In a move to express their displeasure, leaders of the Muslim Community in Lagos on Wednesday protested at the State House of Assembly over the recent list of 39 commissioner-nominees released by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Politics Nigeria recalls that the Muslim community had earlier voiced against the list of eight Muslims and 31 Christians, saying the list is unfair to those practising the Islamic faith in the state and demanding a review.
However, the state government ignored the complaints as the House of Assembly commenced the screening of the nominees on Monday.
In a swift reaction, leaders of the Muslim Community led by the President and Elder statesman, Prof. Tajudeen Gbadamosi, stormed the House of Assembly to protest against what they called official discrimination of the Muslims in the state.
Heads of various Islamic organisations and scholars also attended the protest, where Prof. Gbadamosi presented a petition to the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa.
They were seen carrying banners and placards with inscriptions such as “Muslims say no to official discrimination,” “All we ask is fairness,” and “Stop the Screening Now, we want Justice”, among others.
In the petition by the President, the Muslims 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.”
According to the group, 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.”
The Muslim Community argued that Sanwo-Olu violated the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s Constitution, particularly Sections 14(4) and 192(2).
They also called on the Lagos House of Assembly to reject the list as similarly done in the Niger House of Assembly, where a noticeable minority Christian population demanded a reversal of the list of commissioners to reflect fairness and equity to them.
