Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has distanced the state, which is within the South South zone, from the agitation for the Republic of Biafra. He rather stressed the need for Nigeria to remain as one, indivisible and united nation.

Governor Wike, who was at Palace of the Sultan of Sokoto with a high-powered delegation of traditional rulers and leaders of thought from Rivers on a sallah visit, said that every nation in the world has its peculiar challenges and that the onus on the leaders of Nigeria is to find lasting solutions to the various challenges confronting the nation.

He said that there are better ways to solve the agitations and problems facing Nigeria than a pandering towards a break up.

“Rivers state and its people believe in the oneness and unity of Nigeria and that is our stand. In Sokoto, we have a father in the Sultan. In fact, he is a father to all Nigerians and he is a peace builder in this country and beyond.

“I have also been friends with Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal since before his emergence as a Speaker of the House of Representatives and this will be sustained despite the fact that we belong to different political parties.”

Governor Tambuwal, who accompanied Wike, had earlier said that the visit came at a better time even as he restated his belief in the unity of Nigeria.

The governor said the visit would help to strengthen the bond of unity between the two states.

This was even as Sultan Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar said that the ongoing agitations in the country are symptoms of rot in the Nigerian system, adding that a lot of things had gone wrong in the past.

“A lot of things were done in the past by some people with impunity and nothing was done. That is why you find shortage of good governance now weighing us down in the country. However, as it is now, no matter how bad your hand is, you cannot cut it and throw away.”

The Sultan stressed the need to adopt dialogue to resolve all the misunderstandings and problems in the country, saying that Nigerians should sit together, brain storm, look at what went wrong, retrace their steps and move forward.

He appealed to statesmen in the nation to wade in this direction.

“We are not short of statesmen across Nigeria and they should help the country by championing the dialogue.”

Those in Wike’s entourage include former Rivers Governor Celestine Omehia, former Acting National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secundus, former NBA President OCJ Okocha, Chairman of Rivers State Council of Traditional Rulers and Amanayabo of Opobo Kingdom, King Dandeson Douglas Jaja, Amanayabo og Abonnema, King Gbobo Bob-Manuel and Oda of Abua, King Kelly Obunge, among others. [myad]

Nigeria’s Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has made it clear that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would do everything to sustain the unity among citizens of the country.

The Acting President, who spoke at his official residence, also known as Aguda House, when he received the Muslim community in Abuja and environs that paid him Sallah homage, to mark the 2017 Eid-el-Fitr said: “your ethnicity doesn’t matter and that is why for us, unity is so important that we must work together to make sure that our country is able to take care of the millions people we govern.

“God expects us to take care of the poor and those suffering, to ensure that we use government resources only in such a way that will the good of the majority of our people.”

Professor Osinbajo re-echoed President Buhari’s sallah message to citizens, saying that the country must remain united.

He enumerated the importance of unity, including love towards one another, integrity, enjoying the endowments of the nation, gaining respect globally and diversity among others.

“Our unity is not negotiable. We should make sure that we remain united in order to enjoy the resources God has blessed Nigeria with. So many nations envy what we have as a nation.”

The Acting President used the opportunity to pray for President Buhari’s quick recovery and return to Nigeria, adding that the President still has a lot to do for Nigeria.

“We are praying everyday and we know that the Lord God Almighty who we serve will bring our President back in good health and that he will serve this nation with the same determination and the same spirit of oneness, the same spirit that he has always serve this nation from when he was a young man. He will serve this nation and complete the period of his service in good health, in good shape and our country will be the better for it,” he stated.

Earlier, leader of the delegation and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Mohammed Bello said paying sallah homage was customary as a mark of respect for the President.

He thanked security agencies, religious and traditional rulers in the FCT for playing a great role in sustaining the peace being enjoyed in Nigeria’s capital city.

He said that the kind of harmonious relationship they have exhibited needs to be replicated in the thirty six states of Nigeria.

There were goodwill messages from the Acting Imam of Abuja National Mosque, Mohammad Kabir Adamu and the Chairman of the Christian Association off Nigeria, FCT Chapter, Reverend Samson Jonah, who both prayed for the quick recovery of President Buhari.

The clerics commended the Acting President for guiding the country so well in the absence of his principal.

Present at the event was the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, some legislators and members of the Federal executive Council. [myad]

An Islamic scholar and chief Imam of Eid praying ground in Kuje, the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Sheikh Ishaq Saidu has said that God is angry with Nigeria for the numerous opportunities which the leaders missed to develop the country in the past.

The chief Imam, in his sermon shortly after the two-rakah prayer to mark the Eid-el-Fitr today, Sunday in Kuje, said: “we have all wronged God and fellow human beings. We really need to repent for Allah to have mercy on us.”

Sheikh Ishaq stressed that the country is facing the sins of the past leaders who messed up the socio-economic fortunes and embarked on massive corruption.

He said that it is unfortunate that Nigeria has been turned into a beggar nation from the point in the past when it used to even give some other nations loans for the sustenance of their economies.

“We abandoned God and pursuing things that would not be of benefit to us. We turned out back on agriculture that used to be the main-stay of the economy and pursuing easy wealth with our leaders neck-deep in corruption.

The chief Imam referred to the Quránic words, saying that whoever so much the world that he would not want to die is in trouble, saying that this is the period that Nigerians should have a sober reflection in other to mend their ways towards God.

Sheikh Ishaq seized the opportunity to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari who is on medical vacation in the United Kingdom since May 7.

He prayed that God should guide the President to lead the country to economic prosperity, and that God should give him good people that would genuinely help him to actualize his dream for a better Nigeria.

“Whoever would not be of help to him, no matter how close he is to him, may Allah remove him from his team.” [myad]

The Presidency has released voice recording of President, Muhammadu Buhari, debunking report by Sahara Reporters that he was suffering from speech impairment and memory loss.

President Buhari, who spoke in Hausa in the voice message, called on all Nigerians to remain united and shun all forms of divisiveness.

He also extended greetings to all Muslims on the Eid-El-Fitr celebration and urged them to keep the faith while thanking them for their prayers.

The message, as transcribed, reads: “In the name of Allah the beneficent, the merciful. I Muhammadu Buhari would like to use this opportunity to felicitate with Nigerians on the occasion of Sallah celebrations”.

“I pray that Allah will accept our acts of worship during Ramadan and make it easy for us to imbibe and put to use the lessons learned during the period. I thank you very much for including me in your prayers during the month, may Allah give us the wherewithal to fulfill the promises we made and I pray that he intervenes in solving the problems afflicting our nation.

“Finally, I will like to reiterate my call on all Nigerians to avoid comments capable of causing trouble. What we are praying to God for at all times is peaceful coexistence, we pray to Allah for a bumper harvest so we can feed with ease.

“May Allah bless us with peace and peaceful co-existence. I pray you have a peaceful Sallah celebration, I thank you.” [myad]