The vast Police College ground in Ikeja heaved, creaked, and pulsated with prayers and plaudits on Saturday, March 21, as Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa, led an interfaith prayer session to commemorate President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 74th birthday.
Although the president’s birthday falls on Sunday, March 29, Speaker Obasa and The Mandate Movement (TMM) group of Nigeria deemed it auspicious to hold the prayer session earlier. The event drew political leaders, stakeholders, party faithful, community leaders, Islamic and Christian clerics, and All Progressives Congress (APC) supporters from across Lagos State and beyond.
Speaker Obasa explained that the prayer session was significant not only for President Tinubu’s continued good health, long life, wisdom, and success in steering the nation’s affairs beyond 2027, but also for Nigeria’s enduring peace, unity, stability, security, and overall progress.
“This special occasion is not just a celebration of a leader, but a moment of collective reflection and supplication for Nigeria’s progress. Let us come together in faith and patriotism to seek divine guidance and blessings for Nigeria,” Obasa said.
He described the President as a pragmatic and visionary leader whose transformative contributions have rewritten Nigeria’s socio-economic narrative. Obasa urged Nigerians at home and abroad to remain steadfast in supporting the Renewed Hope agenda for a greater Nigeria. He commended initiatives such as subsidy removal, which has boosted state revenues, and the Nigeria Education Loan Fund (NELFund), which he called a “game-changer” for youth seeking higher education.
Among other achievements, Obasa highlighted the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway as Nigeria’s most ambitious infrastructural project, poised to strengthen the economy and tourism potential. He also praised the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, for her Renewed Hope Initiatives, which he said are positively impacting lives through food outreach, agricultural support for women, economic empowerment, and digital learning centres.
The mammoth attendance, Speaker Obasa noted, was a testament to the love and loyalty President Tinubu commands among the people of Lagos and Nigeria at large. He called on Nigerians to re-elect the president and all APC candidates in the 2027 general election, stressing that continuity is key to consolidating the gains of the Renewed Hope agenda.
Adding his voice, former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode extolled President Tinubu’s enduring legacy and leadership:
“President Tinubu’s commitment to Nigeria’s progress is commendable, and it is our collective duty to support him so that the nation can fully reap the benefits of his reforms,” Ambode said.
The prayer session featured fervent supplications from both Christian and Islamic clerics, who prayed for divine wisdom, protection, and guidance for President Tinubu and Nigeria.
