Get Guardian on GoogleAhead of the 2027 general elections, the Northern Nigeria Minorities Group (NNMG) has cautioned religious leaders against turning churches and mosques into platforms for partisan political mobilisation.
This comes as the group also alleged that individuals within President Bola Tinubu’s political circle were exploiting his name and proximity to power to corner lucrative government contracts, urging him to caution them.
Addressing newsmen yesterday in Abuja, convener of NNMG, Jacob Edi Bassange, charged religious leaders, particularly pastors and imams, to shun partisan politics, focus on promoting peace and national unity, and concentrate on their spiritual responsibilities.
Bassange, who represents over 200 minority communities across Northern Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, expressed concern at the growing intrusion of religious institutions into partisan politics as the country approaches another election cycle.
According to him, “no religious institution has the exclusive prerogative to determine Nigeria’s political direction or the legitimacy of public appointments and electoral outcomes.
“Any suggestion that electoral outcomes require religious endorsement or may be rejected on sectarian grounds is profoundly inimical to democratic stability.”
Electoral legitimacy derives from the constitution and established legal processes, not ecclesiastical approval or clerical verdicts.”
Moreover, he argued that the credibility of the Independent National Electoral Commission “must be judged by its independence, transparency, impartiality and adherence to its constitutional mandate, not the religious persuasion of its leadership.”
