Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos on Monday took a swipe at the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) for demanding for a Christian as the next governor of the state.
Fashola’s tenure ends on 29th May 2015 and some aspirants are already throwing up themselves to contest the election.
The PFN had expressed its demand through a statement at the weekend with the argument that only Muslims had governed the state since the country’s return to democracy, but Fashola said such demand was capable of throwing the state into a political crisis ahead of the election.
Speaking at a gathering tagged: “Inter-Faith Conference on Peace, Religious Harmony and Good Governance: Issues and Challenges,” in Lagos, Fashola argued that good governance was not the sole preserve of any particular faith.
He reminded the guests at the programme that being a Christian or Muslim does not guarantee good governance and success of a governor or any elected official.
Referring to the PFN statement published in some newspapers, Fashola said he could not recall the last time a governor of the state was elected with his religious beliefs as the criteria.
“What will the preference for governor of one faith over the other even benefit us? Will it give one religion roads that other faiths cannot use? Will it give them schools that children from other faiths cannot attend or will it bring water that only one faith can drink, or will it begin to draw a very clear line between poverty and the faith? Does hunger know your faith?” Fashola puzzled.
“Maybe we should begin to draw the line of distinction and begin to have Christian money and Muslim money; and in the blood banks now where life is being threatened, maybe we should begin to have Christian blood and Muslim blood.”
Fashola, whose wife is a Christian, cautioned against religious sentiments, saying that over the years, members of both religious faiths had inter-married and cohabited.
He urged religious leaders to be conscious and courteous when making utterances, urging them instead to invest in various businesses in order to help reduce unemployment in the country.
“I know that there are many people for who spiritually is a calling; I also know that for some, it’s a business,” he said.
“For a long time, the state and religion had been one, but over time, we have also tried to separate religion and the state, but it has not been a successful venture.”
Fashola expressed hope that religion and state would be separated soon.
