After the meeting held on Wednesday between the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigerian, CAN, and the Presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. CAN has decided to drop their cases against Tinubu for choosing a Muslim-Muslin ticket and has in turn presented a list of demands to him. Tinubu also during this meeting can to the right standing with CAN when he explained to them why he took Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno state as the running mate. He also assured them that, if elected as president in 2023, his administration would not be religious bias as he would try to carry everyone along.
It is believed that CAN took up their new position based on alleged rumor of RUGA and open grazing. CAN has also in the past complained of being neglected when making decision in the country on like the other religions and also cases of late or no response during crisis that affects her members. This and more make up the list of demands they presented to Tinubu on Wed.
List of Demands:
• Rejection of ‘open grazing’
• Approval of state police or decentralized police system
• Equal rights for all religion and her members including social and economic rights
• Rights to self-determination by all religion
• Equal and fair electoral system that would allow people to vote and be voted for
• Rights to control natural resources by the communities where they are
• Decentralization of power among member states.
• Equal religious and ethnic representation in the military or security system
• Education and free healthcare for Nigerian
• Equality in sharing of executive position among ethnic and religious representation.
Addressing them after receiving their demands, he said “I see all Nigerians as equals and as brothers and sisters in our national family. This means no one is inherently inferior or superior to anyone else, regardless of faith, place of origin, social status and gender.”
He further mentioned “Anyone who does not hold this fair and equitable view, should not run for president in a country such as ours.”