The Presidential candidate of the
All Progressives Congress, Maj.Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has told Christian
clerics that he cannot Islamise the nation.
According to a statement issued on Wednesday, Buhari said this during
a meeting with Catholic bishops at the Pope John Paul Centre in Abuja.
Buhari said he would always put Nigeria first if elected into office,
adding that when he ruled Nigeria between December 1983 and August
1985, he did not impose Islam on any individual.
He said having served in the military, he had been posted in several
parts of the country and served alongside people of different religions
and tribes.
He said the Peoples Democratic Party had succeeded in misrepresenting
him to the Christian community because they could not sell their
candidate
He said, “I would like to solemnly declare that in spite of what our
detractors say, I am not a religious fanatic of any sort and I have
never been. In all my life, I have never supported extremism of any
kind. Indeed, it is very unfortunate and I feel extremely sad that I
have to give this type of assurance.
“My background is in the army, and there is no doubt that the
military is the most integrated pan-Nigerian institution. And even
today, the military is one of the institutions that represents the pride
of our nation’s possibilities in unity.
“Compatriots from every corner of this country come together, work
and live together, entrust their lives to each other and integrate their
families. It is a military where many of my dearest friends, from all
faiths and parts of the country, lost their lives defending the unity of
our nation. That was the military I served in, and in that military it
was impossible to be a bigot.”
He said in governance, competence should always come before religion
and that was why as head of state, he appointed 11 Christians as
governors out of the 19 states.
He said religion comes from personal conviction and should never be used to gain political advantage.
He noted that his running mate, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, was not only a lawyer but a senior pastor.
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