Religion Won’t Split Nigeria No Matter The Turmoil- Akpabio Tells Muslim Senators

The President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, has expressed optimism that Nigeria, despite its different religious groups and beliefs, will not split.

The former Governor of Akwa Ibom State made this statement during an Iftar event in Abuja, where he hosted his Muslim colleagues along with a few Christian senators, Naija News understands.

Addressing his colleagues, Akpabio reiterated that religion cannot create divisions within the upper legislative chamber and Nigeria. He highlighted that everyone worships the same God, emphasizing unity over religious differences.

Akpabio pointed out that the simultaneous occurrence of Christian Lenten and Muslim Ramadan periods signifies that despite varying beliefs, both Muslims and Christians worship the same Supreme God.

He reminded his colleagues that their purpose on Earth is to live in harmony, love one another, pray together, and work towards progress for humanity.

He said: “I want to congratulate all of us for breaking fast today and thank Almighty Allah for keeping us alive to see this day and pray that He will continue to protect us and continue to look after our health, look after our families through this Ramadan period and also use this opportunity to congratulate you on the Easter celebration.

“It is not a coincidence that God is merging the fasting of the Muslims and that of Christians. This is about the second or third time it is happening.

“The intention is to show that we may have different religions, but we have only one God and that God is the Supreme God that looks after all of us.

“So to the glory of God, the invitation was for those of us who are still around. Those who have not yet gone to Saudi Arabia particularly for these last 10 days of Ramadan, that we should meet and break the fast together.

“And of course, we also invited the Christian Senators to come. For them, it’s a celebration of the Easter period. Coming together is all that we need. We need to continue to work together as brothers and sisters of the one Almighty God, for the benefit of our dear country. Religion cannot divide us.

“No matter the turmoil, no matter the political disagreement, even families do disagree. But we must bear one thing in mind, that we are serving humanity and we are serving humanity through Almighty God and that one day, we shall leave this world to go and account for our deeds while we are on earth. I think that is the guiding principle.”

Speaking on behalf of the other Senators in attendance, Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau expressed gratitude to Akpabio for extending an invitation to join him for Iftar, highlighting it as a gesture of his concern for all legislators in the nation.

He said: “This invitation has reinforced what we know about you. There is an adage in the Hausa language that says: Inviting you to come is more delicious than the food.

“So when we heard about the invitation, we were very happy that you have us in mind and that you are very caring. So, we thank you very much.”