Two Islamic organisations were offered $3 million by the past administration to secure their members support the re-election of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, an official has said.
Abdullahi Shuaib, the Coordinator of the Conference of Islamic Organisations, CIO, stated this on Saturday at the 22nd National Islamic Training Programme NITP, held at Odosengolu near Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State.
PREMIUM TIMES reports that Mr. Shuaib said the CIO and The Muslim Congress, TMC, rejected the money after they were offered under the label of “religious fund.”
“It is not a secret, they came, offering us over $3 million,” he said. “We said no….It came through their proxies to us and we said no. And today we have been vindicated.”
Mr. Shuaib, who is also the Executive Director/CEO, Zakat and Sadaqat foundation, an arm of TMC, added that “it is not even part of our own culture to take bribe. We prefer to go hungry than to collect a bribe from somebody and then eat what is unlawful”.
Expatiating on why the money was rejected, the official added that “because we know very well that it was bait; it was a poison and you cannot eat and dine with the devil and think the devil will not come after you.
“We said clearly no. It is completely un-Islamic. All those organisations that actually took and swallowed the bait, today, they all know what it means for them to have allowed the devil and themselves to eat and dine with the devil.
Nigeria’s former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, who is currently being prosecuted for mismanagement of about $2.1 billion security funds allegedly gave over N4 billion of the money to ex-governor of Sokoto State, Attahiru Bafarawa, to distribute to Islamic organisations.
Apart from Messrs. Dasuki and Bafarawa, others being prosecuted in the scandal include ex-PDP Chairman, Haliru Mohammed, and Raymond Dokpesi, the owner of Daar Communications.
Mr. Shuaib condemned all those who collected the funds from the ex-NSA.
“It is morally wrong, it is unethical for any organisation, either Muslim or Christian or traditionalist to have indulged in that reckless looting of treasury, the common wealth and there is no way they can exonerate themselves because they have desecrated the house of God because they symbolise the House of God and they have desecrated it and it is a sacrilege and it is wrong.
“Ethically it is wrong, morally it is wrong, socially, it is wrong, economically it is wrong, legally it is wrong. And I think, we should allow the long arm of the law to catch up with them and let the law take it cause over them.”
