President-Elect Bola Tinubu yesterday joined President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House Mosque, Abuja, to observe the Jum’aat prayers.
He was accompanied by House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila and his retinue of personal and security aides.
The Chief Imam of the State House Mosque, Ustadh Abdul-Wahid Suleiman, led the two Rakaat (units) of prayers.
Also at the prayer were House Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; National Security Adviser, retired Major General Babagana Munguno; and Director General, National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, among other government officials in attendance.
Tinubu’s incoming administration ’ll consolidate on gains of Ogoni cleanup — Buhari
Buhari, in a message yesterday to the groundbreaking of the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration and the Ogoni 100-Bed Specialist Hospital in Rivers State, expressed confidence that the incoming Tinubu administration would consolidate on the successes achieved on the cleanup of Ogoniland.
Represented by Environment Minister Mohammed Abdullahi, President Buhari said the project, upon completion, would spur socio-economic development of Ogoniland, create job opportunities for artisans and enhance entrepreneurial growth.
He said the power project would bring sustainability to the Potable Water Schemes, Livelihood Programme, Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, and the Specialist Hospital projects being undertaken by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP).
He urged the Ogoni community to cooperate with the Federal Ministry of Environment, HYPREP and the companies handling the execution of the projects.
He added that the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, on whose site the groundbreaking ceremony was held, will provide capacity and research opportunities to scholars within Nigeria and around the world on environmental remediation.
He said: “It will initiate studies on home grown methods and approaches to addressing oil pollution in the Niger Delta and other parts of the country, to Sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.
“It is instructive to know that Ogoni clean-up is not the only project being undertaken by this administration to give the people a sense of belonging in national affairs.
“This administration is constructing the Bodo/Bonny Road -a multi-billion-naira project to provide a link road to Bonny Island – host to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Plant.
“This all-important economic road passes through the heart of Ogoniland and the benefits it will bring to the local economy will be considerable,” he said.
President Buhari also said that contracts had been approved for the next phase of remediation of sites (medium risk sites), the training of five thousand Ogoni people in sustainable livelihood skills and the engagement of five hundred Ogoni youths as environmental vanguards.
The President commended the Minister of Environment, his team at the Ministry and HYPREP for their doggedness in delivering on his instruction to as a matter of priority, deliver on the Ogoni clean-up and other key objectives of the Ministry including biodiversity and wildlife conservation, land remediation, upland and coastal erosion control.
He also applauded Governor Wike for his support to Federal Government’s developmental initiatives and particularly for the relative peace in Ogoni Land and Rivers State in general.
“Your Excellency and Royal Highnesses, it is my desire that you will continue to support this administration and the incoming administration led by His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu who I am confident will consolidate the gains achieved from this project.
“It is my hope that you will support the implementation of the project and utilise the benefits for the present and future generations of Ogoniland.”
Wike, Makinde to Nigerians: Rally round Tinubu, politics time is over
Later in the day, Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde paid a courtesy visit to the President-elect in his Defence House office, Abuja.
Emerging from the meeting, Wike asked Nigerians to rally round Tinubu, saying the time for politics was over.
“Elections have come and gone. The winner has emerged and therefore it is necessary for all Nigerians to give him the necessary support for the interest of Nigeria,” Wike told journalists.
He added: “I am confident that he has what it takes to turn Nigeria around.”
Tinubu has already agreed to honour Wike’s invitation to commission the Rumuola/Rumuokwuta Flyover and the new Magistrate Courts Complex on May 3 and 4.
The Rumuola-Rumuokwuta flyover, which connects Rumuola Road to Ikwerre Road, is Wike’s 12th flyover constructed since 2019.
The governor confirmed the President-elect’s planned visit to Rivers during an inspection tour of the Rumuola-Rumuokwuta overpass and Magistrates Court building in Port Harcourt on Wednesday.
<<The Nation>>