- We regretted supporting Muslim/Muslim ticket
From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Supreme Council for Shari’a in Nigeria (SCSN) has accused President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, of using Muslim/Muslim ticket to deceive the Muslims while people from other faith are enjoying the gains of political power.
The Council accused the President of abandoning Muslim community that worked hard for his emergence as President of Nigeria, thereby focusing more on other faith through juicy political appointments and responsibilities.
SCSN General Secretary, Mallam Nafi’u Baba-Ahmad, registered these concerns in Abuja, in remarks he delivered at SCSN National Conference with the theme “Matters Arising From 2023 Elections and Associated Socioeconomic Challenges”.
He said: “We were strategic in mobilising people, particularly Muslims, to support the Muslim/Muslim ticket of Tinubu and Shettima, even when the country was rasing serious concerns about it considering the religious differences in the country. But what we are getting in return is abandonment and disdain.
“Our people are saying that they have been used and dumped. That the President didn’t appreciate all the efforts they put in to defend the votes. Instead, people who neither supported nor worked for his emergence are getting juicy appointments and responsibilities. That’s not fair to the Muslim community in Nigeria.
“Things that we thought we could benefit considering the fact that the President and his Vice are Muslims are increasingly eluding us. Rather, people who fought against the Muslim/Muslim ticket are the ones benefiting.
“All I can say is that we regretted our actions, voting for Tinubu and supporting the Muslim/Muslim ticket because it’s of no benefit to us, the Muslim community. We are at the forefront of the campaigns and mobilisation for the success of the President, but we are not getting anything in return.
“If we have another opportunity, I can assure you that we won’t support this set of Muslim political leaders because they have disappointed us. We have told the President to his face few months ago that he disappointed us, and we would continue to speak our mind on this.”
President of the Council AbdurRasheed Hadiyyatullah, in his remarks, tackled the President over his inability to initiate transformative policies that would improve the fortunes and standard of living of Nigerians.
He said: “The Nigeria today is in a bad situation, economically, politically and otherwise. Cost of living has gone beyond the reach of average Nigerian. Unemployment is escalating. Nigerians are not enjoying the new government at all. I don’t want to go personal but the Sharia council helped the Muslim-Muslim ticket to be successful. We campaigned and supported this government until it came to being but we are suffering.
“Some of the Ministers are allegedly siphoning and looting the treasury. I don’t want to mention any name but we have all seen and read it. The President appointed those who will loot the treasury, and Nigerians have been suffering since the last seven month when this government came to power.
“We are not making any progress. The reason for the Muslim-Muslim ticket was to progress, triumph, succeed and to have a good government but we didn’t have any thing.”
Meanwhile, the former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Ahmed Sani Yerima, in his remarks, admitted the menace of rising cases of fake Islamic scholars who are misleading the people using the Name of God.
He, however, was optimistic that the SCSN Conference will proffer superior solutions on how such people can be handled and probably punished.
He, appealed to Nigerians to support the present administration, stressing that the recent Supreme Court judgement regarding elections in some states was a testament of the character of the President.