Traditional and religious leaders have urged politicians to avoid unpatriotic activities capable of plunging the country into crisis as the 2023 election campaign kicks off this week.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also advised candidates and their supporters to play by the rule.
The umpire said issue-based campaigns are essential for safe elections.
To INEC, Nigerians expect the commission and the media to maintain neutrality during the electioneering.
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, and President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Rev. Daniel Okoh, urged Nigerians, especially religious leaders, to desist from making unguarded utterances that can confuse the polity.
Sultan Abubakar and Rev. Okoh spoke at the 2022 third quarter meeting of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) at the Lagos Continental Hotel, Victoria Island. The event, with the theme: ‘Working together for Justice and Peace, was also attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Abubakar, who is also head of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) and co-Chair of NIREC, noted that the role of religious leaders is to be just and fair to earn the people’s trust.
While Okoh, also a co-chair of NIREC, urged Nigerians to ‘embrace peace, stop inciting utterances, live in peaceful co-existence with one another, be accountable, elect leaders with capacity during the 2023 general elections, abhor tribal sentiments, among others vices’.
