Politics
MURIC criticizes Obasanjo for endorsing Christian presidential candidates
Criticisms continue to trail the decision of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to endorse the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2023 elections.
Despite numerous visits from presidential contenders to his Abeokuta residence, Obasanjo, 85, backed Obi on January 1, 2023, saying he had an advantage over the other candidates.
The former president’s choice has since continued to enrage candidates for the APC and PDP, among others.
In the same vein, Obi received the support of Pan Niger Delta Forum Chairman Edwin Clark on Tuesday. Ayo Adebanjo, the head of the pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organization Afenifere, had earlier endorsed Obi.
READ ALSO:‘Obasanjo, Clark disgraced themselves by endorsing Obi’, Kwankwaso fumes
This situation elicited a response from the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) which berated the former President for what it said was his anti-Islam stance, while dividing Nigerians along religious lines.
MURIC Director, Ishaq Akintola, in a statement issued on Friday in Lagos said, “We note with interest the overzealousness exhibited by ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo on the Nigerian political scene. His action is directed towards renewed anti-Muslim campaign as he bays and ululates all over the place, particularly in churches, in his usual rambling manner.
“General Yakubu Gowon (rtd.) is preaching unity. General Abdulsalaam Abubakar (rtd.) is preaching peace. But Obasanjo is dividing Nigerians along religious lines. He has no moral authority to blame past leaders when he is not a past follower. It smirks at political charlatanism.”
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