Politics
Okotie Speaks On Muslim-Muslim Ticket Controversy
The Pastor of the Household of God Church, Rev. Chris Okotie, has stated that the debate on the Muslim-Muslim ticket should not be allowed to create unnecessary tension in the country.
Okotie asserted that Nigerians should be allowed to decide whether or not they will support a Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023.
Naija News reports that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, may pick a fellow Muslim as his running mate to win more votes in the North.
However, several individuals and groups such as the Christian Association of Nigeria and the Catholic Church in Nigeria have kicked against Muslim-Muslim or Christian-Christian tickets. But some APC chieftains have backed the move, arguing that competence should be placed above religious consideration.
In a chat with The Punch, Okotie said the citizens would be able to elect the next President in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election as long as the process was democratic and devoid of electoral malpractices.
He stated, “I call myself a consensus remedial facilitator and a solution-bringer and if I’m going to do that, I will not criticise the actors because if I do, they will not come to the table of reconciliation.
Speaking on the menace of vote-buying, Okotie said there is nothing that can be done to address the issue because the presidential system is faulty.
He said that is the reason for his call for an Interim National Government after the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
He said, “I agree that pecuniary inducement is there, but at the end of the day, democracy is assent. That is why I am saying we need an interim national government because this presidential system is faulty with these abnormalities and aberrations.
“But there is nothing you can do about it as long as you are operating this system. That is why I keep coming back to the subject of changing the system so that the impunity of vote-buying can be addressed. Once we change that system, such things will be impossible. So, whether it is Christian-Christian or Muslim-Muslim, whatever it is, as far as I’m concerned, the system is faulty.”
He also called on Christians to show more interest in governance.
He added, “All I can tell you is that Christians should be more committed to our nation than they are today because the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. He gave the earth to Adam, His only son. If we say we care about people and we want to preach salvation to them, then we must care about how they are governed and I think that is our reasonable service.”
