Centre for Social and Economic Rights (CSER) has condemned the recent statement credited to a Muslim group (MURIC) on the endorsement of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State for a second term in office by the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) of his party All Progressive Congress (APC).

In a press statement signed by its Executive director Nelson Ekujumi, CSER described the statement as reckless, divisive, anti-people, retrogressive, provocative and an assault on the sensibilities of the good people of Lagos who see themselves as brothers and sisters, even when conscious of their religious differences”.

Nelson Ekujumi while condemning Dr. Ishaq Akintola’s statement, admonished the MURIC leader to understand and appreciate that Nigeria is a secular state and that Lagos State as part and parcel of that federation is not made up of persons of only Christian and Islamic religious faith for whom the reign of governance should be a turn-by-turn affair.

CSER challenged Dr Akintola to produce for public scrutiny any iota of evidence to substantiate his unwritten agreement of turn-by-turn on who becomes the Governor of Lagos State between Christians and Muslims and the identity of the stakeholders involved.

Going further, Nelson Ekujumi advised Dr. Akintola to go and read the political history of Lagos State and be better informed than religion has never been a yardstick for deciding democratically who becomes the Governor of the state, but character, capacity and performance which produced former Governors Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and now Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu who has stepped into the shoes of his predecessors gallantly.

However, Ekujumi advised MURIC to redirect its energy and drive toward good governance as encapsulated in the sterling performance of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s administration in his first term and which has earned him accolades and admiration both locally and internationally and propelled his endorsement for a second term in office by the GAC, rather than this anti-people and divisive campaign of Christians against Muslims whose brotherhood chain in Lagos State and Nigeria cannot be broken by any agent provocateur.

CSER then called on Lagosians to ignore the divisive statement of MURIC and continue to see themselves as brothers and sisters united by a common destiny for a greater Lagos to the benefit of humanity and to the glory of God.