2023 polls shouldn’t be do-or-die affair, CAN tells politicians

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 northern states and the federal capital territory (FCT), says presidential candidates should not see the 2023 general election as a do-or-die affair.

Yakubu Pam, chairman of the association in the northern states, said this on Thursday at a three-day special prayer summit in Kaduna.

Pam said Nigerians want presidential candidates to say how they intend to address the economic and security challenges, not to hear them hurl insults at each other.

“Politicians should strive to address the issues of the economy and proffer solutions and shun campaign of calumny and character assassination of opponents,” he said.

“More so, our presidential candidates should not see the general election as a do-or-die affair, after all, power comes from God and what will be, will be; no man runs faster than his shadow.

“Religious leaders should be able to speak truth to power no matter the circumstances we find ourselves, because for everyone we mislead, we must answer for it someday.

“Our people look up to us for leadership, especially at this time of our democratic experience. We must not fail them. We must provide the needed leadership and direction for them so that this house must not fall.”

Speaking further, Pam said the interest of the northern Christians as far as the 2023 general election is concerned, “is nothing but to promote the unity of the north in particular and Nigeria as a whole”.

He called on governments at all levels to be proactive in addressing challenges that might arise before, during, and after the elections.

“It is equally the responsibility of the government to ensure a level playing field for all the candidates of all the political parties and voters, so that at the end of the day, we will have credible elections that would be accepted by Nigerians,” he added.