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| Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar III |
The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Abubakar III, says religion should not be the creteria for choosing leaders. According to him, the most important thing should be competence and that is what Muslims are praying for.
The NSCIA, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, says Muslims believe that all power belongs to God and only those who God supports can emerge as winners of any election.
When asked if the NSCIA saw anything wrong in a joint Muslim Presidential ticket, the Director of Administration, NSCIA, Zubairu Ugwu, told The PUNCH that while the council would continue to advocate for peace in the country, Muslims would pray to God to grant that only Nigerians who possessed the requisite capacity would eventually triumph at both their respective party primaries and subsequent general elections, at all tiers of government in Nigeria.
He said, “Consequently, both the NSCIA and the Muslim Ummah of Nigeria who, in thought and practice, draw instructions from the Holy Qur’an, have absolute trust that Almighty Allah has limitless capacity, to bring to power or deny power, in line with the above Qur’anic injunction, to whomsoever He wills.
“As Muslims, therefore, we have no choice but to continue to supplicate to Allah to grant that only Nigerians who possess the requisite capacity, integrity, sagacity, empathy, positive attitude, passion, administrative acumen, zeal for selfless service, etc., shall eventually triumph at both their respective party primaries and subsequent general elections, at all tiers of government in Nigeria.”
He said the NSCIA would continue to lend its voice to calls for all Nigerians, including political, religious, traditional and civil society organisations, to eschew religious politics and politicisation of religion, subtly or manifestly, in Nigeria, to avoid the dire consequences.