A fresh political controversy has erupted over claims that more than 500 Islamic scholars endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in 2027, with a cleric who attended the meeting rejecting the claim and saying the President should go home at the end of his first term.
Sheikh Abdurrahman Abubakar Azzamfari, who attended the meeting in Dutse, Jigawa State, said the scholars never agreed to endorse Tinubu for another term.
He said the scholars were invited to discuss the problems facing Northern Nigeria and advise the government on how to address them, just as Christian religious leaders have engaged the government on issues affecting the country.
According to him, the meeting was intended to provide honest advice, raise concerns and suggest solutions to the challenges facing ordinary Nigerians.
He said the purpose was not to turn the scholars into political campaigners or give Tinubu a collective endorsement for the 2027 presidential election.
The controversy followed claims by Ibrahim Masari, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Political and Other Matters, that about 500 Islamic scholars and religious leaders had endorsed the President for re election.
The reported endorsement was said to have taken place during a meeting of the Northern Muslim Intellectual Forum in Dutse on August 22.
The gathering reportedly brought together Islamic scholars, clerics and religious leaders from the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Political leaders and government officials were also present at the gathering, which was said to have focused on security, economic hardship, infrastructure and other challenges affecting Northern Nigeria.
But Azzamfari has now challenged the version of events presented to the public.
He said the scholars were expected to examine the condition of the North, identify areas where the government was falling short and advise the authorities on what needed to be done.
He questioned why a meeting designed to advise the government would suddenly be presented as a mass political endorsement for Tinubu.
The cleric said religious leaders should be able to engage those in power, raise difficult questions and demand action without being portrayed as supporters of a particular candidate.
He also questioned the way the Dutse meeting was conducted.
According to him, participants waited for several hours before governors and other political figures addressed them.
He alleged that journalists were asked to leave the venue before the meeting continued and were later invited back.
Azzamfari said the reported endorsement was announced after the journalists returned.
He also alleged that only one scholar from Kano was allowed to speak briefly before being stopped.
For the cleric, the issue is not whether individual Islamic scholars have the right to support Tinubu or any other politician.
His objection is to the claim that hundreds of scholars collectively agreed to endorse the President when, according to him, such a decision was never properly discussed or agreed upon.
Azzamfari said he had attended three of the five meetings organised by the Muslim Intellectual Forum since April.
He said previous meetings were held in Kaduna and Abuja before the gathering in Jigawa.
He explained that scholars were selected from the northern states to participate in the discussions.
He also dismissed any suggestion that his objection amounted to personal hostility towards Tinubu.
Instead, he said his concern was the need for religious leaders to remain truthful and independent when dealing with political authorities.
He said scholars should speak about the realities facing Nigerians, including insecurity, poverty, unemployment, economic hardship and the difficulties faced by families across the North.
The cleric’s position on the 2027 election is nevertheless clear.
He believes Tinubu should not receive another term and should leave office when his current tenure ends.
In his view, Nigerians should decide in 2027 whether the President deserves another mandate, rather than allowing religious gatherings to be used to create the impression of a unanimous northern Muslim endorsement.
The dispute has also attracted criticism from the Jigawa State chapter of the African Democratic Congress.
The opposition party rejected the reported endorsement and warned against presenting the political views of selected religious leaders as the position of the wider Muslim community.
The party said individual religious leaders have the right to support any political candidate, but such support should not be presented as a religious verdict binding on millions of Nigerians.
The ADC also questioned some claims about the Tinubu administration’s achievements in the North, particularly regarding infrastructure and security.
The controversy has now produced two very different accounts of the Dutse meeting.
The initial account presented the gathering as a major show of support for Tinubu’s 2027 ambition.
Azzamfari’s account tells a different story.
He says the scholars came together to discuss the problems facing their people and advise the government, not to endorse Tinubu.
He also argues that religious leaders should perform the same kind of civic role expected of Christian religious leaders by engaging those in power, speaking about the concerns of their communities and demanding better governance.
As the 2027 election draws closer, the dispute is likely to intensify the political battle over religious and community support in Northern Nigeria.
For Azzamfari and those who share his position, the message is direct.
Tinubu should go home when his tenure ends, and Nigerians should be allowed to freely decide who should lead the country in 2027.
