Decoration
The Deputy Governorship candidate of the PDP in Ogun, Hajia Lateefat Sowunmi-Kolapo, has urged Muslims in the state to shun vote-buying and violence, and to actively participate in elections.
She made the call on Friday in Abeokuta, shortly after her decoration as Grand Matron of the Ogun State Muslim Council (OMC), Egba Zone.
She described the honour as a demonstration of the confidence and affection of the Muslim community.
Sowunmi-Kolapo said Muslim leaders, families and youths must recognise the importance of political participation in protecting their interests and heritage in the state.
According to her, religious leaders and members of the community should not assume that their interests would be automatically protected without active involvement in the political process.
“Let us tell our wards and our children, there should be no violence. Everybody should go out to exercise their civic rights and ensure that those they want actually emerge,” she said.
She also cautioned against money politics, noting that politicians, who distributed money during elections might seek greater favours after assuming office.
“So, everybody should ensure that this time around, they participate in the election. They shouldn’t sit back and say, ‘Oh, they will write the votes, somebody will write the votes.’ It is what you do that will count,” she said.
She urged the Muslim community to come out in large numbers during elections, exercise their civic rights peacefully and vote for candidates of their choice.
The candidate, who canvassed support for the
PDP governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, expressed appreciation to the Muslim community for the love and support extended to her since the beginning of her political journey.
“Stepping into the shoes of the late Iya Suna of Egbaland, Chief Mrs. Ediosare, is a big deal for me and I just pray that Almighty Allah guides my steps and makes everything fruitful at the end of the day,” she said.
In his keynote lecture, the Mufti of Ilorin, Sheikh Farouq Sulaiman Onikijipa, urged government at all levels to invest more in education, noting that it remained critical to national stability.
Speaking on the theme, “Socio-economic Stability: A Fortress for Global Security”, he said morality must be prioritised in leadership selection.
Onikijipa decried the high cost of education at both private and public levels and called on government to make education more accessible to promote stability.
“For us to have stability in anything, we must choose a leader who is morally upright; who will not pocket public funds or take advantage of others for personal benefit,” he said.
He called on politicians to shun campaigns of calumny and urged youths to embrace knowledge acquisition so as not to be used as tools of destruction for political interests.
Earlier in his remarks, the PDP senatorial candidate for Ogun Central, Sen. Iyabo Obasanjo, described KSowunmi-Kolapo as a community builder and moulder of greater generations for Egbaland.
She said the current political struggle is not about fighting but about reorganising the affairs of the state and not mortgaging the future of Ogun for money.
She commended the Muslim community for its support and said Kolapo-Sowunmi truly deserved the honour for her commitment to religious activities. (NAN)
