December 17, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday marked his 79th birthday in Istanbul, Turkey.
THEWILL had reported that the president, accompanied by his wife, Aisha Buhari; the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Defence, Maj-Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd); FCT, Mohammed Bello; Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; Agriculture, Mohammed Abubakar; Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo; the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (Rtd); and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufai Abubakar; on Thursday departed Abuja for the Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit being held in Instabul.
To mark his 79th birthday, a cake was presented as a surprise to him by Nigerian delegates who chanted “Happy Birthday, Mr President”, on sighting him.
Photos shared by presidential aide, Buhari Sallau, showed the moment the president cut his birthday cake moulded in the national colours, green-white-green.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, who spoke on behalf of the delegation and the Ambassador of Nigeria to Turkey, Ismail Yusuf Abba, congratulated the president on the good work he is doing for the country and wished him “a happy birthday, many healthy years ahead and the energy to give his best to the nation.”
Onyeama noted that the president “continues to have a good run with his health, getting better and more active with time.”
Shortly after cutting the cake, Buhari went straight to chair a planning meeting with officials in his delegation and thereafter drove to the Dolmabahce Palace for a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Recep Erdogan.
Senior Special Assistant to the president on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Here Is How President Buhari Marked His 79th Birthday In Turkey.’
According to Shehu, “In response to the tribute on the occasion on behalf of the ministers and the rest of the delegation rendered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, President Buhari said he will put in his best for Nigeria until the last day when in 2023 he hands over to a successor and returns to his farm to tender crops and livestock.
“I thought that being away from Abuja I will escape these things. The Guards Brigade had written to tell me what they wanted to do on this day. Now here you are doing this far away from home.
“I look forward to the year 2023 when I finish, to go home to take charge of my farm. Between now and that time, I will do the best that is possible to advance the interest of the nation and its people, and carry out my duties as prescribed by the Constitution.”
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