum for Peace’s 5th Annual Peace Conference and General Assembly on the theme of ‘Religion and Ethnicity: Securing the 2023 General Election’.

Abubakar, represented by the Director of Administration, NSCIA, Zubairu Usman, urged people not to be guided by primal feelings, but by their conscience.

He said, ‘We are Nigerians first before anything else. So, Nigerians should go get their PVCs, behave peacefully, go to the polling stations on election days and vote wisely and according to their conscience.”

Okoh, represented by Rev. Benebo Fubara-Manuel, also said that despite CAN’s zero tolerance on the same faith presidential ticket issue, Nigerians should listen to God and vote according to their conscience.

He said: “Individuals will vote according to their conscience. Vote for the person God has placed in your heart as the leader of the country, even if CAN say no to the same belief card.

“CAN has not said no to our conscience. It only says to us; listen to your God. Look at the country and its economy and find the best leader.

“Why did CAN say no to the same belief card? It’s to ease the tension to make sure political parties play out in a way that we as a nation are able to manage our diverse religious and ethnic consciousness.

Earlier, IDPF co-chairs Bishop Sunday Onuoha and Alhaji Kunle Sanni urged political actors to stop any plot to rig the election process.