The Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has confirmed that he could not see any evidence that a building existed on the disputed land in Rainbow Town, Port Harcourt where some persons alleged that the Rivers State Government demolished a mosque.
\nSpeaking with journalists after a joint assessment of the disputed land with Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike at Rainbow Town, yesterday evening, Fayemi described the entire controversy as a storm in a tea cup.
\nHe said: \u201cWith what I have seen, I cannot see any evidence of any building that has been demolished here.
\n\u201cIf you are somebody who wants a place of worship, you should find a way to oblige them. I know within your capacity, it will be possible to find a place for them.
\n\u201cFrom what I have seen here, I think it is a storm in a tea cup. There is nothing to warrant this kind of media hype that has been given to it\u201d.
\nThe NGF chairman said that his assessment visit was necessitated by a call to Governor Wike after the controversy on the disputed land broke out.
\nThe Ekiti State governor said that when the controversy started, he placed a call to Wike, who pointedly emphasised that no mosque was demolished.
\nHe noted that the Rivers State governor explained the history of the disputed land, explaining that it started during the Chibuike Amaechi administration and that the matter was already in court.
\n\u201cIf they cannot have this place that is contentious, and they have gone to court and you have respected their right to go to court, if they want to come back and seek a request to have another place, I plead that His Excellency should oblige them.
\n\u201cYou cannot allow people to build on a sewer. Even in my state, I will not allow people to build on a sewer. There is no governor that I know that will allow that to happen.
\n\u201cIf they are willing and prepared to have their place of worship elsewhere, that shouldn\u2019t be too much of a request. It is important for us to promote harmony, rather than discord\u201d, Fayemi said.
\nHe said that state governors must continue to interact on sensitive matters before taking a position.
\nThe Ekiti governor said, \u201cAll of us should try as much as possible to speak to one another when things like these happen, rather than jump to any conclusion. That\u2019s what brought me here; so that I can see for myself precisely what has transpired, and I want to thank you for granting me the opportunity to visit when I insisted that I want to see the place in contention\u201d, he added.
\nResponding, Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike thanked the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors\u2019 Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, for exhibiting leadership by visiting the state to see things for himself.
\nWike, who noted that the Ekiti State governor, has confirmed that there was no mosque as was wrongly reported, wondered why people politicise everything.
\n\u201cI want to thank the chairman of my forum for, at least, coming to see things for himself. He called me while he was away, and I told him, you know that I can\u2019t do something like that, and he said okay, when he comes back, he was coming to see me and he has fulfilled that promise. That shows leadership, and from what he has seen, there was no mosque.
\n\u201cThere is no way I will see a mosque and order the Ministry of Urban Development to go and demolish a mosque. Assuming that there is even a mosque and that government doesn\u2019t want it at that location, we will invite them and say look, we don\u2019t want a mosque there, can we find you an alternative place, but there was no mosque. I don\u2019t know why people should make politics out of the issue. It\u2019s not important.\u201d
\n\u201cSo, I thank the chairman of the Nigerian Governors\u2019 Forum, the Ekiti State governor for taking this bold step to come and see things for himself\u201d, he asserted.
\nThe Rivers State governor assured of the state government\u2019s readiness to give an alternative place to the Muslim community if they desire it.
\nHe urged the people not to create discord among the different religions as they worship the same God.
\nSimilarly, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa\u2019ad Abubakar, yesterday, came down hard on politicians accusing them of fuelling religious unrest across the country.
\nAccording to him, the political class are to be blamed \u201cfor using their selfish ambition to fuel religious suspicious and create religious unrest in the country\u201d.
\nHe said this at Saint David\u2019s Cathedral in Akure the Ondo state capital during a meeting with religious leaders under Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC).
\nThe head of the Muslim sect is in the state on a two-day official visit and being hosted by the Deji of Akure land, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi.
\nAbubakar, therefore, advised \u201cNigerians to shun politicians and important personalities who are politicising religions and creating tension across the country.
\nAccording to him \u201cthe Bible and Quran do not belong to any political party\u201d.
\nSpeaking on the controversy trailing the alleged demolition of a mosque in Port-Harcourt by the Rivers State Government, Abubakar said that the \u201cNigerian Inter-Religious Council at the national level is already handling the issue for an amicable resolution\u201d.
\nHe noted that, \u201cnobody should claim to love God without loving his or her neighbours who are Muslims and Christians\u201d.
\nThe Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo said that the historic visit by the Sultan was to foster religious harmony in the state.
\nThe meeting was attended by both Christians and Muslims leaders.
\nThe Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) was led by their state Chairman, Reverend John Ayo Oladapo while the Muslims were led by the state Chairman, League of Imams and Alfas, Alhaji Ahmed Aladesawe.
\nAbubakar had earlier inaugurated the newly constructed mosque at the Deji\u2019s Palace.
\nHowever, the Sultan will today deliver the Akure, Ondo State\u2019s 2019 yearly Ulefunta Public Lecture.
\nThis year\u2019s lecture, which is the second edition, will hold at the Main Auditorium of the Federal University of Technology, Akure.
\nAccording to the Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Prince Adebisi Adeniyi, the lecture is entitled \u201cOur diversity a divine gift and blessing untapped: Wrong path trod and way to peace\u201d.
\nExplaining the Ulefunta Festival, the chairman said, \u201cIt is the brainchild of the Akure monarch, the Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, who began a process of bringing Akure\u2019s culture into modern remembrance, one of which is the traditional period of leave of the Akure king called Ulefunta which is now celebrated to impart its lessons on the modern world\u201d.
\nAdeniyi said, \u201cThe Lecture, which will be chaired by the renowned entrepreneur, Chief Michael Ade Ojo, will also have the governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, as the Special Guest of Honour, and will be attended by prominent traditional rulers, religious leaders, opinion leaders, community leaders, youths and students\u201d.
\nIt would be recalled that the 2018 edition of the Public Lecture was delivered by the current Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah.
\nAlso, the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike has appointed Alhaji Abdulrazak Deprieye as the sole administrator of Rivers State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board (RSMPWB).
\nA statement by the Special Assistant to the Rivers State Governor, Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, in Government House, Port Harcourt, yesterday, indicated that \u201cthe appointment takes immediate effect\u201d.
\nIn a related development, the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, Susan Aderonke Folarin has commended the Rivers State Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike, for his love for children and investment in youth development initiatives.
\nWhile applauding the governor for investing in the development of youths, the envoy also charged the government to ensure that the identified talents were not allowed to waste.
\nFolarin gave the commendation when she played host to the players of Banham Model School, Port Harcourt, who have been sponsored by the Rivers State Government on a two-week training programme to the prestigious Real Madrid Academy, Spain.
\nShe urged the boys to be good ambassadors of Nigeria wherever the future takes them.
\nFolarin did not forget to applaud the efforts of their sponsor and Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike for taking unusual interest in youth development and job creation to drive Nigeria\u2019s socio-economic development.
\nWhile thanking God for the privileges they have enjoyed, the boys also did not forget to thank the Rivers State Government for investing in them.
\nWith their visit finally over, the boys then headed back to the Real Madrid Academy to continue with their training programme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Chairman of Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Ekiti State Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi has confirmed that he could not see any evidence that a building existed on the disputed land in Rainbow Town, Port Harcourt where some persons alleged that the Rivers State Government demolished a mosque. Speaking with journalists after a joint assessment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":214268,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,26],"tags":[688],"class_list":["post-214258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-front-pix","tag-front-pix"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=214258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/214268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=214258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=214258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetidenewsonline.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=214258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}