DG, NILDS Expresses Shock, Sadness Over Death of Chief Imam of Ilorin

By Oluwakemi Kindness

The Director-General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar O. Sulaiman, has expressed profound shock and sadness over the death of the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Shaykh Muhammad Bashir Solihu, OON.

This is according to a condolence statement issued on Monday, by his Media Adviser, Mohammad Abdulkadri.

Professor Sulaiman described the late 12th Chief Imam of Ilorin, who until his death also served as Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Ulamas, as a devoted servant of Almighty Allah whose life was defined by commitment to faith and service to humanity.

He said the late Imam Al-Fulani, who recently marked 43 years of active service as Chief Imam of Ilorin, embodied the qualities of an influential preacher, a devoted servant of Allah, and a revered reciter of the Holy Qur’an, whose distinctive and inspiring voice would continue to resonate across generations of Muslims.

The former Minister of National Planning commiserate with His Royal Highness, Mai Martaba Sarkin Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu Gambari, CFR; the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU); the Council of Ulamas; his family; and the entire Muslim Ummah over what he described as “a colossal loss to the entire Muslim Ummah.”

Recalling his personal relationship with the late Islamic scholar, Professor Sulaiman said:
“I had a personal relationship with the late erudite Islamic scholar and benefited from his spiritual blessings at several gatherings and ceremonies during his inspirational life journey, notably defined by spirituality, which placed Ilorin on the national map of respectability in matters concerning Islamic tenets and erudition.”

He prayed Almighty Allah to forgive the late Chief Imam and grant him Al-Jannatul Firdaus as his final abode, while also praying for strength and fortitude for his family and loved ones to bear the irreparable loss.