Islamic organization criticizes Aiyedatiwa for excluding Muslims from important appointments

Under the auspices of the League of Imams and Alfas, Muslim leaders in Ondo State have chastised Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa for what they see as the marginalization of Muslims in the state.

The group, which expressed dissatisfaction with the governor’s uneven nomination process, revealed that Muslims are dissatisfied with the current wave of appointments.

When the Islamic leaders went to see the governor to express their dissatisfaction, they found that Aiyedatiwa had already followed in the footsteps of his late employer, the late Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, who had barred Muslims from the state’s top ten positions.

The league demanded that Muslims be represented more fairly in important positions across a range of industries, with Sheikh Ahmad Aladesawe serving as its chairman.

Aladesawe cautioned that the governor must succeed in order to maintain peace and stability in the state, but stressing that Ondo State is not a Christian state.

It denounced the way Muslim pupils were handled in schools against their beliefs, even as it advised the governor against giving schools back to faith-based organizations.

The Ondo State Muslim community is not pleased with the pace of your appointments, Your Excellency. Are you suggesting that you can’t find a Muslim in your group who is intelligent enough to take even one of those positions? Are you suggesting that there aren’t enough Muslims to fill those positions as technocrats and intellectuals?

“Since your swearing-in, you have appointed four cardinals, all of whom are members of your faith and not a single Muslim. Our children are restless, and we, the elderly, are disturbed.

“Our youth are unhappy, but we have to reassure them that we will meet with you and that we think you’ll make the necessary corrections,” Aladesawe stated.

Aiyedatiwa, for his part, claimed that political interests—which are valued higher than religious ones—were the driving force behind the appointments made thus far.

According to him, the deputy governor was chosen from Owo in remembrance of the late Akeredolu and the Owo people.

In addition, Aiyedatiwa clarified that the SSG traveled to Akure due to the fact that the current administration is in transition and needs to be completed.