Muslims Oppose Lagos Commissioners List Dominated By Christians

Following the commencement of Lagos State House of Assembly screening commissioners and Special Advisers nominated by the Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Muslims across the state have rejected the list for allegedly excluding their members from his cabinet.

The Muslims according to them stated that among the over 30 cabinet members nominated by the governor, who assumed office for the second term on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the number of Muslims appointed were less than that which was allotted to other faith in the state.

According to them, Muslims make up less than 20 percent of the list, even though they constitute over 60 percent of not just the state’s population but Lagos voting public.

They added: “We the Muslims of, and in Lagos State wish to categorically state that the entire leadership of the Muslim Community of Lagos State representing various Muslim organizations, unequivocally and unanimously reject the list of commissioner-designates of Governor Sanwo-Olu and we demand a reversal and review to reflect 60 percent in favour of Muslims in a fresh list”.

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The Muslims under the aegis of Joint Muslims Forum (JMF) rejected the list on Tuesday during a press briefing held in Ikeja, describing the move by the governor as injustice against them after supporting his second term bid in Lagos.

The briefing was attended by leaders of different Islamic bodies including the Executive Director, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Prof. Ishaq Akintola, a Senior Cleric from The Muslim Congress (TMC), Dhikrullah Shafi, and others.

The National Missioner of Ansar-ud-deen Society of Nigeria, Abdul-rahman Ahmad, read the group’s prepared speech.

They further stressed that their demands were legitimate and were not out of place since they campaign and voted for the government to assume office for second term without demanding for compensation.

The Muslims added that their demands was that the number of Muslims nominated and included in the Lagos state executive cabinet must reflect their participation before and during the 2023 gubernatorial election in the state.