By LUKA BINNIYAT

KADUNA-The Middle Belt Dialogue,MBD,  has added its voice to those opposed to the appointment of Sheik Ahmed Lemu as the Chairman of the Federal Government Panel on post-election violence in some parts of the North.

In a statement signed by Mr. Dominic  Bature on behalf of the Kaduna State chapter of MBD, the group said: “without mincing words, the people of the Middle Belt, especially Kaduna State,  are greatly pained, shocked, disappointed and indeed feel insulted by the choice of  an Islamic cleric whose hate for the entire Middle Belt and the Christian community is not hidden.

“Sheik Lemu does nothing with his life than the promotion and propagation of Islam in Nigeria.
“We in the MBD  want to state that we have no faith nor confidence in Sheikh Ahmed Lemu, a grand Khadi and a major brain behind the obnoxious Sharia legal system in some parts of the northern Nigeria; which has brought in its wake nothing but violence and deprivation of basic rights of non-Muslims.

“The people of the Middle Belt cannot therefore trust such a person.

“Leaving Sheik Lemu as the chairman of this panel is tantamount to making him a judge over his own case.

“Also, in spite of the fact that the violence took place where people of the Middle Belt find themselves as a minority in the North, we are poorly represented in the panel.

“With Lemu as chairman, most victims, witnesses and those with vital information from the Middle Belt will not  appear before the Panel.

In view of these, the MBD pleaded with the President to replace Sheik Lemu as the chairman of the panel with immediate effect with a more acceptable person from none of the conflict areas.

“In the alternative, a co-chairman, who must be a credible and respectable Christian clergy must be appointed.

“Lastly, MDB wishes to respectfully advice the President to learn from the experience of his predecessor, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and stand firm  to ensure the unity, peace and progress of Nigeria by enforcing the supremacy of the 1999 Constitution of  Nigeria over all laws. 

“As the region that binds the North and South, we stand for one indivisible, peaceful and developed Nigeria where every citizen is guaranteed his or her basic human liberties to pursue growth and happiness,” the statement added.