Former Aviation Minister Femi Fani-Kayode has urged the Sultan of Sokoto and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to publicly caution Islamic cleric Sheikh Sani Yahaya Jingir over recent derogatory comments directed at Christians and Christianity.

In a strongly worded statement titled “The Gospel According to Sheik Jingir,” Fani-Kayode warned that the cleric`s remarks threaten to worsen religious tensions across Nigeria. He expressed deep concern over Jingir`s unrepentant stance, noting that the cleric publicly stated he had "no regrets" over his controversial assertions.

According to the former minister, Jingir’s comments have provoked widespread anger among both Christians and Muslims. He revealed that several Northern Muslim governors and prominent Islamic leaders have already expressed mutual concern over the divisive rhetoric.

Fani-Kayode commended the Sultan of Sokoto for his recent "fatherly counsel" at a security conference in Abuja, where the monarch urged adherents of both faiths to desist from insulting one another.

"I am a Nigerian Christian and I deserve to be respected for who and what I am, just as every Nigerian Muslim deserves to be respected," Fani-Kayode stated, dismissing any insinuation that his stance was driven by animosity toward Islam. "I have equal contempt for every Christian that seeks to demean, slander, and disrespect Islam as I do for every Muslim that seeks to do same to Christianity."

Reflecting on his support for the 2023 APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket, Fani-Kayode clarified that his backing was based strictly on competence and should not be misconstrued as an admission of Islamic superiority. He strongly condemned narratives suggesting that Christians are second-class citizens or should leave the country if aggrieved by the political arrangement.

"Let me make this clear and I speak for millions: with those few words spoken at that public event... Jingir has done more harm to the Muslim/Muslim ticket that he claims to support than anything and anyone else," he declared.

The former minister also rejected a controversial attempt to link the notorious Maitatsine extremist sect with Christianity, maintaining that violent extremism should never be attributed to any mainstream religion. He concluded by calling on national leaders and citizens to actively safeguard the peaceful coexistence between Nigeria`s Christian and Muslim communities.