The presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said on Saturday that “Nigeria is complex country to navigate through.”
He spoke at a special prayer session at the Ansar-Ud-Deen Central Mosque, Wuse 2, Abuja, which was organised as part of events marking the 60th birthday of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The occasion was also graced by the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, representing the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
This was according to a statement 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 delivered by Gambari, Buhari noted that Gbajabiamila, as Speaker of the House of Representatives, “ensured a good working relationship with the executive arm of the government against the notion in some quarters that the National Assembly should be antagonistic to the executive.”
Gambari said Buhari had always stood for a free and fair process, which, according to him, was why the President was happy when Tinubu emerged as the presidential candidate of the APC in such a process.
Gambari also said the President wanted to assure Nigerians that he did not have any intention to subvert the constitution to extend his tenure in office.
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.