The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar, has defended his invitation to controversial cleric Dr. Zakir Naik to attend the 10th Sheikh Usman bin Fordiyo week in Nigeria.

Some critics have accused Naik of spreading hate speech and promoting extremism.

However, the Sultan said that Muslims have the right to invite fellow Muslims to interact with them.

“Islam is one everywhere you go,” the Sultan said.

“As a Muslim, we have the right to invite fellow Muslim to interact with us. I met Dr. Zakir Naik over 11 years ago.”

“Sokoto is happy to receive you. We are Muslims and we are proud to be one. We are working for Islam not for everybody.

“We are Muslim by Allah divine will and nobody will change that. We thank Almighty Allah for making us Muslims,” he said during the closing ceremony held at the International Conference Centre, Sokoto on Thursday.

The Sultan also said that Naik was able to educate Muslims and non-Muslims on what Islam is all about.

The former Minister of Defence, Mahmoud Yayale Ahmed, and the Governor of Sokoto state, Ahmed Aliyu, also spoke at the closing ceremony of the event.

They reaffirmed the loyalty of Muslims in Nigeria to the Sultan and stressed the importance of knowledge in human and societal development.