The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the North-west zone has expressed disappointment over the exclusion of indigenous Christian representation on the board of the North West Development Commission (NWDC).
President Bola Bola Tinubu recently constituted a 14-member board for the NWDC.
In a statement on Tuesday in Kaduna, North-West Zonal Chairman of CAN, Elder Sunday Oibe, said the exclusion of indigenous Christians on the board is unacceptable and called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently address the issue.
“We wish to draw the attention of the presidency and the National Assembly to the fact that governance is fundamentally about inclusiveness in serving the people,” the statement reads.
“In the North-West zone, Christians form a significant population across all seven states.
“We are, therefore, deeply concerned that the government has recently constituted a board for the North-West Development Commission (NWDC) without including any Christian representation.”
Oibe said, “Regardless of the reasons behind this omission, it is unacceptable that Christians are not represented on the commission.
“We are saddened and alarmed by this this outright exclusion of Christians in the zone.
“While former President Muhammadu Buhari was accused of napotism and favouritism in his appointments, we now find ourselves raising concerns about what appears to be religious bias under the current administration of President Bola Tinubu”.
According to Oibe, “Christians in the North-West are an essential bloc in the Nigerian project, and their interests cannot be ignored.”
The statement appealed to President Tinubu “to review the membership of the NWDC board and ensure adequate representation for Christian in zone.
“We have indigenous Christian communities in all the states in the north-west – Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Jigawa, and Zamfara, all of whom deserve a voice on this critical commission.
“How can the interests of Christians in this zone be effectively protected without representation on the board?
Furthermore, it is important to note that in many states across the North-West, Christians continue to face discrimination and marginalisation.
“The leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the North-West zone is deeply troubled by this issue, and we strongly appeal to President Tinubu to urgently address our concerns.”
