The Sokoto State Government has said it never plotted to depose His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, as alleged by the Muslim Rights Council, MURIC.
The Executive Director of the Muslim Rights Council MURIC, Prof. Isiaq Akintola, had on Monday, raised the alarm that, Sokoto state government was plotting to depose His Eminence the Sultan of Sokoto, against the backdrop of the happenings in Kano.
In a statement, the organisation cited the removal of 15 traditional rulers for various offences.
Akintola further warned that, Muslims Ummah in Nigeria would reject and resist any hostile actions against the Sultan, who happened to be the spiritual leader of all Muslims in Nigeria.
The state Commissioner for Information and Societal Reorientation, Hon Sambo Bello Danchadi, while reacting to the allegation on Tuesday, said the state government has no plan whatsoever to dethrone the revered monarch, describing the allegation by MURIC as false and baseless.
According to the statement, “The state government wondered how a responsible body like MURIC, claiming to be protecting the rights of the Muslims would descend so low and cheaply as to join hands with deluded mischief makers and enemies of progress to fabricate such a false and unsubstantiated story just to create an unfriendly atmosphere and fear in the minds of the law-abiding and peaceful citizens of the state.
“We believe that MURIC is not the type that will be dancing to the tunes of enemies and mischief makers who are trying to take away the attention of the good people of Sokoto state and Nigerians on the transformative initiatives taking place in Sokoto State over the last one year.
“We also like to assure MURIC that the present administration, just like the previous administrations in the state, cherishes and respects the Sultanate Council long before MURIC was established.”
Sambo pointed out that the law guiding the appointment and disposition of traditional rulers in the state had not been changed or even repelled.
