Kaduna state governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, on Saturday in Kaduna, held a Town Hall meeting with some pastors under the umbrella of Pastors United For Change Association (PUCA), ahead of the forthcoming governorship election.
The meeting came weeks after the governor, while defending his Muslim-Muslim ticket, declared that 67 per cent of Christians will not vote for him, even if the Pope was his running mate.
His choice of a muslim woman, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, as his running mate was greeted with mixed reactions.
Addressing the pastors during the meeting, the governor said, his decision for a muslim running mate was not based on religion and ethnicity, but on purely capacity to deliver.
He said the appointment of all those working with him were based on competence to get results, not minding their tribe and religion.
el-Rufai said his target was to end the religious, ethnic division and unite the people of the state.
He said: “In my life I have never worked with people based on religious and ethnic consideration. Don’t look at what people said but what I have done in the past.
“Go through my records and see what I have done. On the issue of my running mate, we are encouraging women participation in politics, she is a competent woman.”
“Only Kaduna state has male/female governorship ticket in northern Nigeria.
“Late Prof.Andrew Nok, our late commissioner for education brought Dr.Hadiza Balarabe when we were looking for someone that can revive our primary health in the state and she performed excellently well.
“I don’t know her before. Her choice as running mate has nothing to do with religion.”
“I am confident that my running mate will run the state effectively and will be fair to all in the state even if I am not around.
“When you get into office politics stop. You must be fair to all. Check our records in the last three years and six months, we have worked.
“We built, repaired primary, secondary schools. We fixed our primary health centres. I am human and I can make mistakes like any other person. I will be fair to everybody.
“We must unite our people for progress. I want Kaduna state to interact on the basis of humanity not religion and ethnicity”.
Earlier in his remarks, chairman of PUCA, Apostle David Adeniran, said with the explanation by the governor, they had come to understand that the he wanted a united Kaduna without religious, ethnic consideration.
“I believe many of us will go home with a new thinking that something good is happening in Kaduna. This is a new Kaduna state” Adeniran said.
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