The Christian Association of Nigeria, Lagos State chapter, has defended the list of cabinet member-nominees sent to the Lagos State House of Assembly by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu for screening, saying the choice of the governor was “based purely on merit, competence, and sufficient capabilities to deliver on the set goals and objectives of the government.”
Speaking at a press briefing held on Monday at the Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, the Chairman, CAN, Lagos chapter, Rev. Stephen Adegbite, condemned the remarks of some Muslim groups, including the Joint Muslims Forum and Muslim Rights Concern, against the nominations, saying the remarks were “distasteful” and “condescending”.
“As you are aware, consequent upon the list of 39 cabinet nominees of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, which was sent to the Lagos State House of Assembly on Friday, 28th July, 2023 for screening and confirmation, a coalition of over 30 Muslim groups, under the aegis of Joint Muslims Forum, rejected the proposed cabinet nominees list. They hinged their dissatisfaction on the fact that out of the 39 cabinet nominees, only eight are Muslims while the rest are Christians.
“This came about a week after another Muslim rights advocacy group, Muslim Rights Concern, had condemned the cabinet nominees list, describing it as illegal, adding that it failed to be fair to the Muslim population in the state.
“We would like to make abundantly clear that these remarks and actions are not only distasteful and way out of line, they are deeply condescending and we refuse to accept any form of faith and religious-based bullying behaviour neither would any semblance of such under whatever guise be tolerated,” Adegbite said.
The CAN leader noted that Lagos had “enjoyed immense peace and prosperity over these years because the managers of its affairs amongst many other key elements have worked tirelessly to insulate the state from any form of religious intolerance or anything close to it.”
“It is imperative to remind the purveyors of these unfortunate divisive rhetoric and toxic narratives, that, the success story of Lagos which today is regarded as a model of a place where people have lived like family and still live as such despite belonging to different faith, creed, beliefs and ethnic backgrounds is a function of respect and commitment to the principles of peaceful coexistence and not for lack of divergent opinion or perspectives on issues that concerns us all including political views and others related to it,” he added.
