A northern group, the Arewa Think Tank (ATT), held a prayer session in Kaduna on Saturday for the 73rd birthday celebration of President Bola Tinubu as they urged Nigerians to support the government to transform the nation.

Two Islamic Clerics, Sheikh Yahaya Musa and Abdulkareem Abumujahidah, led the prayer session.

The Islamic Clerics said, “There is nothing bad praying for our leaders. God even says that we should continue to pray for our leaders so that they can have the strength and good health to lead us better. So this prayer for the
President and Nigeria as a country is in order.”

They used the occasion to urge Nigerians not to cease praying at all times as part of encouraging leaders to ensure speedy development for the country.

Earlier in his remarks, the Convener of Arewa Think Tank (ATT), Muhammad Yakubu, said that the gathering was solely for a prayer session in commemoration of the 73rd birthday celebration of President Bola Tinubu.

According to him, the event has nothing to do with any political gathering.

However, while fielding questions from journalists shortly after the occasion, he expressed optimism that President Tinubu’s chance for a second term was so bright because of various reforms he has implemented, “which are now yielding results.”

“So his coming back to the office for the second tenure is very much assured by the grace of God,” Yakubu said.

“We must not forget the fact that the respective holy books of the two major religions; Islam and Christianity call on the people to always pray for their leaders.

However, he remarked that the “Arewa Think Tank wants to use this event to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for ordering an immediate crackdown on killers of travelling hunters of Northern extraction in Edo State last week.”

“Therefore, let us continue to pray for our leaders no matter their shortcomings so that they can be strong and focused to lead the people alright”, Yakubu added.

The former governor of Kaduna State, Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, and the Director-General of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Comrade Issa Aremu, graced the occasion. Both of them commended the organisers of the prayer session.