Adebayo Shittu

A ministerial nominee, Mr Adebayo Shittu  from Oyo State on Tuesday, called on Nigerians to be more Godly and eschew ‘’religiousity’’.

Adebayo, who gave the advice while fielding questions from the Senate correspondents in Abuja, said that many Nigerians were merely religious and not Godly in their conduct.

According to him, the interest of many Nigerians in religious activities did not translate to good moral life.

“A lot of people may be religious but not Godly and I see Nigeria as a country of religiousity and not Godliness.

“On Fridays and Sundays, you find everybody being religious, they either go to Church or Mosque and yet, Godliness is not reflected in our behaviour.

“I have always had this abiding faith in the fact that Nigerians must be moralised, they must move more to God rather than a mere show of religiousity,” he said.

A lot of people may be religious but not Godly and I see Nigeria as a country of religiousity and not Godliness. On Fridays and Sundays, you find everybody being religious, they either go to Church or Mosque and yet, Godliness is not reflected in our behaviour—Adebayo Shittu

The nominee denied allegation of having been indicted for religious extremism by a committee in his state set up to investigate an alleged religious violence.

He said that he was neither accused by the committee nor invited over any such allegation.

“ I say with all sense of responsibility that I have never been invited by any panel of enquiry.

“I was the secretary of the National Committee on Hajj and throughout the period that the crisis occurred, I was away in Saudi Arabia on national assignment.

“If you look through the gazette, I was not even invited and in law, if there are allegations against you and you are not invited, whatever findings which come out go to no issue.

“In that gazette, I was not even accused of anything, at the end of it, perhaps for political reasons, somebody smuggled something into the gazette to say that the governor should advise me.

“The list of those indicted is in the gazette, it said that I should be advised not to be publishing materials capable of bringing about crisis,” he said.

Shittu said that there was no link between his books and the allegations against him, stressing that his books and pamphlets were based on good Muslim life and service to God.

He added that he was not a religious bigot and always accommodated adherents of other religions adding that his secretary, who writes all his confidential correspondences, is married to a pastor.

The nominee pledged to work hard to justify the confidence reposed on him, if confirmed to be a minister.