I have sent over 5000 persons to Mecca – Daily Trust

Senate President Godswill Akpabio says he has supported Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca for 25 years and wouldn’t disparage the faith.

Speaking throughout plenary on Thursday, Akpabio mentioned he had constantly sent folks to the holy metropolis to pray for him and Nigeria, insisting that his remarks throughout legislative proceedings had been taken out of context and misinterpreted for political functions.

He was responding to criticism that trailed his feedback on Tuesday throughout consideration of the Suicide Prevention Bill 2026.

The invoice, sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, who represents Cross River South Senatorial District, seeks to tackle points relating to suicide prevention.

During the controversy, Akpabio mentioned some younger folks ponder suicide as a result of “they believe seven virgins await them in the afterlife.”

The comment attracted criticism from some commentators, who accused him of creating disparaging feedback about Muslims and their non secular beliefs.

However, responding to the controversy, Akpabio maintained that his feedback must be understood inside the context of the Senate’s deliberations, arguing that disagreements amongst lawmakers had been a part of the legislative course of and shouldn’t be portrayed as assaults on specific non secular teams.

“I love the Muslim religion. I send people to Mecca to pray for me and to pray for this country, and I do that even up to yesterday, and I have been doing that since the last 25 years,” he mentioned.

He expressed concern over what he described because the misrepresentation of discussions held on the Senate ground, notably when such feedback had been subsequently mentioned on tv programmes.

“So I don’t know why people go and sit down on television and they try to misinterpret what we say here because politics is coming,” he mentioned.

Akpabio mentioned lawmakers had been anticipated to disagree on points throughout debates whereas working in the direction of laws that will serve the nation’s pursuits.

“I don’t like the idea of people sitting down on television and trying to misinterpret what we discuss here in the senate,” he mentioned.

“We want to make the best laws, so we are bound to oppose each other, and we are also bound to support each other.”

The Senate president additionally cited his private relationships with Muslims and his document of supporting non secular pilgrimages as proof that he had no intention of denigrating Islam.

He mentioned that in his tenure as governor, he sponsored hundreds of Muslims to the holy land, alongside Christians who travelled to Rome and Jerusalem.

According to him, he sponsored 5,800 Muslims to the holy land and greater than 10,000 Christians to Rome and Jerusalem.

Akpabio additional disclosed that lots of his workers members had been Muslims, stressing that his relationship with them was primarily based on mutual respect slightly than non secular variations.

“My ADC for 19 years is a Muslim. I don’t recognize him as a Muslim. I recognize him as a brother; he’s from Azare in Bauchi state, the same thing with my CSO,” he mentioned.

He added that Muslims constituted a major proportion of the folks working with him.

“There’s no way I will talk down on Muslim religion, so people who go out there to talk should study the personalities involved,” he mentioned.

Akpabio additionally cautioned towards associating terrorism with any specific faith, arguing that those that have interaction in suicide bombings mustn’t use non secular beliefs to justify violence towards themselves or others.

“Terrorists are not Muslims. Terrorists are not Christians. Terrorists are human beings who believe in taking their lives and the lives of others,” he mentioned.

He maintained that Islam, as he understood it, prohibited suicide and the killing of others, rejecting the suggestion that the faith inspired folks to take their very own lives in anticipation of a heavenly reward.

“The Muslim religion that I know forbids suicide; it forbids killing,” he mentioned.

The Senate president additionally referred to the Criminal Code and Penal Code, which he mentioned comprise provisions relating to suicide, urging lawmakers to method the problem with an understanding of the excellence between folks experiencing psychological well being challenges and those that intentionally take their lives.

He mentioned the controversy must be thought-about within the broader context of efforts to enact legal guidelines that will tackle suicide and associated considerations, slightly than being decreased to controversy over remoted remarks.

Akpabio urged Nigerians to think about the result of legislative proceedings when assessing debates within the chamber, noting that lawmakers may categorical differing opinions earlier than reaching a remaining resolution.

“No matter the discussion, please take the final decision of the senate into consideration,” he mentioned.

He additionally urged Nigerians to give attention to substantive points in political discourse slightly than makes an attempt to harm the reputations of public officers by means of what he described because the misinterpretation of their statements.