Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir Ahmed el-Rufai has made it clear to the critics of his choice of a Muslim, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe as running mate in the 2019 election, that government house is not where worship is conducted but it is for serious work meant only for competence.
The governor, who received in audience the people of Sanga Local Government Area of the state, who were on a thank-you visit for picking their daughter as deputy governorship candidate, said the choice of his running mate therefore, was based on competence and performance.
“Muslim-Muslim ticket is not a religious ticket but a competent and performance ticket,” the governor said, adding with emphasis that the Government House is not a place for worship but where people work.
According to him, there is no room for religious or sentiments in deciding who he should appoint into any office in the state, even as he noted with regret that most of his Muslim-Muslim ticket critics are those who did not vote for him in the 2015 governorship election.
“The people that have criticized me most on this are people who never voted me in the first place. So, are they not supposed to be celebrating it? In their own opinion, I have made a wrong choice. Then, why are they mourning?”
Earlier, the paramount ruler of Numana in Sanga local government where Dr. Hadiza Balarabe hails from, retired Brigadier-General Aliyu Yamma, said that the choice of their daughter had given them the hope of being in government.
He said that successive administrations had forgotten the people of the area as far as participation in government is concerned.
“The governor couldn’t have made a better choice than the selection of Hadiza. We now feel a sense of belonging in Kaduna government. We are just like Black Americans in Kaduna State.”
