KWARA State Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq yesterday urged Muslim clerics in the country to guide their adherents appropriately. Mallam Abdulrazaq also charged them to channel their preaching towards resolving contemporary challenges in society.
The governor spoke at a workshop organised for Chief Imams in Kwara State by the Hijrah Organisation of Nigeria, held in Ilorin, the state capital yesterday. He emphasized the need for clerics to enjoin good conduct amongst their followers in order to ensure sustainable development in the country.
The governor was represented by the permanent secretary of the state’s Ministry of Health, Dr. Abubakar Ayinla at the event. In a keynote address, the Chief Imam of Offa, Imam Salman Muyideen, advised religious leaders and Imams to avoid mixing politics with religion.
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He called for the formation of a team to monitor and assess the performance of Imams in order to increase their productivity.
On his part, the former Grand Khadi, Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal, Justice Solihu Mohammed urged Imams to use contemporary examples in their sermons to educate members of the congregation.
In his message, the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, represented by the Balogun Afin, Alhaji Yusuf Nuhu, urged religious leaders to use what was learnt at the training to ensure good conduct among the people.
Earlier, the chairman of the Hijrah Organisation of Nigeria, Prof Yusuf Badmas said the purpose of the training was to update the knowledge of the Chief Imams on their roles and responsibilities. He advised all Chief Imams and other religious leaders to seek knowledge at all times to enable them to discharge their duties as expected.