According to the group, "the composition of gubernatorial candidates and their running mates has relegated adherents of the Christian religion to the background, even when they constitute a formidable number in the state".
In a statement made public by its publicity secretary, Mr. J.A Gusadi, the CYF states that it is worried by the trend in Niger state "where same faith gubernatorial candidatures by dominant political parties in favour of Muslims is prevalent at the detriment of other religions".
Gusadi asked political players in the state and elder statesmen to review the decisions by the major political parties in order to reflect inclusiveness, which he said, will bring to an end “this worrisome trend of marginalization and inhuman treatment by our Muslim brothers to forestall any resentments that may lead to chaos in future”.
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Fairness and justice
According to him, “in advanced democracies as practiced by civilised nations the world over, especially corporate entities, the diversity of such nations in terms of all forms of differences including ethnic and religion, constitutes the rallying point.
“If democracy is about representation of the people no matter their affiliations then let all players in Niger state be engaged in an all inclusive approach since the system is of the people, by the people and for the people.
“Recall that Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, Niger state chapter had on the 11th of October, through a press statement requested for a reflection of fairness and justice in the pairing of governorship candidates by ensuring that all parties field either a Christian/Muslim ticket or a Muslim/Christian ticket.
“The outright disregard to the request by CAN is not acceptable by us, as it does not portray the state in its right composition and the decision is viewed as a total disregard on the collective intelligence of hard working thousands of Christians in Nigeria state”, he stated.
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Capable hands
Gusadi further said, “We have capable hands in various fields of endeavour who are willing to contribute immensely to the development of our dear state, hence we are requesting that both APC and PDP reconsider their decision of featuring same faith tickets and tap on the willingness and commitment of the Christian community to partner with every well meaning indigene of the state to build the Niger state of our dream.
“Muslim - Muslim candidature does not truly reflect the composition of Niger state, which by our own estimation is about 50/50% for the two major faiths. All manner of people in the state must be given a sense of belonging in the interest of justice and fair play.
“We are committed to teaming up with our Muslim brothers to work assiduously to deliver dividends of democracy to the good people of Niger state.
“We, by this statement call on the major actors to demonstrate their independence and executive powers to make immediate changes to reflect our request and grant us all the opportunity to build the state together”.
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Niger State in north central Nigeria, is almost evenly split between the two dominant religions of Christianity and Islam. Religious and sectarian crises are common in the central states of Nigerian over scarce resources and grazing land.
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