Lagos political leaders organise special prayer session for Tinubu at 72

Some Lagos political leaders under the umbrella of The Mandate Movement (TMM) have organised a special inter-faith prayer session for President Bola Tinubu as a way of celebrating his 72nd birthday.

The leaders who are strong Chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) converged at Ikeja, Lagos, to offer prayers and call on Nigerians to keep supporting the administration of Tinubu.

They appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience , adding “We must realise that Tinubu came on board at the critical moment”.

The special prayer session was attended by members of the Mandate Movement across the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs), some members of the House of Assembly, some members of the House of Representatives, former state lawmakers, former federal lawmakers, former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunleye, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, Islamic and Christian clerics.

Addressing the members, the Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt (Hon) Mudashiru Obasa, said Tinubu clocked 72 as the President of Nigeria remains a thing of joy to the Lagos APC, adding that the leaders are confident he would succeed in developing the country.

Obasa said “Today is a special for us in celebrating our leader, our father, our mentor, our guidance, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as he clocked 72.

“Not just 72nd but 72nd as the president of the federal republic of Nigeria and the first one since he assumed office as the president.

“So we strongly believe collectively that it is worthy to give glory to God and give thanks to Almighty God and praise his name so that we can show our appreciation to Almighty God.

“The essence of coming together to pray for our president, is for long life, success as he served as the president of Nigeria.

“We just have to appeal to Nigerians to exercise patience, we must realise that Tinubu came on board at the critical moment. And he has been doing everything with his team to see the lasting solution to the challenges facing the country. As you can see that when he came on board the exchange rate was around N2000 but as we speak now it is around N1270.

“Yet we still have a very solid conviction that dollar will go down to N500. So let us exercise patience, cooperate with his government and contribute our own qouta so that Nigeria can move forward”.

Obasa charged the members of the group to begin to hold meeting twice a month after Ramadan, adding that they should openly declare their support for Mandate Movement in their various local council.

He explained that the group is loyal to the President, adding that the group respects the party.

” We respect our party leadership. We are APC members. We belong to Tinubu and we are guided by his political philosophy. If our party (APC) chairman summons us today, we will go because we respect the State Chairman. So, don’t be scared to openly say you are members of Mandate”, Obasa told the attendees.

In his remarks, the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr Tayo Ayinde, explained that the Mandate Movement would continue to stand by the President, adding that Tinubu had shown capacity and competence.

Ayinde added that the Prayer Session was neccessary to celebrate Tinubu’s birthday and pray for his continuous success in the running of the country’s affairs.

He expressed confidence that Tinubu would lay strong foundation for the country’s development and that his successor after 8years would continue from there.

The Chairman of The Mandate Movement and member of the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), Cardinal James Odunmbaku, eulogised the leadership prowess of Tinubu, saying that the President remains the best for Nigeria.

Odunmbaku said Tinubu is worthy to be celebrated at 72, adding that the President is a courageous leader who has shown what leadership is all about.

He told the attendees not to be scared of openly supporting the Mandate Movement, adding that they would end up become beneficiaries of the Movement.

Odunmbaku said the Movement has the backing of major stakeholders in Lagos APC, urging the members not to be swing by any propaganda.