Why Rivers dissolved pilgrims’ board, by Wike

Lalong, Akeredolu, Islamic groups task Muslim faithful on national peace
Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike has disclosed that the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board was dissolved because of division and the illegal sale of pilgrimage slots.

Wike, however, assured Muslims in the state that his administration would continue to carry all groups along, irrespective of their religious and ethnic background.

The governor stated this during a special Sallah homage to the Government House in Port Harcourt yesterday by the Islamic leader of Rivers State, Nasir Uhor.

He said the bickering in the Muslim board necessitated the action of his administration to dissolve it.

Uhor, on behalf of the Muslim community in Rivers State, said that the governor’s victory during the last governorship election had positioned the state for greater development in the next four years.

However, the Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has enjoined the Muslim faithful to use the period to offer prayers for peace, unity, prosperity, healing of the land and rapid development at all levels of governance in the country.

A statement by the Deputy Director of Press and Public Affairs to the Governor, Mr. Solomon Gujor, quoted Lalong as calling on all Muslims to put into practice lessons learnt during the Ramadan period and to love and share with the less-privileged as exemplified by Prophet Muhammad.

Also, Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has felicitated with the Muslim community across the country on the grace bestowed on them by the Almighty Allah to participate in this year’s Ramadan fast.

Akeredolu noted that the yearly spiritual exercise, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, would contribute the more to the spiritual well-being of the Islamic faithful.

This was contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr. Segun Ajiboye, yesterday in Akure, the state capital.

He, therefore, urged the Muslim faithful to imbibe the lessons learnt from the one-month spiritual fasting.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Public Affairs Centre (MPAC) and the Muslim Rights Concerns (MURIC) have urged love and unity among the citizenry to facilitate the desired growth aspiration of the nation.

The groups, in their Eid-el-Fitri message yesterday, urged the Muslim faithful not to go back to the old bad ways after the Ramadan and also exhibit love to bind the nation together in peace and progress.

Manager, Public Affairs, MPAC, Abdulwarees Sholanke, said: “The holiday is a time for forgiveness and making amends and also a time when children, communities and families come together and celebrate.”

Director, MURIC, Ishaq Akintola, who advocated the use of carrot and stick method as a panacea to the scourge of kidnapping, said security agencies should take the battle to the kidnappers while government should introduce welfare packages for the poor.