On Tuesday, the management of Abuja National Mosque unveiled five additional residents and visiting imams for the mosque.

The Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs secretary-general, Ishaq Oloyede, said this at a news conference in Abuja.

“As part of the measures to strengthen the Religious Affairs Unit of the National Mosque and to further harness its vast potential as a centre for worship, training, learning and scholarship, the council has completed the process of appointing five additional residents and visiting imams for the mosque.

“The five volunteers have been considered by the General Purpose Committee of the NSCIA and subsequently recommended for the endorsement of the Expanded General Purpose Committee.

“The EGPC, at its meeting held on Sunday, December 1, endorsed, on behalf of the General Assembly, their appointments, subject to the endorsement of the National Fatwa Committee, which has also cleared the five imams as qualified to be imams of the mosque,” he confirmed.

He listed the imams to include Ilyasu Usman (visiting), Luqman Zakariyah (resident), Sheikh Abdulkadir Salman (visiting), Haroun Eze (resident) and Khalid Abubakar (visiting).

Mr Oloyede described the appointment of the five imams as a milestone not only in the annals of the national mosque but also in the life of the entire Muslim community in Nigeria.

“You will recall that during a similar news conference held on Thursday, November 16, 2017, the changes in the administrative and management of the mosque were done with the appointment of Shehu Galadanci as the Murshid.

“I informed you of the intention of the NSCIA to appoint more imams, particularly from the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones,” he said.

Mr Oloyede said the NSCIA, since the establishment of the national mosque in 1984, has been appointing, in succession, qualified Muslims worthy of character and scholarship to oversee the spiritual activities of the faithful.

He also said that establishing the Abuja National Mosque Management Board was a further step toward creating a structure for the mosque’s management on behalf of the NSCIA.

He commended the president-general of the NSCIA, the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III and all Muslim community members who have played active roles in supporting “smooth sail to the shore of today’s success.

(NAN)