Gov Sule cautions clerics against druming religious war, threat in Nasarawa
Chief Immam, CAN Chairman and other officials
Ahead of the Saturday guber poll, Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State has cautioned religious clerics in the state to desist from inflammatory utterances capable of causing religious war.
Governor Sule made this known while addressing religious leaders at the government house yesterday in Lafia, the State Capital.
Sule, who cited a particular Muslim cleric issuing threats to non-Muslims who would not vote for a Muslim candidate in the forthcoming elections, warned that such actions will not be tolerated.
“The unfortunate event that is beginning to unfold in the state has created tension. We cannot afford a religious war in this state where multi-religion and ethnicity are practised.
“We must not allow politic to divide us. In every election, there must be losers and winners. It is God who decides who should be a winner no matter what we feel or think.”
Sule appealed to the religious leaders to comport themselves in a decent manner as the state approaches another election this week.
He called on the religious leaders in the state to rather use their power to educate the congregants to shun ethnic and religious politics.
Responding, the state Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Dr Sunday Emmah, commended the Governor for his timely intervention.
“Our people, the Christians in the state are already worried on whether or not to come out to vote in the Saturday elections because of the threat, intimidation and provocating message currently being circulated in the social media by some religious cleric”, CAN Chairman said.
Emma called all Christians to shun and ignore all the threats and provocating messages and come out en mass to vote for their choice of leader without fear of intimidation.
In the same vein, the Islamic leader, Imam Mohammed Ali, the Chief Imam of the Jumaat Mosque, Lafia, cautioned those involved in heating up the polity with religious sentiment.
“We have never had religious war in the state since inception and we will not have one. All those circulating provoking videos and hate speeches should desist and allow peace to reign in the state.”
The chief Imam assured that he would send messages to all the imams in the state to caution their congregants to shun any act capable of causing conflict ahead of the Saturday elections.
