Politics
2023: Islamic Group Attacks Dino Melaye Over Statement On Tinubu
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has slammed the spokesperson for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Management Committee (PCC), Dino Melaye, for saying Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 election, is not a Muslim.
Melaye had, in a tweet on Monday, challenged Tinubu to recite the Fatiha and three suras to demonstrate that he is a true Muslim.
He tweeted: “Fathia challenge: Dino defeated Tinubu in Quranic citation. Emilokan is not a Muslim but an emergency Muslim trying to learn the basics of Islam for political purposes. Vote him out.”
However, MURIC has now fired back at Melaye, insisting he had no moral right to question Tinubu’s level of faith.
READ ALSO: Tinubu: APC Youth Leader Explains ‘Jagaban Army’ Amid Outrage
MURIC’s reaction was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday by the director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement reads in part: “We are astonished by Dino Melaye’s statement. To say the least, it is false, baseless and unfounded. It is a product of oral diarrhoea. It is also an intrusion into Muslim affairs by a non-Muslim who does not enter the mosque with us. It is, therefore, provocative, preposterous and ill-advised.
“Dino Melaye is not qualified to utter such a statement. The last time we checked, Dino was busy climbing trees. There is no record of him ever attending a madrasah (Quranic school) talk of being an Islamic scholar. Can he, therefore, tell us when Tinubu came to him to learn Surat al-Fatihah which he claimed Tinubu does not know? Is he Tinubu’s Alfa?
“Dino comes across as a meddlesome interloper and confusion who, faced by an eminently qualified and indubitably superior opposition candidate, clings at straws in a desperate search for foul means to demonize this primus inter pares presidential material called Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“He knows very well that Tinubu is the numero uno among all the presidential candidates for the 2023 elections. Dino is currently frustrated because he is aware that Tinubu is the doyen of Nigerian Muslims and their choice for the presidency despite the fact that his principal, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, is also a Muslim.
“This is where Dino is going. His message was meant to be digested by Nigerian Muslims. That is why it is MURIC’s business to tackle him. He appears to be saying, ‘Drop Tinubu. He is not Muslim enough. Stop following him. My principal is a better Muslim’.
“But Nigerian Muslims are not being parochial. They did not pick Tinubu because he is a Muslim. They picked him because of his pedigree. They picked him because they knew that he is capable of managing the Nigerian economy in this turbulent world, just as he did in Lagos State when the going got rough.
“Melaye has failed, however. We know Tinubu is not a Shaykh or an Islamic scholar. Not every Muslim must be an Islamic scholar anyway. It is enough for us that he is a Muslim. We are also aware that only a tolerant Muslim can unite Nigeria in its present condition and Tinubu happens to be the round peg in the round hole.
“Why should that be a problem for Dino? Why is he taking panadol for our perceived headache? Dino should realize that he cannot weaken the resolve of Nigerian Muslims to support Tinubu.
“A similar smear campaign was engineered when Tinubu sat on a chair during Salat (prayer) inside a mosque. It is only ignoramuses that can criticize a Muslim for using a chair during Salat. It is a common practice even in Makkah and Madinah. It is Shariah-compliant.
READ ALSO: 2023: Arise TV Cameraman Sent Out Of Tinubu’s Event
“Muslims who have knee problems are allowed to sit on chairs during Salat. Even the director of MURIC sits on a chair during Salat, and he goes about with a foldable chair in his car boot. Dino’s tag of ‘emergency Muslim’ for Tinubu holds no water. It is a misnomer. Tinubu is not a convert. So what necessitated that label?
“Neither is Tinubu homo sapien incognito to the Muslims of Lagos, nay, the whole of Yorubaland. We can also confirm that Tinubu is the most popular and most loved Southern Muslim in the North. We assert clearly, categorically and unequivocally that Tinubu is a bona fide Muslim. Dino Melaye should shut up.
“Dino is wasting his time if he asks Muslims to vote against Tinubu in the next election. We are not surprised anyway. A man who spent 11 hours on tree top must have a flair either for time-wasting or for authoring the other version of the truth.”
Politics
PDP NWC Directs S’South Zonal Caretaker Committee To Oversee Cross River Chapter
The National Working Committee, NWC, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has directed its South-South Zonal Caretaker Committee to immediately take charge of the affairs of its Cross River chapter.
The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba directed the committee to oversee the affairs of the party until the conduct of the state congress scheduled for Saturday, September 27.
Ologunagba said that the directive issued at the NWC meeting of Thursday was sequel to the expiration of the tenure of the elected Cross River State Executive Committee on September 18.
READ ALSO:Fuel Scarcity Imminent As NUPENG, Dangote Face-off Festers Business
He said that the decision was to ensure that there was no vacuum in the affairs of the party before the emergence of a new state executive for the chapter.
“By this, the South-South Zonal Caretaker Committee led by Chief Emmanuel Ogidi is directed to liaise with the NWC for the conduct of the year 2025 congress in Cross River to elect a new executive committee for the chapter on Saturday September 27.
“The NWC charges all leaders, stakeholders and members of our party in Cross River to remain united, steadfast and continue to work together in the overall interest and progress of our great party in the state,” Ologunagba stated.
Politics
PHOTO: Rivers Residents Throng Govt House To Welcome Fubara
Rivers State’s capital is a sea of jubilant supporters on Thursday as Governor Siminalayi Fubara is expected to triumphantly return to office following the end of the state’s six-month emergency rule.
Throngs of residents, politicians, and key stakeholders have converged on the Government House in Port Harcourt, eagerly awaiting the governor’s arrival.
The atmosphere is one of profound relief and celebration, with various groups dressed in their uniforms, standing outside the gates and anticipating the moment their leader will make his appearance.
READ ALSO:Suspected Cultists Invade Rivers Compound, Rob Students, Residents
The collective joy reflects the widespread satisfaction with the restoration of democratic governance.
Residents who spoke with Nigerian Television Authority expressed their delight, with many voicing hope that the state will now usher in a new era of development and progress.
As the governor prepares to resume his duties, all eyes are on the renewed promise of stability and accelerated development for the people of Rivers State.
“Although the governor has yet to arrive at the Government House, various groups clad in their uniforms are standing outside the gate, anticipating his arrival”, NTA report indicated.
Residents of the state who spoke with NTA News expressed satisfaction over the restoration of democratic rule in the state, expressing hope that the state would now witness more development.
Politics
Rivers: Supporters Disappointed As Fubara Fails To Show Up
Thousands of supporters who had thronged the Government House, Port Harcourt, on Thursday morning to welcome Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, went home disappointed after waiting for hours.
Many of the supporters, who came as early as 6 a.m. from different parts of the state, including rural areas, started leaving the Government House entrance between 12 noon and 1 p.m.
Some of their leaders, including the immediate past local government chairmen loyal to Fubara, were seen making frantic calls as the whereabouts of the governor remained unknown as of 1 p.m.
Among the sacked LG chairmen who led their supporters to the Government House in anticipation of the governor’s return were the former chairman of Obio/Akpor, Chijoke Ihunwo, and his counterpart from Port Harcourt City, Ezebunwo Itche-Mati, among others.
READ ALSO:
Meanwhile, none of the supporters of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, were seen at the Government House, including the newly elected LG chairmen.
Some of those seen leaving the Government House gate expressed frustration over the governor’s absence after waiting for several hours.
“We are going because we are hungry. Maybe when the governor comes, we will return,” one of them said.
READ ALSO:
The development coincided with the expiration of the six-month emergency rule imposed on the state following the hostilities between the governor and the Assembly, which is largely controlled by loyalists of the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike.
President Bola Tinubu in March declared an end to the State of Emergency in Rivers State, following months of political turmoil that paralysed governance and threatened security in the oil-rich state.
The President had appointed Ibas as administrator after dissolving political structures to restore order.
However, Tinubu, on Wednesday, formally declared an end to the State of Emergency in Rivers State, clearing the way for the return of full democratic governance in the state.
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BREAKING: Tinubu Ends State Of Emergency In Rivers
