Attention Seeker: CAN Slams El-Rufai Over Religious Manipulation Comment

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, has condemned the comment by former Kaduna Governor El-Rufai, over plans to appoint Muslims to top state government positions.

According to a 5 minutes trending video on social media, El-Rufai defended his decision to appoint Muslims to top positions in the Kaduna State Government over Christians by pointing out that Muslims supported the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the most recent election, the day before he left office.

The former governor claimed to have warned his audience in the video that Muslim rule over Kaduna State is here to stay and that Bola Tinubu’s election as president has effectively continued this trend at the national level.

The leadership of CAN however did not take well to the former governor’s statement, characterising him as a confused and drowning man seeking attention and relevance after leaving office.

In an interview with Channels Television, Sunday Oibe, the general secretary of CAN in the 19 northern states and the FCT, asks Nigerians in general and Christians in particular not to take El-Rufai’s contentious statement seriously and characterises the former governor as a cunning individual who exploits religion to divide the populace.

Oibe asks President Bola Tinubu not to trust El-Rufai with any position in his government, noting that the former Governor has a penchant for betraying his benefactors at the end of the day. During his eight years as governor, El-Rufai was accused of dividing the people of Kaduna along fault lines.

Therefore, the CAN urge President Bola Tinubu and Senator Uba Sani, the governor of Kaduna State, not to follow El-Rufai’s lead by making sure that they unite the entire country.