Bauchi mosque committee sacks Imam over pro-Tinubu campaigns

The management committee of a mosque in Bauchi State has sacked its Chief Imam for allegedly converting the worship centre into a political platform to campaign for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Imam Dahiru Abubakar of the Abdullahi Bin Zubbair Mosque, located in the Madina quarters of the Bauchi metropolis, was dismissed after his sermon during the early morning Subhi prayer on Sunday.

The cleric exonerated the President from the current economic hardship and insecurity, urging the congregation to give him another chance in 2027.

Abubakar, however, dismissed allegations of partisanship, insisting that the nation’s security challenges are an “end-time phenomenon” requiring urgent prayers rather than criticizing leaders.

“I have been preaching to the people to stop castigating President Tinubu for the insecurity and economic challenges. I cited examples of what is happening, especially insecurity in African countries like Sudan, Chad, Mali, and others facing crisis. I asked whether President Tinubu was responsible for their insecurity.”

However, the Chairman of the mosque committee, Imam Abubakar Jibrin, confirmed the removal of the cleric, emphasizing that he repeatedly ignored directives against holding political discussions within the mosque premises.

Jibrin revealed that a major point of contention was Abubakar’s insistence on officially renaming the community facility to “Masjid Imam Bola Ahmed Tinubu Mosque.”

Speaking on the development, Jibrin explained that the committee’s actions were strictly to preserve the religious sanctity of the centre.

“The mosque committee sat down with him and cautioned him against turning the mosque to a political platform because of the Quranic verse which says the mosque is solemnly for worship of Allah alone…We vehemently rejected the use of the mosque for political meetings. We have warned him not once or twice but many times, but he didn’t heed our pleas”, Jibrin said.

The chairman also clarified that they do not oppose the President or any political candidate. He advised the sacked cleric to build a private mosque if he intends to continue his political mobilization.