The governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike has conducted the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Dr Kayode Fayemi, round the disputed site where some people have claimed he demolished a mosque but this has proved to be untrue.
Wike has therefore, advised those who are chastising him for demolishing a non-existent “mosque” to verify any story before jumping to conclusions or issuing reprimands.
According to a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by NGF’s spokesman, Abdulrazaq Barkindo, Wike made the remark while showing the NGF boss and Governor of Ekiti State, round the sewage site “which Muslims all over the country have been saying was a demolished mosque site.”
The statement quoted Governor Wike as saying, “I have nothing against Islam or any faith for that matter and as you can see there was never a mosque on this ground instead it is a sewage site which has been in contention between the state government and ‘some groups because they want to develop on prohibited land.’”
ALSO READ: Ban on Oyo NURTW still in place ― Makinde
The statement recalled that Sultan of Sokoto and president of the Jaamatul Nasir Islam, the umbrella body of all Muslims in Nigeria, Sa’ad Abubakar, had earlier called for caution and restraint by Muslims in their reaction to the alleged demolition of a mosque in the Transamadi area of Port Harcourt.
It said Sultan Abubakar III had called for caution and restraint, which he said was necessary to allow the leadership of the Muslim Ummah “find a lasting solution with wisdom” on the said demolition of the mosque.
The statement added, “But when Dr Fayemi visited the disputed land under very heavy downpour in Port Harcourt yesterday, Sunday, in company of Governor Wike and the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Mr Asishana B Okauru, it became clear to him that those who yelled about the demolition were being plain mischievous as there was nothing there to show that a mosque ever existed on the site.”
NGF further affirmed that although the Sultan had enjoined Muslims to be guided by the Qur’anic teaching of introspection and perseverance, truthfulness and sincerity in his statement which was signed by Imam Khalid, it was apparent that truth had taken flight from the minds of those who spread the rumour.
The statement said Governor Wike thanked the Chairman of the NGF “who took time to visit in order to verify for himself what he was hearing and praised his leadership style which he described as exemplary because he did not join those who rushed to judgement on the matter.”
and then