BY:HighCelebritySquard
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu on Thursday pledged to address the security and power crises, among other challenges confronting the country.
Tinubu who was handed the transition report by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), promised not to disappoint Nigerians.
He said this shortly after his investiture with the country’s highest national honour of Grand Commander of Federal Republic alongside the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima who was honoured with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger by the President.
The investiture ceremony took place at the State House Conference Centre of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, as part of the lineup of events for the 2023 Presidential Inauguration Ceremony slated for Monday.
The ex-Lagos State governor said he understood the honour conferred upon him and his VP-elect and the magnitude of the task ahead.
He appealed to Buhari to entertain “knocks” on his doors whether he retires to Daura or the Niger Republic.
He said, “I am a simple man who is the beneficiary of the support and goodwill of the people of Nigeria. The people have put their trust in us. You have done your part, Mr President.
“Now, that great duty descends on me. I understand the meaning of the honour given to me today and of the task that awaits.
“I must run this race and must do it well. On security, the economy, agriculture, jobs, education, health and power and in all other sectors we must make headway. The people deserve no less. In this, I shall disappoint neither them nor you, Mr President.’’
After performing the handover of transition documents and transferring the baton of service to Tinubu, the President said he was confident to leave Nigeria in “capable hands.”
He said the conferment of the national honours was in accordance with the Honours Award Act, 1963, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004 which mandates that Presidents/Heads of State receive the Honour of GCFR while the Vice Presidents are awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.
“Today, with the authority vested in me, as the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I have conferred the National Honour of GCFR on His Excellency Bola Tinubu and that of the GCON on His Excellency Kashim Shettima respectively,” he said.
Buhari said he had run a good race and finished his course as Nigeria’s leader for the past eight years.
“I am confident that Nigeria is in capable hands as we embark on this new chapter. I have run a good race. I have finished my course. It is now time for another to take up the baton. Once again, I congratulate President-elect, Bola Tinubu and Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima on their well-deserved investiture,’’ he said.
At the event was the First Lady Aisha Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, the President’s Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, Ministers, the spouses and children of the President-elect and Vice President-elect, Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Adamu, several state governors, traditional rulers, amongst others.
Meanwhile, the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja on Thursday, recorded heavy passengers as dignitaries and guests began arriving for the Monday inauguration of Tinubu as the President.
Top hotels in Abuja are also experiencing an influx of guests with many of them fully booked ahead of the ceremony.
Checks at the airport indicated that the terminals witnessed high air passenger traffic as many moved to beat airline delays and other issues.
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria confirmed the high influx of passengers into the NAIA and attributed it to the forthcoming inauguration of the president-elect.
FAAN’s Head of Corporate Affairs, NAIA, Oluwakayode Adeyeoluwa, told The PUNCH that the agency was prepared to receive those coming for the inauguration but pleaded with passengers to cooperate with the authority.
Asked if the recent increase in passenger traffic into the Abuja airport could be attributed to the forthcoming inauguration of the President-elect, he replied, “Of course, people are coming in and going out, but the inauguration is a good reason to suspect that the high influx, for now, is due to what is forthcoming. So you are not far from the truth, for I don’t think there is any other thing happening in Abuja.
“However, at the same time, when the weekend approaches, people travel more. But I must note that coincidentally the inauguration is coming just after the weekend.”
Adeyeoluwa said the airport authority was well prepared to manage the situation and urged air travellers to be law-abiding when using the NAIA, stressing that the facility would see a lot of activities in the coming days.
“We appreciate them using the airport and we appreciate their understanding. We want to say that as they can see, things are improving by the day at the Abuja airport, as facilities are being upgraded to accommodate the increasing need for it.
“However, at the same time, we want to solicit the cooperation of passengers, new car parks have been created, and the toilet facilities at the departure terminals have been increased. So the management is doing all that we can to see that passengers get the optimum seamless service that we can give to them.
“So the passengers should please understand and cooperate with us in terms of abiding with the rules at the airport, especially the traffic rules. Some people will come to the airport and park where they are not supposed to park. You don’t park (your car) in front of the terminal. You can drop off a passenger but not park there and wait,” Adeyeoluwa stated.
The spokesperson for Dana Air, Kinsley Ezenwa, disclosed that the airline has been recording increased passenger traffic.
Ezenwa noted that the inauguration ceremony may have contributed to the volume, noting that the rise in air passengers had been on a steady increase before the inauguration ceremony.
“Yes, we have been getting it for the past month and it’s been very good. Inauguration might have added to the percentage though but it’s been on a steady rise long before the inauguration,’’ he added.
In preparation for the visiting dignitaries who included heads of government and diplomats, this newspaper gathered that the Federal Government had booked all the top hotels in Abuja for the accommodation of guests.
It was learnt that some of the luxury hotels had been booked since March.
Security sources confirmed that police counter-terrorism units and undercover operatives would be stationed at the hotels where the visiting dignitaries would be accommodated.
