The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted a statement credited to the Founder, House on the Rock, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, on the plan by the Christian Leaders to secure 15 million more voters ahead of the 2023 general election, insisting .the Nigerian Muslims have the overall majority.
MURIC made its reaction public in a press release issued Monday and signed by its Director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads : “The founder of the House On the Rock, Pastor Paul Adefarasin has allegedly revealed the plan of Christian leaders to get 15 million more voters ahead of the 2023 general election. But Adefarasin must be joking if this is true. Nigerian Muslims have the overall majority.
“Why are Christian leaders flaunting the voters’ cards of their members? There must be something behind it because this is not the first time Nigerians will be preparing for a general election. They have a game plan and we have an idea what they are up to.
“There is a grand plot to disenfranchise Muslim voters. They have enrolled their church members as Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ad hoc staff. They have filled sensitive posts in INEC offices with their church members. They will set the machinery in motion for massive rigging of elections by disallowing Muslims from registering as voters before the election. It is called forward-looking rigging strategy.
“Anyone wearing turban, cap or hijab will not be allowed to do capturing during the registration exercise. It is not a new game. They have always used their church members as INEC officials to stop Muslims from registering and collecting PVC. It happened far back in 2003 and all complaints lodged by MURIC at that time was ignored by INEC.
“We had to organise a massive protest to INEC office, Ikeja, Lagos, when the deadline for registration remained a few days before INEC allowed Muslims in hijab, cap and turban to register. But they are yet to show remorse. They have been repeating it during every registration exercise (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019).
“MURIC calls the attention of INEC leadership to this mischievous and obnoxious practice. We will hold INEC responsible for connivance if any of its ad hoc staff disallows a single Muslim from registering for the 2023 general elections.
“We charge Muslims all over the country to go out there and get their voters cards. We appeal to Imams to make the issue of massive registration for the coming election a major theme in their Friday Khutbah. This is the time to teach arrogant boasters the lesson of their lifetime. This is the time to make Muslim majority number count in votes.
“How can those who marry only one woman and have just four children each claim majority status over those who marry four women and have as many as sixteen children? These are people who have been deceiving the Muslim majority with false claims of oneness. They have been misleading Muslims by warning against religious politics whereas they are the real culprits behind religious politics.
“But the game is up. The eyes of Nigerian Muslims are now wide open. Never again will Muslims use their majority to vote for their oppressors who are the minority. Never again will Muslims use their large number to vote against their fellow Muslims.
“2023 general election is going to be a protest vote as far as Nigerian Muslims are concerned. Let the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), the Mountain of Fire Ministries (MFM) and House on the Rock vote for their Christian candidates and let the Muslims vote for Muslim candidates. That is when we will know who is grandstanding and who is being realistic.” #MuslimvoteMuslim #LetMuslimVotesCount #AllowMuslimsToVote”.
Recall that Pastor Adefarasin Sunday, revealed the plan of Christian leaders to get 15 million more voters ahead of the 2023 general election.
