Kunle Awosiyan
In two days between Monday and Tuesday last week, the Lagos State House of Assembly screened 39 nominees sent by the state Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for confirmation as members of the state Executive Council.
Unlike the senate screening of President Bola Tinubu’snominees that attracted great media attention, the Lagos Assembly made silent noise about the screening of Sanwo-Olu’snominees.
However, concerned residents and stakeholders made loud noise against and for the list sent to the assembly.
Prior to the screening, a group of business and political elite with the name Ikorodu Division Apex Leaders published in the Punch Newspaper of August 7, 2023 a petition against the governor, pointing out his lopsided appointment in the list sent to the house of assembly.
Signed by the former state deputy governor, Prince AbiodunOgunleye, the group comprising 60 members called on the governor to urgently increase the numbers of the division on the list.
The petition with the title, “Ikorodu Division Demand Equity, Fairness and Justice” the group demanded for three slots in the list of nominees forwarded to the assembly.
The group pleaded for the stoppage of an alleged discrimination against people of the Ikorodu Division by the government of Sanwo-Olu as it emphasized on less inclusion of its people in the inauguration committee that ushered in the governor for the second term.
It demanded utmost respect for political leaders of the Ikorodufrom the governor as it called on Sanwo-Olu to do the needful about the list.
However, Echonews gathered that the governor had considered the demands of the elite and would be sending a second list to include candidates from Ikorodu Division.
But the noise from Ikorodu has barely subsided when the Lagos Muslims hit the road to protest against the list as it file a petitionto the lawmakers over Sanwo-Olu’s commissioners list
This group comprises heads of various Islamic Organisationsand scholars under the umbrella of the Lagos Muslim Community.
(One of the petitions published by Ikorodu leaders)
The group describe
(Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa)
d the list of commissioner designates as official marginalisationof the Muslim community in Lagos.
According to them, the commissioners list released by Governor Sanwo-Olu has eight Muslims, and 31 Christians.
In the petition, submitted to the assembly and titled, “Discrimination against Muslims in the Nomination of Commissioners” the President, Muslim Community of Lagos State, Prof. Tajudeen .G.O. Gbadamosi, reads, “We are here today to express our 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 commissioners nominees submitted by Governor Sanwo-Olu to this honorable House for your screening and confirmation.
“As you are aware, 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. This is not a new development, especially since Governor Sanwo-Oluassumed leadership of this State, as a matter of fact, it is has been elevated to a level of official state policy to deny Muslims their deserved positions under the Sanwo-Olu adminustration.
“For instance, in 2019, when Mr. Sanwo-Olu became governor, he appointed 14 Special Advisers, and only one (1) among them was a Muslim. Again, his State Executive Council, which had 43 members, only 14 were Muslims, and the remaining 29 were Christians.
“Also, of the 23 commissioners, 10 were Muslims and 13 of them Christians. Only 15 Muslims, with 35 Christians, made up the body of 50 Permanent Secretaries in his first term. These are just a few among numerous ways in which the Sanwo-Oluadministration deny Muslims in this state their rightful place and number in leadership.”
The petition further reads, “The Rt. Hon. Speaker and honorable members, we want you to note that this list from Governor Sanwo-Olu violates the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria particularly Section 14(4) and is further strengthened by section 192(2) both stating as follows.
“The composition of the Government of a State, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognise the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples of the Federation.”
“192(2) Any appointment to the office of Commissioner of the Government of a State shall, if the nomination of any person to such office is confirmed by the House of Assembly of the State, be made by the Governor of that State and in making any such appointment the Governor shall conform with the provisions of section 14(4) of this Constitution.”
It reads, “With due respect Governor Sanwo-Olu’s list clearly violates these provisions of the Constitution and we accordingly call upon this honorable House not to endorse any action that violates our national grundnorm, especially one which equally violates good conscience and natural justice.
“The argument that Muslims have more elected officials in Lagos State in preposterous. This is even more so at a time when all the Six (6) Governors of the southwest are Christians and we the Muslims do not complain about this, because we recognisethat they contested for offices and won.
“Why must Muslims in Lagos State always beg and fight for their constitutional rights especially since Mr Sanwo-olu became Governor? We recall with utmost sadness really, that until the Supreme Court ruled in favour of hijab for our school girls, successive Lagos Governments, never felt it should endeavor to align with the global best practice of accepting hijab in addition to abiding with the rule of law.
“The historic pro-hijab judgement was delivered in March 2022 and globally acknowledged. However, Governor Sanwo-Olu’sgovernment in its peculiar idiosyncrasy chose to ignore this until a year later, after ceaseless pressure was mounted by well-meaning individuals.”
“We the Muslims of, and in Lagos State wish to categorically state that the entire leadership of the Muslim Community of Lagos State representing various Muslim organizations, unequivocally and unanimously reject the list of commissioner-designates of Governor Sanwo-Olu and we demand a reversal and review to reflect 60% in favour of Muslims in a fresh list.
“We call on the Lagos State House of Assembly to reject the list as similarly done in the Niger State House of Assembly, where a noticeably minority Christian population demanded a reversal of the list of commissioners to reflect fairness and equity to them.
“We also call on you and the House of Assembly to impress on the government the need to respect the diversity of the state’s population and to appoint a more representative cabinet. We believe that this is essential for the future stability and prosperity of Lagos State.”
However, the Christian Association of Nigeria swiftly reacted to the Muslims as it rose to Sanwo-Olu’s defence on cabinet nominees list and dismissed complaints by the Muslims.
While the screening was about to start on Monday, CAN organized a press conference where it condemned the Muslims agitation and threw its weight behind Sanwo-Olu.
Speaking at the conference, the Lagos State Chairman of CAN,Rt. Rev. Dr Stephen ‘Tunde Victor Adegbite, endorsed the list.
He said. “As you are aware, consequent upon the list of 39 cabinet nominees of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Oluwhich 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 (JMF), rejected the proposed cabinet nominees list. They hinged their dissatisfaction on the fact that, out of the 39 cabinet nominees, only 8 are Muslims with the rest as Christians. This came about a week after another Muslim rights advocacy group, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), 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. It would not be an exaggeration to say Lagos has 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.
“As provided for in our laws, it is within the purview of Mr. Governor, after relevant consultations and objective considerations to put forward a list of cabinet nominees whose choice as expected should be based purely on merit, competence, capacity and sufficient capabilities to deliver on the set goals and objectives of the government and not on their faith or religious affiliations. For any group, organisation or persons to now turn such list of political nominees into a religious or faith based conversation is uncharitable and should be condemned in its entirety.”
He added that “It is on record, that some members of the Christian community like myself and other good people of faith supported and worked for the victory of the much attacked muslim-muslim ticket of President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR and the Vice President, Senator KashimShettima, GCON. This was not done for any personal gain but out of conviction of what they could do to transform the fortunes of our country, a pathway that is slowly but firmly being charted. Religion or faith was not on the front burner while doing this but a corporate interest that we are certain will be rewarded with good governance and dividends of democracy. Similarly, in electing the current Speaker of the State House of Assembly (leader of the Legislature) and the appointment of the present Chief Judge of the State (the head of the Judiciary), no member of the Christian community demanded that faith or religion should be a criteria rather, competence and their ranking was used.
“Today, the 3 serving Distinguished Senators representing the 3 Senatorial Districts of the State in the 10th Senate are Muslims. It is a fact, that those who voted for them include members of the Christian community in their constituencies. Religion or faith wasn’t a basis for their choice. In addition to this, over 60 per cent of the 24 members elected into the 10th House of Representatives from Lagos are Muslims. Same can be said of the 40 member Lagos State House of Assembly. And during their swearing-in, there was no demand that unless an equal number of members are Christians, they must not be sworn-in as prescribed by law. One then wonders why the list of cabinet nominees should be subjected to issues of religion and faith when the Christian community has never and would never such mundane demands.
“We hereby urge the Lagos State House of Assembly to peacefully continue the constitutional process of screening and confirmation of the nominees which they started yesterday, Sunday 13th August, 2023 and not give ears to or be swayed in anyway by the incongruous and unsavoury demands by this group of persons. We also plead with well-meaning citizens of the state to kindly disregard any call that is capable of igniting religious emotions and sentiments. We promise to continue to pray and support our governments at all levels including our state for them to meet the yearnings and expectations of the citizenry that voted them into power without any religious bias but that believe and trust that they can deliver. “
Recall that governor Sanwo-Olu sent the list of 39 nominees of his proposed cabinet members to the Lagosn State House of Assembly for ratification in July.
According to the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Gboyega Akosile the list consists 30 percent women, while others are youths, technocrats, and politicians.
Some members of the governor’s cabinet during his first term in office made the list, while several others were dropped.
Among the former cabinet members who made the list are former Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. GbengaOmotoso; his Budget and Economic Planning counterpart, Mr. Sam Egube; ex-Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi; ex-Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, Aramide Adeyooye; and his Education counterpart, TokunboWahab.
Meanwhile, A 12-man Ad-hoc Committee recently set up by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has concluded the screening of cabinet nominees sent to the House by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The exercise which lasted between Sunday and Wednesday night saw the committee members screening 39 nominees to ascertain their capacities and preparedness for the job if eventually confirmed.
Speaking at the end of the exercise, its Chairman, Hon. MojeedFatai, described the screening as a successful exercise saying the members asked questions that obtained responses that would help with the right recommendations.
“Today, the 16th day of August, 2023 marks the closing day of the assignment given to us by the House to screen the Governor’s nominees.
“Each day, we have spent over ten hours questioning the nominees for the position of commissioners and special advisers for the Lagos State Governor’s cabinet,” Hon. Fatai, who is the Chief Whip of the House, said.
The Committee chairman said a report would be submitted to the larger House immediately for further action.
“I stated at the beginning of this exercise that each nominee would be treated fairly and I am happy to say that we delivered.
“The exercise was given live coverage so that people can see it from any part of the world,” he said.
The Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Hon. AdedamolaRichard Kasunmu, also confirmed that the task of the committee was done.
“At this point, let me express that the committee does not have the power to confirm of reject any nominee.
“I wish all of them success and remind them of their promises if confirmed,” he said.
The nominees include Mr. Afolabi Ayantayo,Hon. LayodeIbrahim, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, Dr. Jide Babatunde, Mr RotimiOgunwuyi, Mr. Gbenga Oyerinde, Mr. Lawal Pedro SAN, Mr. Mobolaji Ogunlende, Mr. Jamiu Alli-Balogun, Mr. OlakunleRotimi-Akodu and Engr. Aramide Adeyoye.
Others are Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Mr. MosopefoluGeorge, Mr. Abdulkabir Ogungbo, Engr. Abiola Olowu, Dr. Adekunle Olayinka, Mr. Idris Aregbe, Mr. Yakub AdedayoAlebiosu, Hon. Bola Olumegbon, Dr. Oreoluwa Finnih- Awokoya, Prof. Akin Abayomi, Ms. Barakat Bakare, Mr. Kayode Bolaji-Roberts, Mr. Seun Osiyemi, Mr. MorufAkinderu Fatai, Mr. Gbenga Omotosho, Engr. Olalere Odusote, Dr. Rotimi Fashola, Mrs. Bolaji Cecilia Dada, Mr. TunbosunAlake, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo, Ms. Abisola Ruth Olusanya, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose, Dr. OlumideOluyinka, Mr. Yomi Oluyomi, Mr. Sam Egube, Mr. OlalekanFatodu and Mrs. Solape Hammond.