2027: Bishop Idowu-Fearon warns religious leaders against endorsing candidates

As the 2027 general elections draw closer, former Chairman of the Kaduna State Peace Commission, Bishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, has cautioned religious leaders against endorsing political candidates or directing their followers to vote for particular individuals.

Idowu-Fearon, founder and director of the Kaduna Centre for the Study of Christian-Muslim Relations, said religious leaders should instead educate their followers on how to assess candidates and hold elected officials accountable.

Speaking with journalists  in Kaduna, the Anglican bishop said political endorsements by clerics could undermine their moral authority and ability to speak truth to power.

“I don’t subscribe to a traditional ruler, a Bishop, or whoever telling members what to do,” he said.

He urged religious leaders to encourage debates and discussions on the records, policies and character of candidates ahead of the elections.

“We should have debates. We should encourage debates,” he said.

“It is wrong for any religious leader to say, ‘You should vote for this person.”

Idowu-Fearon said religious leaders, including Imams, Sheikhs, Emirs and Bishops, should encourage Nigerians to exercise their franchise but allow them to make independent choices at the polls.

He added that voters would ultimately be responsible for how they used their votes.

“For this 2027 election, with all we’re going through, every vote, God is going to ask you, ‘How did you use your franchise?’” he said.

‘Nigeria needs leaders who practise their faith’

The bishop also urged Nigerians to move beyond religious identity when choosing political leaders, saying the country needed leaders who genuinely practised the values of their faith.

“Nigeria, honestly, this country does not need a Muslim or a Christian president. What we need is a president who is Christian or Muslim. There is a difference,” he said.

He said the same principle should apply to governors, senators, ministers and other public officials.

According to him, neither Christianity nor Islam encourages corruption, tribalism, dishonesty or exploitation.

“We don’t need card-carrying religious leaders. We want religious leaders that will take their faith with them,” he said.

Idowu-Fearon also cautioned Christians and Muslims against turning religious population figures into political competition.

“As a student of Christian-Muslim relations, I object to that,” he said.

‘Politicians can compromise religious leaders’

The former peace commission chairman warned religious leaders against becoming excessively close to politicians, saying such relationships could compromise their independence.

“As religious leaders—whether an Imam or a priest, a Sheikh or a Bishop, whatever—when you begin to frequent politicians, you get corrupted,” he said.

He argued that religious leaders who regularly depend on politicians for financial or other benefits might find it difficult to challenge them when they do wrong.

“If I give you money, if I make sure that you are very comfortable, you cannot challenge me. You’d rather become economical with the truth, and that is the problem we are facing,” he said.

He, however, stressed that the problem was not peculiar to any particular religion, noting that both Christian and Muslim leaders could be affected by political influence.

‘Nigerians are suffering’

The bishop also faulted attempts to downplay the economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians, saying millions of citizens were struggling with rising prices and declining purchasing power.

“To say people are not suffering as a result of what is going on in our country, I think we are being economical with the truth,” he said.

Idowu-Fearon said his regular interactions with ordinary Nigerians and visits to churches and communities had exposed him to the effects of poverty.

He said some worshippers could no longer afford transportation to attend church services, while some families were surviving on one meal a day.

“You can see suffering. There is no doubt about that. A good number of people just have one meal a day. They can hardly even have a balanced meal,” he said.

He also questioned the impact of increased government revenues and allocations to states and local governments.

“I also heard the Minister of Finance talking about trillions coming in, trillions going to the state governors, going to the local government chairmen. And I ask, where is the money? Where is this money?” he asked.

The bishop recalled his experience trying to replace a bathroom soap holder after a fire incident at his house, saying an item that previously cost about N500 was quoted at N5,000.

“Something that we were paying about 500 Naira for, 5,000! Tomatoes, anything you ask, they tell you thousand, thousand. What do we do?” he said.

He also complained about electricity supply, saying his residence had been without public power supply for several days.

Idowu-Fearon urged the government to acknowledge the hardship and clearly communicate the measures being taken to address it.

“Instead of denying, government should say, ‘We are aware. This is what we are doing, this is what we are doing,’” he said.

On Kaduna’s Muslim-Muslim ticket

Commenting on Governor Uba Sani’s decision to return to a Muslim-Muslim political arrangement in Kaduna State, Idowu-Fearon said the state’s political and religious environment supported the decision.

He noted that Kaduna had previously operated political arrangements in which Muslims and Christians occupied the top executive positions before the administration of former Governor Nasir El-Rufai adopted a Muslim-Muslim ticket.

“However, the political terrain in Kaduna supports what Governor Uba Sani has done. The terrain supports it,” he said.

He urged residents to see the arrangement as an opportunity to strengthen cooperation among the state’s three senatorial zones.

“We should pray that this decision will bring better understanding and cooperation between the three senatorial zones in Kaduna State,” he said.

‘Government should not relent on insecurity’

On insecurity, Idowu-Fearon acknowledged what he described as improvements in some parts of Kaduna State, particularly Birnin Gwari.

“The government is trying, but they should not relent. They should keep the pressure on those who are committed to creating problems,” he said.

He specifically commended the state government over the situation in Birnin Gwari.

“Birnin Gwari today, as far as I’m concerned, is a part of the state we can flag, because things have really gone down a bit,” he said.

He nevertheless urged the authorities to sustain the pressure on criminal elements.

On the Kaduna State Peace Commission, which he previously chaired, Idowu-Fearon explained that the commission’s enabling law provided for a five-year tenure, which had already elapsed.

“We had stayed for more than five years. I think we were driving into our sixth or seventh year,” he said.

He said the decision to end the commission followed discussions with the state government and was not the result of any disagreement.

“So, it wasn’t by fiat. We had discussions,” he said.

According to him, the focus should now shift from conflict resolution to conflict prevention, adding that discussions were ongoing on possible collaboration between the government and the Kaduna Centre for the Study of Christian-Muslim Relations.

“There was no bad blood, no bad feeling. It was a constitutional matter,” he said.

Idowu-Fearon also called on religious leaders to pay greater attention to young Nigerians, saying religious institutions had an important role to play in shaping their values.

He urged Christian and Muslim leaders to teach young people that life should not be reduced to the pursuit of wealth and material possessions.

“Life is not just money, it’s not just money. It’s not material possession,” he said.

He called for greater collaboration between Christian and Muslim leaders in promoting human dignity and peaceful coexistence.

“Don’t look at me as a Kaduna Christian; look at me as a human being,” he said.

The bishop said the Kaduna Centre was using interfaith initiatives, including scriptural reasoning, to help Muslims and Christians explore shared values.

“We have a lot in common. We are created by the same God, we are endowed by the same God,” he said.

He urged Nigerians to judge political leaders by their character, performance and commitment to the common good rather than their religious identity.