Salihu Lukman: Any Muslim vying to be senate president doesn’t respect the constitution

Salihu Lukman, vice-chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the north-west, says any Muslim aspiring to be senate president does not respect the constitution and the party.

Lukman made the remark on the grounds that President-elect Bola Tinubu and Kashim Shettima, the vice-president-elect, are both Muslims.

The APC national working committee (NWC) member said any attempt to elect a Muslim as senate president would promote the dominance of Muslims in the federal government.

Lukman said such a development would be injurious to national unity.

“Any Muslim aspiring for the position of Senate President has no respect for both the constitutions of the federal republic of Nigeria and the APC,” he said in a statement on Monday.

“This is because Chapter II, Section 14(3) of the Nigerian constitution clearly outlined that ‘the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies.

“With two Muslims already elected to be sworn in as president and vice-president of the federal republic on May 29, any attempt to consider another Muslim as senate president will promote the dominance of Muslims in the federal government and will be injurious to national unity and peaceful co-existence of Nigeria as a sovereign entity, which must not be allowed.”

Lukman said it is embarrassing that some of those aspiring to be leaders in the legislature are going about it “unethically”.

“There are also the disturbing reports from house of representatives members-elect that one aspirant for the position of Speaker from north-east apart from bribing members-elect with huge amounts of money is also offering jeeps to members-elect if they will commit to electing him as the speaker,” he said.

“How can APC elected representatives descend so low as to be using unethical methods of cash-and-carry to mobilise support for their aspirations?

“The two senators-elect who are being alleged to be involved in such unethical methods are both Muslims from the north-west.”