A mosque committee in Bauchi metropolis has removed Imam Dahiru Abubakar from his position over his alleged use of religious sermons and mosque premises to campaign for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Abubakar, who served at a mosque in Madina quarters, was reportedly removed after he continued making comments in support of Tinubu following the Subhi prayer on Sunday, despite previous warnings from the mosque committee.
It was gathered that the Imam repeatedly told worshippers that Tinubu was not responsible for Nigeria’s insecurity and deserved another term in office.
“He would tell the congregation after prayer that Tinubu did not cause insecurity and he deserved to be reelected,” the source said.
A committee was constituted after the Imam repeated the act the previous weekend, leading to his eventual removal.
Abubakar, however, defended his sermons, saying he had urged worshippers to stop blaming the president for the country’s security and economic challenges.
“I have been preaching to the people to stop castigating President Tinubu for the insecurity and economic challenges,” he said, adding that some worshippers were prepared to vote for the president in 2027.
The former Imam explained that his messages focused on religious devotion and the need for divine intervention in addressing insecurity.
“My preaching priorities are fear of God and our day-to-day activities,” he said.
He also cited conflicts in Sudan, Chad and Mali, questioning whether Tinubu was responsible for the insecurity affecting those countries.
Confirming the removal, chairman of the mosque committee, Imam Abubakar Jibrin, said the disagreement extended beyond the Imam’s support for the president to his alleged organisation of political discussions around the mosque.
“Our major challenge with him was not only his campaign for Tinubu but the way and manner he gathered many people in front of the mosque and sometimes entered the mosque purposely to discuss politics,” Jibrin said.
He said the committee had repeatedly warned Abubakar against turning the mosque into a political platform, insisting that its primary purpose was worship.
“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,” he said.
Jibrin added that political activities should take place at party offices rather than religious premises.
“Even though we believe that politics is the process of producing leaders in the country, there are laid down procedures, which are political parties, and the activities should take place in their political party offices and not in the mosque,” he said.
The committee chairman further alleged that Abubakar had proposed renaming the mosque from Masjid Abdullahi Bin Zubbair to Masjid Imam Bola Ahmed Tinubu, an idea the committee rejected.
“All the committee members said ‘no’ because the mosque belongs to the community,” Jibrin said, maintaining that the mosque’s existing name would remain unchanged.
He said the committee had decided not to reinstate the Imam.
“He should go and build his personal mosque, or politicians should go buy a mosque for him; that is not our business,” Jibrin said.
The chairman stressed that the committee was not opposed to any political candidate but wanted the country to have leaders who would serve its interests.
“Our prayer is to Allah to choose the best for the country, be it President Tinubu or any candidate among the presidential candidates that would become a blessing to the country,” he added.
Bauchi mosque removes Imam over alleged Tinubu re-election campaign