The Muslim Community in Lagos State on Wednesday stormed the State House of Assembly over the alleged one-sided list of nominees for the state executive council by the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Led by their leaders, the community came in their numbers to stage a protest at the state house of assembly.
Airing their grievances spoke about what they described as official discrimination of Muslims in the state.
Their reaction follows the nomination of eight Muslims and 31 Christians by the governor into his cabinet.
The Muslim leaders, who were carrying banners and placards with different inscriptions like “Muslims say no to official discrimination,” “All we ask is fairness,” “and Stop the Screening Now, we want Justice,” among others, noted that Sanwo-Olu has violated some sections of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
They said he violated Section 14(4) and Section192(2), which states, “The composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples of the Federation.
“192(2) Any appointment to the office of Commissioner of the Government of a State shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the House of Assembly of the State, be made by the Governor of that State and in making any such appointment the Governor shall conform with the provisions of section 14(4) of this Constitution.”
In furtherance of their grievances, leaders of the Muslim Community led by the President and Elder statesman, Prof. Tajudeen Gbadamosi, submitted that the nominees list is a classic case of discrimination and religious bigotry.
In their petition, the group of leaders said the Muslim community expressed “Grievance and dissatisfaction against the blatant disregard for justice, equity and fairness in the proposed Lagos State’ Executive cabinet as contained in the list of commissioner-nominees.
“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 (8) nominees who are Muslims.
“This is not a new development, especially since Governor Sanwo-Olu assumed leadership of this State; as a matter of fact, it is has been elevated to a level of official state policy to deny Muslims their deserved positions under the Sanwo-Olu administration.
For instance, in 2019, when Mr. Sanwo-Olu became governor, he appointed 14 Special Advisers, and only one (1) among them was a Muslim. Again, 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 deny Muslims in this state their rightful place and number in leadership.”
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Muslim Community Storms Lagos Assembly, Accuse Sanwo-Olu of One-Sided Nominees