Maintain ethnic, religious balance in appointments, CAN tells NASS

Ahead of the inauguration of the 9th National Assembly, the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria ( CAN ) on Monday pleaded with the incoming leadership to balance the appointments of Principal officers across religious divides.

Yielding to the advice, CAN said it will avoid domination and marginalisation of any kind in the interest of equity, justice, and fair play as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

The religious body also urged both the Presidency and the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to: “support the position of the Association in its quest to find an enduring peace, unity and development for our Fatherland. Doing this will go a long way in fixing some of the problems confronting our country today that are rooted in religious, tribal suspicion, domination and marginalisation at every level of the government.”

A statement issued in Abuja by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, Special Assistant, (Media & Communications), to the CAN President, Rev Dr Samson Ayokunle reads: “The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) congratulates all the newly elected members of the National Assembly on their victory at the recently conducted general election. It is our prayers that God who granted you the victory will not let you down. You will experience a successful tenure of office. You will not disappoint God and the people who gave you the mandate.

“As you prepare for your inauguration, CAN urges you to balance the appointments of your Principal Officers across religious divides to avoid domination and marginalisation of any kind in the interest of equity, justice, and fair play as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution (as amended). We, from the Christian Association of Nigeria, recognize the importance of the National Assembly to the stability and growth of our polity.

“It is in this regard that we call for ethnic and religious balance with depth in picking the leadership of that great institution of democracy. To ensure that this happens is to remove any apprehension and suspicion harboured towards the leadership of this country.

“Although both the Senate and the House of Representatives have several principal officers but our focus here are the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker. As it has been the practice since 1999, whenever the Senate President is a Christian, the Speaker of the House has always been a Muslim and vice- versa. And the same thing happens to their deputies.”