23rd August, 2023
President Bola Tinubu has felicitated the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III and the Sokoto Sultanate Council as the royal father turns 67 on Thursday 24 August 2023.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Wednesday in Abuja.
Tinubu said he shares in this moment of joy and thanksgiving with the leader of the Qadiriyya Sufi Order, who also serves as Head of Jama’atu Nasril Islam and President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs.
The president acknowledges the sacrifices and selflessness of the Sultan, who has, since his assumption of office in November 2006, worked assiduously for the sustenance of peaceful co-existence in the country and beyond.
He also acknowledged Sultan’s personal travelling, interventions, mediations and chairing meetings on the need for harmony.
Tinubu extolled the Sultan’s magnanimity, friendliness and neighbourly outlook on life, seizing every opportunity to educate citizens on the benefits of amity in society.
”He has always provided platforms for solidifying Nigeria’s unity, such as instituting the Peace Accord for elections as a member of the National Peace Committee,” he said.
The Sultan, he said, as a former military officer, served the nation meritoriously, adding that his wealth of experience would continuously be an asset for the steady progress of the nation with a particular emphasis on bridging religious, ethnic and cultural divides.
”The president prayed for more years of strength, health, and wisdom for His Eminence, the Sultan of Sokoto,” he added.
The Sultan was born on 24 August 1956 in Sokoto, Northwest, Nigeria.