The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called on Nigeria’s First Lady and National Chairman of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), Senator Oluremi Tinubu, to include Nigerian Muslims in her ongoing distribution of palliatives and empowerment programmes.
This comes after the First Lady, on Friday, 30th May 2025, donated seven hybrid 14-seater buses to the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICA) during a ceremony held at the State House, Abuja.
In a statement issued on Saturday, 31st May 2025, MURIC’s Executive Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, congratulated YOWICA on the donation but emphasized the need for equitable distribution of such gestures to all faith-based communities.
“While we congratulate YOWICA on the occasion of the presentation, we urge the First Lady to include Nigerian Muslims also when giving and sharing. The First Lady is the mother of the nation. There is no doubt that she is the mother of both Christians and Muslims. It is therefore expected that she would extend her milk of kindness to the Muslims as well,” the statement read.
Professor Akintola acknowledged the First Lady’s generosity towards Christian communities, noting her December 2024 donation of 22,800 bags of rice and N95 million to Christians in the 19 northern states during the Christmas and New Year season.
While noting that no similar palliatives were extended to Muslims during the last Ramadan, MURIC urged Nigerian Muslims to remain calm and hopeful.
“Palliatives and hybrid buses for Muslims are on the way from the same Mother of the Nation. We have every reason to believe that we will not be disappointed because the Tinubu family has always been a giving and caring family long before they occupied the Villa,” the statement added.
MURIC concluded by expressing confidence in the First Lady’s inclusive leadership and her commitment to the welfare of all Nigerians, regardless of religious affiliation.
