Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State, has congratulated Muslims on this year’s Eid-el Kabir, even as he urged them to galvanise their energies towards the development of the country.
In a congratulatory message by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, Governor Imoke enjoined the Muslim Ummah, Nigerians and indeed all people of goodwill to remember the significance of the
celebration which is sacrifice, obedience and love.
According to Imoke, “as we celebrate this special season of Eid-el Kabir, I wish to charge you to direct your thoughts and energies in a positive way to help our nation realize its dreams of a better place for us all. Let us use the guiding spirit and philosophy behind the celebration to join hands with people of other faith to bring about peace in Nigeria, as it is one of the necessary requirements for development.
“As we share with one another love, let it be a reminder to us at all times that there is abundant premium in fidelity to Allah’s injunctions.
He also appealed to Muslim brothers and sisters “to continue to pray for the nation and her leaders for Allah to guide and direct our thoughts towards purposeful and selfless service.”
In a similar event, the Ogun state Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, led other state executive council members to join the Muslim faithful at the two Rakat prayer held at the Lantoro central praying ground in the state capital.
During his address, the governor thanked the people of the state for supporting his administration policies and programmes while requesting for more support.
He assured residents of the state of his administration’s commitment towards socio economic development of the state adding that as part of his efforts towards moral rearmament, Islamic studies at primary and secondary levels of education will be re-introduced, as more teachers for the subject have been recruited.
The Kwara state governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed has charged Muslims that the Nigeria project must not fail.
In a message, signed by his chief press secretary, Alhaji Abdulwahaab Oba, to mark this year’s Ed-el Kabir celebration, governor Ahmed urged Muslims to pray for peace and success of the nation.
According to Ahmed “our existence as a country is God’ ordained. We must entrust its success onto him. This celebration is another opportunity to pray for the strengthening of good neighborliness and nation building, through sacrifice and selfless service”.
Governor Ahmed said for Nigeria to realize its potentials as a nation, Nigerians of all religious persuasions must work collectively, but consciously, and submit to common religious doctrine of being our brother’s keeper.
According to the governor, “the 1434a.h Eid-el-kabir celebration provides another opportunity for us to reflect on the essence of sacrifice and humility as fulcrums for the promotion of harmonious relationship in our polity”.
Also, the Kogi state deputy governor Yomi Awoniyi called on Muslims to use the Ed-el-Kabir celebration as a period for displaying the virtues of tolerance understanding and good neighbourliness.
In his message, he congratulated muslims for seeing yet another Ed-el-kabir celebration, he called for prayers for the success of Governor Idris Wada’s administration and for peace and prosperity of the state and nation at large.
The deputy governor advised muslims and indeed Nigerians, to shun all forms of vices that could hinder harmonious existence with people of other faiths, saying “we must continue to appreciate that our strength as a people lie in our ethnic and religious diversities, hence, we should maximize the inherent advantages in such diversities through understanding and respect of the essence of the different faiths”.
Futhermore, the Ekiti state governor, Kayode Fayemi has advised the Muslims in the state and Nigeria in general to remain steadfast in their faith in the Almighty Allah who has given them the opportunity to witness another Eid-el-kabir.
Speaking at the praying ground in Ado Ekiti, governor Fayemi said Ekiti is one of the most peaceful states in the country and would continue to be peaceful to ensure a smooth and peaceful conduct of the governorship polls next year.
He added that Nigerians, irrespective of their religion should see themselves as brothers and sisters and stop the killing of one another. Therefore, the nation’s security agencies should rise up to their responsibilities so as to provide adequate security in the country.