MURIC cautions FG against exclusion of Muslims in new Federal Universities
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has cautioned the Federal Governmentagainst the exclusion of Muslims in the appointments of principal officers and governing council members of new Federal Universities.
This is contained in a statement by Prof. Ishaq Akintola, the Founder and Executive Director, MURIC on Wednesday in Abuja.
“The Federal Government (FG) announced names of members of the Governing Council and Principal Officers of some new Federal Universities yesterday, Tuesday, 25th March, 2025. Others were announced earlier.
“To our dismay, we noticed that although there are instances where Muslims head Governing Councils, there are also universities where all the principal officers are Christians. This should be avoided if we want to give all a sense of belonging.
“In particular, no federal university should have an all-Christian principal officers especially in areas where Muslims have at least 20% of the population. In like manner, no federal university should have an all-Muslim principal officers especially in places where the Christian population is up to 20%.
“Just as we have zero tolerance for marginalization when we are the victims, it is also not our wish to marginalize others. MURIC stands for justice, fairness and equity. Only thus can peace and progress be guaranteed for our dear nation,” Akintola said.
He added: “We prioritise the post of principal officers because they are the ones who are in charge of the day to day running of the universities. In general, we advise FG to eschew the tortuous policy of exclusivity with Muslims as victims in its appointments. Only thus can Muslims have a sense of belonging.”
