THE Muslim community of Lagos State, on Wednesday, staged a peaceful demonstration at the state House of Assembly to re-assert their objection against the low number of Muslims among the people due to be appointed as commissioners by the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Governor Sanwo-Olu had transmitted a list of 39 commissioner-nominees comprising eight Muslims and 31 Christians to the Assembly for screening and confirmation.
But the president of the Lagos Muslim Community, Professor Tajudeen Gbadamosi, described the list as unfair and official discrimination against Muslims in the state.
In a petition presented to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, Professor Gbadamosi, on behalf of the Muslims in the state, demanded a review of the list.
He said: “The list is a classic case of discrimination and religious bigotry, as it has 31 nominees who are of the Christian faith and only eight nominees who are Muslims.
“This is not a new development, especially since Governor Sanwo-Olu assumed leadership of this state, but it has been elevated to a level of official state policy to deny Muslims their deserved positions.
“For instance, in 2019, when Mr Sanwo-Olu became governor, he appointed 14 special advisers and only one among them was a Muslim. Again, in his State Executive Council, which had 43 members, only 14 were Muslims, and the remaining 29 were Christians.
“Also, of the 23 commissioners, 10 were Muslims and 13 of them, Christians. Only 15 Muslims, with 35 Christians, made up the body of 50 permanent secretaries in his first term. These are just a few among numerous ways in which the Sanwo-Olu administration denies Muslims in this state their rightful place and number in leadership.
“With due respect, Governor Sanwo-Olu’s commissioner’s list violates the provisions of the constitution and we accordingly call upon this honourable House not to endorse any action that violates the constitution, especially one which equally violates good conscience and natural justice.
“The argument that Muslims have more elected officials in Lagos State is preposterous. This is even more so at a time when all the six governors of the South West are Christians and we, the Muslims, do not complain about this, because we recognise that they contested for offices and won.
“We call on the Lagos State House of Assembly to reject the list as similarly done in the Niger State House of Assembly, where a noticeable minority Christian population demanded a reversal of the list of commissioner nominees to reflect fairness and equity to them.
“We also call on you and the House of Assembly to impress on the government, the need to respect the diversity of the state’s population and to appoint a more representative cabinet. We believe that this is essential for the future stability and prosperity of Lagos.”
The Muslim Association of Nigeria in the United Kingdom representing the Nigerian Muslim community in the Diaspora, joined the Muslim community in Lagos State to reject the list and demanded a fresh one that will reflect “fairness and justice to all without discrimination.”
The UK-based Muslim group, in a statement signed by its Secretary General, Mr Abdul Lateef Sanusi, said Nigerian Muslims in the Diaspora had followed with “keen interest and utter dismay,” the development concerning the list of commissioner-nominees forwarded to the Lagos State House of Assembly by Governor Sanwo-Olu for screening and ratification.
The group noted that the complaint had so far been ignored by the state government and the state House of Assembly, which commenced screening of the commissioner-nominees on Monday.
It told the state government to note that “the global community is watching closely.”
It added, “It is important to state that compliance with the Nigerian Constitution is sacrosanct, and that this action of the LASG is clearly in violation of Section 14(4) and 192(2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“The Lagos State House of House of Assembly should also play its constitutional role of checks and balances as an important lawmaking arm of the government.
“It is pertinent to call attention to the fact that a similar incident occurred recently in Niger State, but the Niger State House of Assembly quickly nipped it in the bud to ensure equity for Christians in Niger State.”
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