The Governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, has said that politicians who use religion as campaign machinery deserve punishment.
El-Rufai made this revelation during the commissioning of the head office of the Sultan Foundation for Peace and Development.
He frowned at the manner some political players were making use of ethnicity and religion as campaign devices to cause division in the country.
He added that the forthcoming 2023 elections have given the people of the country opportunity to play politics without religious sentiment.
“People are united in their poverty, in their need for education, in decent healthcare and to put food on their table, that is what we should focus on but some people are holding meetings to promote religious and ethnic division. That is the last thing Nigeria needs at a time when the whole world is facing challenges of ultra-nationalism and global supply chain disruption.”
The governor while asking for forgiveness, said, “We try to do what is right but only God is right, my apologies to anyone that I have offended, we have five months to go and I will like to leave and sleep in peace.”
The Sultan of Sokoto who’s also the grand patron of the foundation, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar said the foundation has been interacting with concerned stakeholders to ensure that the living standards of the ummah are uplifted.