Vincent Ezenagu
The Osun State Government has reacted to a statement by the Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Ishaq Akintola, accusing Governor Ademola Adeleke of marginalising Muslims in his administration.
The State Government in a statement issued by the Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Oluomo Kolapo Alimi charged Professor Akintola to be guided by the Quran and Hadith of Prophet Muhammad in his engagement with the Osun State Government.
“We believe Professor Akintola acted on misinformation or he is actively an agent of misinformation. Governor Adeleke is a strong believer who relates well with people of all faiths, in line with the inclusive leadership example of Prophet Muhammad (SAW). His administration has appointed qualified Muslims to key positions.
For the record, Governor Adeleke appointed Alhaji Teslim Igbalaye as Secretary to the State Government and Alhaji Kazeem Akinleye, a student of Sheikh Kamaludeen Al-Adabiyy in Ilorin, as Chief of Staff. His Spokesperson is a known Mallam of Tijaniya extraction. The Commissioner for Information is alone a deep muslim of Al-Adabiyy extraction. Several other Muslims are also serving as commissioners and heads of agencies, alongside qualified appointees of other faiths.
This administration commenced construction of the Osun Hajj Camp, ending Osun’s status as the only Southwest state without one. The governor also approved a mosque in the Government House for Muslim staff.
We urge Professor Akintola to verify facts before going public, as admonished in Qur’an 49:6.
He should also assess government performance using verifiable data on budget execution, debt management by the DMO, and healthcare, where Osun was rated best in the Southwest for primary healthcare in 2024 and 2025.
Elections should be about jobs, security, infrastructure, healthcare, and education, not identity politics.
“We expect MURIC to judge this administration by its record of service to all citizens, Muslim and non-Muslim alike”.
Rather than feign his political attack with religious coloration, Professor Akintola should be courageous to declare his partisan interest in the opposition APC and stop using religion to do hatchet job politics.
We challenge MURIC to openly condemn the shooting of law-abiding residents (Muslims and non Muslims) of the state by APC thugs in branded APC campaign vehicles in Ile-Ife, Akoda, Owode-Ede and Osogbo, to disprove the allegation that he’s been paid by the opposition to attack Governor Ademola Adeleke.
Rather than spreading baseless misinformation, we are also of the opinion that MURIC should be more interested in cases like the sudden addition of ‘Munirudeen’ to the names of the Osun APC Governorship candidate, a name which was missing from his primary, secondary and university certificates.