Vice President, Kashim Shettima, on Monday, urged the government of Sokoto State to jealousy guard the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar.
Shettima made the call at the ongoing North West Peace and Security Summit in Katsina State.
The vice president said, “In all developmental issues in this country, His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto, I want to use him as a point of reference to recognise and appreciate all our royal fathers present here.
“And to the Deputy Governor of Sokoto, I have a simple message for you, Yes, the Sultan is the Sultan of Sokoto, but he is much more than that; he represents an idea, he is an Institution, that all of us in this country need to jealousy guard, protect, promote, preserve and project for the growth of our nation.”
Shettima spoke following an alarm raised by the Muslim Rights Council, MURIC.
MURIC’s Executive Director, Prof. Isiaq Akintola, had alleged a plot to depose the Sultan of Sokoto.
In his statement, Akintola said Nigerian Muslims would reject any thought of deposing the Sultan.
“Feelers in circulation indicate that the governor may descend on the Sultan of Sokoto any moment from now using any of the flimsy excuses used to dethrone the 15 traditional rulers whom he removed earlier.
“MURIC advises the governor to look before he leaps. The Sultan’s stool is not only traditional. It is also religious. In the same vein, his jurisdiction goes beyond Sokoto. It covers the whole of Nigeria. He is the spiritual head of all Nigerian Muslims.”
