President Goodluck Jonathan has accused governors of some North-West states of Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna of marginalising Christians in their states.
According to reports, the president told the governors that by failing to sponsor christians to annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem as they send muslims to Mecca that they have marginalised the christians in their states.
The president was reported to have made this statement in Abuja last Wednesday when he met with a delegation of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, led by its President, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, and the Secretary General, Ishaq Oloyede.
After responding to the complaints of alleged maginalisation of Nigerian Muslims made by the delegation, the President shocked everyone at the meeting when he announced that he had his own grouse with some Muslim leaders from the Northwest.
“I still don’t understand why governors from especially the North-West do not want to sponsor Christians to Jerusalem,” Mr. Jonathan was quoted as saying. “If you sponsor Muslims to Mecca, you have to sponsor Christians to Jerusalem. If you don’t do that it is marginalization and it is unfair to Christians.”
The President then told his guests that when he was governor of the South-south state of Bayelsa, he consistently sponsored Muslims, who were minority in the state, to Mecca.
Jonathan was said to have requested the Sultan and other members of the delegation to help pressure the governors to refrain from any form of religious discrimination.
