The leadership of the Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders Association has fixed January 14, 2023, as the date to give a direction for Christians regarding the 2023 governorship election in Kaduna State.
The chairman of the association, Apostle Emmanuel Kure, disclosed this during a parley between the association and governorship candidates in the state, as well as a prayer session by the association held in Kafanchan on Monday.
Highlighting some of the conditions that will determine the direction, Apostle Kure said the fear of God was a cardinal condition that a governorship candidate must possess to attract the support of the association during the election.
“A candidate must have a fair understanding of governance, both locally and internationally, to be able to meaningfully develop not only southern Kaduna but the entire state.
“For a gubernatorial candidate of the state to enjoy the support of the people, he must also indicate significant interest to fight corruption which has been a bane of development,” Kure noted.
Commenting on the crisis bedevilling the state in general, and southern Kaduna in particular, Apostle Kure said enough was enough of the unhealthy development and urged for genuine reconciliation between the people in the northern and southern parts of the state.
Earlier in his presentation, the governorship candidate of the Action Democratic Congress, Senator Caleb Zagi, said his administration, if voted into power, would focus on a nine-point agenda which included unity, security, health, agriculture and industrialisation, education, tourism, accountability, and sports.
On his part, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Isah Kudan, said he would concentrate on five agendas containing skill-based education, a functional health system, and assured that he would give the citizens of the state a sense of belonging through equitable distribution of dividends of democracy.
“If voted into office, I would want to be remembered for wearing a human face in dealing with civil servants and our traditional institutions,” Kudan said.
Also speaking, the Peoples Redemption Party’s candidate, Hayatudeen Makarfi, lamented that the future of the younger generation had been mortgaged by the hike in fees in tertiary institutions in Kaduna State, and disclosed plans to create wealth through artificial intelligence.
Meanwhile, a former Governor of Kaduna State, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, charged the candidates to set aside selfishness and reverse the current trend in the country’s politics for the common good of everyone.
Makarfi, who said this on the sidelines of the parley held between governorship candidates and Southern Kaduna Christian Leaders, added that Nigeria needed a government of unity, called for a common agenda among the various contenders to enable them overcome the myriad challenges bedevilling the state in particular.
He lamented that the opposition was fragmented, and said they should close ranks and be formidable to be able to unseat the present administration in the 2023 general election.
