From Desmond Mgboh, Kano
A faction of the Kano State Council of Ulama has announced the removal of its Chairman, Sheikh Ibrahim Khalil.
The action of the clerics, led by Ustaz Saifullah Assudani, announced the removal of Sheikh Khalil at the secretariat of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ on Monday
Giving reasons for his removal, Assudani alleged that the Sheikh Khalil had turned the council into a political platform.
‘He has turned the council into a political platform by engaging in a faceoff with every government that comes to power, that include former governors Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, Rabiu Kwankwaso and of recent, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje,’ Assudani stated.
‘His reasons in all the cases were that they disallowed him to contest for political office in his position as a cleric, a situation that has led to the council not benefiting from the government and the government losing the elderly advises of the council.
‘Lack of fairness to all the religious groups in the state who do not have any stake in the council, that include Tijjaniyya, Qadiriyya, Izala and other clerics from religious sects not mentioned here.
‘Members are complaining of being kept aside without knowledgeable of what is happening in the council.’ the Ulama stated among others.
Assudani announced the appointment of Prof Saleh Pakistan, who is also the chairman of Kano Pilgrims Welfare Commission, as the new chairman of the council.
However, immediately after finishing the announcement, an Islamic cleric from the Tijjaniyya sect in Kiru Local Government, Sheikh Sulaiman Bello-Kiru, immediately rejected the removal of Khalil, saying: ‘It is not fair and has political reasons.
‘We are not part of this decision and it looks more political. We were only called upon to come and attend the press conference from where we heard the announcement that Sheikh Khalil has been impeached.
‘We were not consulted and are not aware of anything. The body has no constitution, no tenure for the leadership and is being politicised,’ he objected.