Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, stated on Saturday that “Nigeria is a complex country to navigate through.”
He spoke at a special prayer session held at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque in Wuse 2, Abuja, as part of the celebrations commemorating the 60th birthday of House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
The event was also attended by the President’s Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who represented President Muhammadu Buhari.
This was stated in a statement released on Saturday by the Speaker’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, titled: ’60th birthday: Continue to Serve Nigeria, Says Buhari..’
Gbajabiamila Remains a Patriotic Nigerian – Tinubu.’
In his remarks provided through Gambari, Buhari stated that Gbajabiamila, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, “ensured a cordial working relationship with the executive branch of the government, contrary to the concept held by some that the National Assembly should be adversarial to the presidency.”
On his part, Tinubu described Gbajabiamila as a patriotic Nigerian, who uses his position to enhance good governance. He said God had made it possible for him to impact positively on the lives of Nigerians through the legislature.
He said, “May God give you good health to work for Nigeria. It is a complex country that you have to navigate through. May Allah, in His infinite mercy, give us the stability, the peace to govern; the love that we share for one another, the patriotism that will make us proud of our country.”
The Chief Imam of the Ansar-Ud-Deen Mosque, Dr Musa Olaofe, who led the prayers for Gbajabiamila, described the Speaker as a unifier, who brought people from different parts of the country together to work with him.
In his remarks, Gbajabiamila expressed gratitude to the President for his kind words and for delegating his Chief of Staff to attend the prayer session.
The Speaker also said that he owed his political journey to God through Tinubu, while equally thanking his mother, Hajiya Lateefat Olufunke Gbajabiamila, who raised him. He also thanked his wife, Salamatu, who organised the prayer session.
He said, “Let me, first of all, start by appreciating the President through the CoS. Let me also appreciate my benefactor. Many believe that wherever you find yourself, all power belongs to Allah. But Allah doesn’t come down to give you power, He guides and directs you. In doing so, He directed me to Asiwaju, He did it to me, and not just me, He did it to others too. May the Almighty Allah continue to give you (Tinubu) that very uncommon capacity.”
The Speaker also thanked his colleagues in the House for their support and cooperation in the discharge of his responsibilities.
Gambari stated that Buhari had always advocated for a free and fair process, which is why the President was pleased that Tinubu emerged as the APC’s presidential candidate through such a process.
Gambari added that the President wants to reassure Nigerians that he had no plans to undermine the constitution in order to extend his term in office.
