Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has urged Nigerians to focus more on pressing issues like oil theft and banditry instead of debate over Muslim-Muslim ticket that can further divide the country.
He made the appeal Friday while fielding questions from State House reporters after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Uzodimma was at the Villa to seek the presidential approval for the conversion of Federal Medical Center Owerri to Federal University of Technology Teaching Hospital as well as the upgrade of Alvan Ikoku College of Education to Federal University of Education Owerri.
The governor, who asked the federal government to identify the brains behind crude oil theft in Nigeria and bring them to justice, described the act as a cancer.
Uzodimma cautioned against treating perpetrators as sacred cows, saying anyone involved in the practice must be brought to book irrespective of the status in the society.
He said the country actually faced more threat from its inability to produce enough crude having seen capacity plummet in the last few years as a result of theft causing stress to the economy.
According to him, it is time to put an end to the Muslim-Muslim presidential candidate debate and leave the decision on who is elected to the electorate.
Asked to speak on the raging debate over the All Progressives Congress (APC) single-faith presidential ticket, the governor of Imo State said: “First, the mood of the country today is not about who the candidates are. The mood of the country is that two years ago or three years ago, we were producing 2.1 million barrels of crude oil every day, for over 12 years that has been our main source of foreign exchange.
“Suddenly, because of the activities of those who are our anti-national interest we’ve lost over a million barrels and barely managing to produce 1 million. I think we should arise in unison to condemn the activities of crude oil theft by anti-Nigerian interest groups and bring back the economy of the country. Because you have to have a country first before you have a president.
“Look at the quantum of banditry going on in Nigeria today. To the extent that bandits are courageously even coming into the capital city. We should you rise in unison and condemned these activities. We should make emphasis on things that will unite the country. And please do by the grace of God abandon those things that are capable of dismembering the country. Our national interest is important. Our national unity is important. Our ability to live together as brothers and sisters also important.
“The primary purpose of government is for the security of lives and property and the welfare of our citizens. To what extent have we supported federal government in achieving this primary purpose? Those are things that should occupy our minds now. But if you throw Nigeria into a situation where religious dichotomy, ethnic jingoism will be at the front burner, it means you are working against Nigeria. So, let us allow political parties who have chosen their candidates, no matter the religion where they come from, to go out their campaign. It is left for the electorate to reject the ticket by not voting for them. Or accept the ticket by voting for them.
“But if we continue to make these things headlines, you are hitting up our polity unnecessarily. I want to beg you in the name of God, let us serve our country.”
