By Cross Udo, Abuja
Vice President Kashim Shettima on Sunday reaffirmed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to restoring security, stabilising the economy and steering Nigeria through its current challenges, expressing confidence that the country would emerge stronger through collective effort and national unity.
Shettima spoke at the Annual Grand Prayer Session held in honour of the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, mother of President Tinubu, at the National Mosque, Abuja.
Representing the President at the event, the Vice President said the administration remained focused on confronting insecurity, driving economic reforms and improving the welfare of Nigerians despite prevailing difficulties.
According to him, the government is pursuing strategic interventions aimed at strengthening security, stimulating economic growth and laying the foundation for long-term national prosperity.
“Nigeria will surmount its present challenges through prayers, unity and the collective commitment of its citizens,” Shettima said.
He maintained that President Tinubu remained resolute in his determination to address the nation’s pressing concerns and deliver on his administration’s promises.
*Pays tribute to late Abibatu Mogaji’s enduring legacy
The Vice President, however, used the occasion to celebrate the life and enduring legacy of the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, describing her as a woman whose influence transcended family boundaries and left an enduring imprint on the nation’s social and economic landscape.
Shettima said the former Iyaloja-General of Nigeria exemplified servant leadership, devoting her life to empowering market women, protecting livelihoods and advancing the interests of ordinary Nigerians.
He drew parallels between the President’s leadership values and the lessons imparted by his late mother, saying her ideals continue to find expression in Tinubu’s public service.
“It should surprise no one that the son she raised carries the same fire into the highest office in our land,” he stated.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu learned at her side that public life is a trust and that leadership is owed first to the ordinary and the unheard.”
Shettima added, “A mother shaped a leader, and through that leader her values now serve the whole of Nigeria.”
Describing the late matriarch as a bridge-builder and advocate for the vulnerable, the Vice President said she transformed the lives of countless traders through advocacy, mentorship and community mobilisation.
“She turned scattered effort into collective strength and taught a generation of market women that their work mattered, that their voices carried weight and that their toil deserved respect,” he said.
Earlier, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs and Other Matters, Alhaji Ibrahim Kabir Masari, announced that more than 250 hand-pump boreholes had been constructed across nine northern states in memory of the late Mogaji, providing clean water to thousands of residents.
Masari also disclosed plans to establish the Abibatu Mogaji Islamic Centre in Abuja and build a modern Juma’at Mosque in Rigasa, Kaduna State, as part of efforts to preserve her legacy of service, philanthropy and community development.
The event attracted governors, ministers, traditional rulers, Islamic scholars and other senior government officials, who offered prayers for the repose of her soul and for enduring peace, security and economic prosperity in Nigeria.
