The Senator representing Kogi West in the National Assembly, Senator Smart Adeyemi, has offered to sponsor five honest delegates on Muslim hajj pilgrimage to Mecca for returning cash after not voting for him during the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary in the senatorial zone.

Adeyemi lost his return bid to the Senate after he scored 43 votes at the primary election against Sunday Karimi, who clinched the party’s ticket with 288 votes while Muyiwa Aina came second with 73 votes.

He said five among the delegates from Koton Karfe Local Government Area returned the money he gave out for “transport, accommodation and feeding” expenses after they voted against him.

The lawmaker said he was moved by their honesty and asked them to go with the money with a promise to sponsor them to Mecca on hajj pilgrimage in 2023.

Adeyemi said: “Normally, we give some supports to delegates to augment their expenses, transport, feeding and accommodations. But don’t ask me how much.

“Delegates from a particular local government, which is predominantly inhabited by Muslims, were not allowed to vote for me because the returning officer, who is from that local government and equally a Muslim asked them to support Sunday Karimi, who is from a neighbouring federal constituency to mine.

This local government is called Koton Karfe. A week after the election, five of them came to Abuja and they are all Muslims. They said to me that in Islam, it is haram (prohibited) to take what does not belong to you.

“So, senator, the money you gave for feeding, accommodation and transport to support us, we have returned all your money because we were not allowed to vote for you. But you are our candidate. They burst into tears, that they had been denied. But please, take our photographs for record purposes and future.

“This is your money. I look at them and said you have endeared Islam to my heart even though I’m a Christian. You returned the money? Please go with the money. I have blessed this money for you. They started crying and I assured them that next year, I will send the five of them to Mecca.

If your faith in Islam is like this, then you have made me to respect Islam, the more.

“I have sponsored not less than 400 Muslims to Mecca. But for five Muslims to return the money I gave them and said it is haram, I was moved emotionally.

“I never new we still have Nigerians like these people. They returned money and said they were denied to vote for me. I took their pictures.