The Muslim Rights Concern has called on the Federal Government to ignore the Chiristian Association of Nigeria’s demand to withdraw the query given to the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Festus Odimegwu and apologise to him over the 2006 census controversy as one coming from an overbearing body.

The director of the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), Professor Is-haq Akintola in a statement in Ibadan said that such apology could only mean one thing, that Federal Government was being controlled by CAN and that the government lacks dignity, integrity and institutional honour.

It asserted that CAN had an anti-North agenda and the Christian umbrella body was merely using the census issue as a smokescreen to realize this.

“By targeting certain leaders, bureaucrats and politicians of northern extraction, CAN leadership is simply exposing itself as implacable jingoists who are out to use every available tool, both fair and foul, to bring the North to its knees.

“Available indices only point towards one direction as far as the objective of CAN is concerned, viz, to turn the North into a Christian enclave or destroy it in the alternative. CAN is indulging in ethnic profiling,” the group said.

The Christian Association of Nigeria had last Sunday asked the Federal Government to withdraw the query given to the Chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Festus Odimegwu, and apologies to him over the 2006 census controversy.

The Christian umbrella organization took a swipe at the Federal Government whom it accused of treating as sacred cows.

It warned President Goodluck Jonathan not to be deceived by the antics of CAN, saying “this is a body deeply committed to committing wrongdoings only to be the first to accuse Muslim leaders of being the perpetrators.

“Seizing every opportunity availed by the traditional pro-CAN sentiment in the Western-oriented media, CAN abuses its monopoly of the paraphernalia of propaganda with astounding impunity.

“Neither the Federal Government nor CAN should mistake the cool-headedness and maturity of Muslim leaders for a sign of weakness or cowardice. On the contrary, the attitude of Muslim leaders is informed by high level of responsible leadership, exemplary discipline and an unparalleled degree of patriotism” it said.

MURIC noted that records showed that the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) had never issued confrontational statements or employed provocative language since its inception whereas the archives were replete with several instances of the use of reckless and unpalatable statements from CAN.