Barely one week to the February 25 presidential election, the apex body of all Muslims in the country, the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), has reeled-out its expectations from the candidates jostling for the nations leadership.
In an issued statement, titled: The Charter of Expectations of Nigerian Muslims from the Next Government, released at the weekend, the NSCIA unfolded a five-point agenda for whoever would emerge Nigerias next president.
In the statement, signed by its Deputy Secretary-General Prof. Salisu Shehu, and Director of Administration, Arc. Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, respectively, the body unfolded the agenda, which covered security, economy, infrastructure, human capital development and governance.
It stressed: It is our conviction that leaders should strive to deliver on their mandates and meet the expectations of the citizens as much as possible; and the extent to which our presidential candidates will receive the Nigerian Muslims support is proportional to their level of willingness to consider those issues important to the NSCIA.
On the issue of security, the group noted that a lot of Nigerians had been killed, while successive administrations had found it difficult to resolve the issue of insecurity.
It also stated that the economy had been at its lowest, while the citizens had been in abject poverty, adding that the issue of human capital development was crucial for a positive change in the country.
NSCIA also harped on the need for purposeful governance, even as it lamented the evil of corruption and its effect on the nation.
It stressed: Our country has featured on the wrong side of the corruption index; we must make a firm resolve to fight corruption.
We want an incoming president who will demonstrate his political will from the quality of people he will appoint, and the zero-tolerance he will show for corruption. Another important issue of governance is inclusion”.
