Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has asked religious leaders to be pillars of unity and not agents of division.
Tinubu spoke on Sunday at a town hall meeting with some Muslim clerics in Bauchi state.
The former governor of Lagos alleged that some politicians were making attempts to recruit eminent people to sow seeds of discord because they know they would not win their elections.
“Afraid they cannot win fairly at the ballot, desperate politicians are bent on recruiting otherwise eminent persons to preach hatred against discord,” Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, a media aide in the APC campaign council, quoted him as saying.
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“They want servants of God like yourselves to turn against your own convictions. They want you to preach division and stir negative sentiments.
“Please resist these evil-doers and their unholy messages. They seek to enter the office by fouling the nation. Too much is at stake to allow such tricks to succeed.
“My request is a simple and fair one. Please focus on a candidate’s record of performance and the quality of his policies.”
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Tinubu said religious leaders must champion the cause of justice that would deepen the country’s unity.
“That principle of fairness and justice also requires that leadership of society should be based on the quality of one’s ideas, character, and accomplishments, rather than on traits unrelated to the ability to lead and govern justly, honestly,” he said.
“The recorded history of our faith shows how our Noble Prophet led a plural community. He did not confer a special advantage to his own tribe, or clan.
“In many instances, he placed others ahead of his own relatives. The Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) has set a golden example for us.”
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Tinubu said if elected, he would prioritise the security of the country and the progress of the economy.
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