For Religious Balancing And Inclusive Justice, We Want A Practicing Muslim As Governor In 2027 – Society Of Ideal Muslims

A Muslim group, The Society of Ideal Muslims (SIM) has advocated for a ‘qualified and practicing Muslim to succeed Prince Dr. Dapo Abiodun MFR as the next Governor of Ogun State after the expiration of his tenure in 2027.

In a press release written by the group and made available to newsmen on Thursday, the group, through its Spokesperson, Abdur-Rafiu Kola Olatunbosun Esq, said that the group is ‘a faith-based, non-partisan civic organization committed to ethical leadership, justice, peaceful coexistence, and constructive participation in democratic governance in Ogun State and Nigeria at large’, and that they are clamoring for the need to have a ‘qualified practicing Muslim at the helms of affairs in Ogun state, come 2027.

While acknowledging the leadership of Governor (Dr.) Prince Dapo Abiodun as ‘articulate and calculative’, the group described him as a ‘passionate human developer, goal achiever, who is despised by truth haters, but compassionately adored by equity advocates, he is bold and daring in tribulations, suppressor of the oppressors and redeemer of the oppressed, overlooker of defaulters that is divinely chosen’.

They described their agitation as one that is not borne out of ill-feeling towards any religion, but a legitimate democratic contribution to the discussion about fair representation.

“Our intervention is not borne out of ill-feeling towards any religion; it is a legitimate democratic contribution to discussion about succession and fair representation.

The Society of Ideal Muslims recounted the past governors of Ogun state since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 in which the ‘Muslim fate has been underrepresented despite its demographic strength and contributions’.

“Governors of Ogun State (Civilian Era)
since the return to democratic rule in 1999, Ogun State has been governed as follows:

Chief Olusegun Osoba
Governor: 1999 – 2003
Religion: Christian.

Otunba Gbenga Daniel
Governor: 2003 – 2011
Religion: Christian.

Senator Ibikunle Amosun
Governor: 2011 – 2019
Religion: Muslim.

Prince (Dr.) Dapo Abiodun
Governor: 2019 – Present
Religion: Christian.

This history clearly shows that leadership has alternated, yet the Muslim community, despite its demographic strength and contributions remains under-represented in continuity and opportunity”.

They further recounted the pressure mounted on the erstwhile Governor of the state, Senator Ibikunle Ikleel Amosun, by the Christian fate to not hand over power to a another Muslim which he later succumbed to.

“It is a Matter in public record that in the build-up to the 2019 governorship election, the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Ogun State chapter, vehemently opposed the bid of the former Governor, His Excellency ,Senator Ibikunle Ikleel Amosun, to support a Muslim successor.

That opposition significantly shaped political decisions at the time, and the governor eventually withdrew from insisting on a Muslim successor; a development widely perceived as political retreat under religious pressure.

This precedent is important, not to inflame tensions, but to underscore the imbalance and inconsistency in how leadership succession has been approached in Ogun State”.

The group, however, demanded that ‘a qualified and practicing Muslim should be presented and supported as the next Governor of Ogun state and that all stakeholders and ruling party should as a matter of fact and religious balancing, support the candidature of a Muslim, stressing that it is not a call for religious domination, hostility toward Christians, nor a rejection of merit, rather, it is a call for inclusive justice, where qualification and faith identity coexist, and where no major group feels perpetually sidelined or marginalized’.