Eid el-Fitr: Otti hosts Muslim community, promises to investigate cemetery issue

Abia State governor, Alex Otti, has called for peace, understanding, and tolerance among Nigerians as Muslim faithful across the globe celebrate this year's Eid el-Fitr.

Governor Otti made the call on Monday at his Nvosi country home while receiving members of the Muslim community who paid him Sallah homage.

He stated that his administration does not discriminate based on religion, gender, or tribe, maintaining that a lack of understanding leads to discrimination.

“I think it is a lack of understanding that makes people begin to kill each other and discriminate. If we understand clearly that God created us equally, then some of the problems we are seeing, we wouldn't see them,” he said.

Regarding the request from the Muslim community to retrieve their cemetery in Umuahia, whose certificate of occupancy was revoked by the previous administration, the governor assured them that his administration would investigate the issue with a view to resolving it.

Governor Otti congratulated the Muslim Ummah on the completion of their Ramadan fast, noting that the event falls within the Christian Lenten period. He also thanked the Muslim community for their support before, during, and after the 2023 general elections in Abia State.

In his speech, the Chief Imam of Abia State, Sheikh Ali Ukiwo, explained that the Sallah celebration marks the end of 30 days of prayer and fasting in the Islamic calendar. He noted that they used the period to pray for the continued peace and security of the state, as well as the success of Governor Alex Otti's administration.

Sheikh Ukiwo, while thanking God for using Governor Otti to restore hope to Abians, also expressed gratitude to the governor for sponsoring their trip to Saudi Arabia for this year's Hajj.

The Sarki Hausa of Umuahia, Sarki Yaro Danladi, and his Aba counterpart, Sarki Shehu Bello, commended the governor for his achievements in infrastructure in Aba and other parts of the state.