Death of Ilorin Chief Imam: IEDPU, NILDS Sympathise With Emir, Governor, Others Over the Great Loss
By Raheem Ibrahim
The National President of the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Alhaji Abdulmumini Ayo Abdulmalik, has commiserated with the Emir of Ilorin and Chairman, Kwara State Council of Chiefs, Alhaji (Dr) Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR; His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Kwara State, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, as well as others, on the death of the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Shaykh (Dr) Muhammad Bashir Saliu, OON.
The Chief Imam died on Monday, 19th January, 2026, after a brief illness at the age of 76 and has since been buried according to Muslim rites.
In a statement signed by Mallam Suleiman Shuaib Dagbo, the IEDPU National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Abdulmalik, who also sympathised with the family of the late cleric, described his demise as a great loss not only to the Ilorin Emirate but also to humanity at large.
Alhaji Abdulmalik, who noted that the late cleric was a pride to the community, said the late Chief Imam provided quality and fascinating spiritual leadership for the community for 43 years, adding that he would be remembered forever for bringing glamour and grace to the office of the Chief Imam.
While condoling with his family, the President also sympathised with the Imam Imale of Ilorin, Shaykh Abdullahi AbulHameed, other members of the Ilorin Emirate and the Kwara State Council of Ulama, as well as the entire people of the Ilorin Emirate, on the demise of the outstanding cleric.
Alhaji Abdulmalik prayed to Allah to forgive the shortcomings of the Chief Imam and reward his good deeds with Aljannat Firdaus.
Similarly, the Director General, National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Prof. Abubakar O. Sulaiman, has expressed profound shock and sadness over the return of the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Shaykh Muhammad Bashir Solihu, OON, to his Creator.
In a condolence statement issued by his media aide, Mohammad Abdulkadri, Prof. Sulaiman said the late 12th Chief Imam of Ilorin, who until his death was the respected Chairman of the Kwara State Council of Ulama, bequeathed legacies of committed devotion and service to Almighty Allah, as well as humanity.
According to him, Imam Al-Fulani, who recently marked forty-three years of active service as Chief Imam of Ilorin, embodied the influential character of an avowed preacher, servant of Allah, and an avid reciter of the Qur’an, with a thrilling golden voice that will continue to resonate and inspire generations of adherents of Islam.
The former Minister of National Planning deeply commiserated with His Royal Highness, Mai Martaba Sarkin Ilory, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, CFR; the Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU); the Council of Ulama; his family; as well as the entire Muslim Ummah over what he described as “a colossal loss to the entire Muslim Ummah.”
Recalling with a heavy heart, Prof. 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 life’s inspirational journey, which was notably defined by spirituality and which put Ilorin on the national map of respectability in matters concerning Islamic tenets and erudition.”
He beseeched Almighty Allah to forgive the highly revered Chief Imam of Ilorin and make Aljannat Firdaus his final abode. He also prayed to God to grant his loved ones, in these trying times, the fortitude and rectitude to bear the irreparable loss.
