by Chetachi Ibezimako

Wife of the President, Sen. Oluremi Tinubu, said on Friday that Nigeria’s glory is by the corner, urging all hands to be on deck to realise the country’s full potential.

Mrs Tinubu said although the times were challenging for Nigerians, they were not situations that could not be surmounted with a show of sincere commitment.

The First Lady made these remarks in Owerri when she was received by traditional rulers in Imo State ahead of the conferment of honourary doctorate degree on her by the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) on Saturday, December 7, 2024.

Addressing the traditional rulers, their wives and other government functionaries and leaders at the Eze Imo Palace in Owerri, Mrs Tinubu said she was also in the state to thank the monarchs for the support they extended to her and her husband, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, before, during and after the election that brought them into office in 2023.

“Remember that when I came here last year with the wife of the Vice President, we told you we will come back. Now, we are back, and we have come to thank you. Nigeria will be better because God is with us, and this Christmas will be sweet,” the First Lady said.

She commended Imo people for their sense of tolerance and emphasised the need for Nigerians to live together in peace wherever they have found themselves, noting that it was a thing of joy that heads of the Yoruba and Arewa in Imo came out happily to join their Igbo counterparts to receive her and her entourage.

Mrs. Tinubu further commended the leadership quality of Governor Hope Uzodimma which she said has left Imo State more developed in all facets of human endeavour.

“We saw the roads while coming. Beautiful roads, and your Governor is doing very well,” she said.

She, however, encouraged Nigerians to devote their time to hard work and to the training of their children, saying that “hard work does not kill, rather it pay”.

“We should inculcate the spirit of hard work in our children as well as take agriculture seriously. Nigeria is blessed and we need to unlock the potential of the blessing with hard work and commitment,” she said.

Addressing the audience, Governor Uzodimma said he has not seen a more dedicated, compassionate, generous First Lady like Oluremi Tinubu since he started playing politics more than 40 years ago.

He told the First Lady to feel at home in Imo with her entourage because of the genuine love Imo people have for her and her husband.

Uzodimma reminded his audience that President Tinubu’s government was doing a lot to make Nigeria a better place for all, noting that the circumstances that had brought difficult situation in the country were global and surmountable.

He urged the people to continue to support President Tinubu whom, he said, was working tirelessly to surmount the economic problems in the country occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidy and the wars in Ukraine and other parts of the world.

Drawing from Mrs. Tinubu’s earlier promise to the monarchs that this year’s Christmas would be sweet, Governor Uzodimma said the state has received some trailer loads of rice that would make it possible for Imo people to buy a bag of rice at N40,000 during this Yuletide season.

He commended the Federal Government’s interventions in different areas where Imo State sought for its assistance, and the First Lady for “adopting” his wife, Chioma, as her daughter.

Earlier in his address, the Chairman, Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers and Chairman, South East Traditional Rulers Council, HRM Eze E. C. Okeke, thanked the First Lady for her thoughtfulness in fulfilling her promise to come to thank the monarchs.

Eze Okeke also thanked her for taking the Governor’s wife as her own daughter and President Tinubu for alos adopting Governor Uzodimma as his son.

He assured the First Lady that Imo people would continue to support the government of her husband, insisting that the President was doing his best to change the narrative of the country for the better.

Eze Okeke also congratulated the First Lady on the honour that would be bestowed on her by FUTO on Saturday.

The First Lady was accompanied by the wife of the Vice President, Hajia Nana Shettima, wife of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hajia Yusuf Abbas, wife of the Governor of Imo State, Chioma Uzodimma, and her colleagues, ministers’ wives, among others.