Vice President Namadi Sambo yesterday declared that President Goodluck Jonathan would soon appoint Special Adviser on Islamic Affairs. He assured Muslims in the country that the Federal Government had taken steps to address the imbalance in the composition of the membership of the ongoing National Conference.
Sambo, who spoke at the Golden Jubilee lecture ofVice President Namadi Sambo yesterday declared that President Goodluck Jonathan would soon appoint Special Adviser on Islamic Affairs. He assured Muslims in the country that the Federal Government had taken steps to address the imbalance in the composition of the membership of the ongoing National Conference. Sambo, who spoke at the Golden Jubilee lecture of the Jamatu Nasril Islam, JNI, in Kaduna, said the Federal Government would ensure fairness and justice to all Nigerians irrespective of religion and ethnicity. He added that the government had taken measures to address the constant crises between farmers and pastoralists, in an effort to resolve the insecurity in the country and ensure return of normalcy. Sambo said: “I want to confirm that Mr. President has immediately directed positive action on the matter. Mr. President accepted on my recommendation to appoint a special adviser on Islamic affairs. “Government would see to the end of the barbaric acts of insurgency in the country.
We are making efforts to ensure harmony between farmers and pastoralists; we have strategise on how to stop the constant crises between farmers and pastoralists. We are making efforts to address the issue of grazing range and grazing reserves.” On his part, the Sultan, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, yesterday said there were no plans to turn Nigeria into an Islamic nation. Abubakar, who is also the President-General of JNI, said: “Nobody can Islamise Nigeria, if Allah wanted, he would have made everybody Muslims, so also with Christianity. God would have made everybody Christian if He wanted.” He stressed the need for the people to set aside ethnoreligious differences and be committed to peace and development of the nation. The Sultan said JNI’s criticism of certain policies of the Jonathan administration was a wake up call for government or those in leadership positions “to do what is right”. He said that JNI’s action was not aimed at fighting the government or any group or religion.