Buhari at 74: Guards brigade holds special parade

Elite military brigade, the Presidential Guards, yesterday, in Abuja, held a special parade in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari who turned 74 years.

Immediately after the event, which held at the forecourt of the Presidential Villa, the President went for the meeting of leaders of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

The ECOWAS meeting, which is specifically aimed at prevailing on‎ The Gambian‎ President, Yahya Jammeh, to respect the outcome of the December 1, 2016 elections in that country, is a follow up to the leaders’ visit to the country.

Ministers, service chiefs and presidential aides among others, also witnessed the birthday event characterized by the cutting of birthday cake and release of 74 pigeons by the president.

Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed, his Defence counterpart, Mansur Dan-Ali and that of Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Musa Bello, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal; were among the few that attended the event, which began at exactly 9am.

After the parade, the aides presented Buhari with a giant birthday card bearing the inscription, ‘Happy Birthday’. ‎

Some of the presidential aides at the birthday parade were, the Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari; Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina; Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Diaspora, Abike Dabiri, and the Permanent Secretary, State House, Jalal Arabi, among others.‎

While he signed the birthday anniversary register, the President commented: “Impressed, efficient drill.”
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Speaking with State House correspondents, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gabriel Olonishakin, said: “We are celebrating the birthday of the President and we wish him well and good health. We wish him all the goodness of God as he pilots the affairs of our nation to greater heights.”

Chief of Army Staff, Tukur Buratai, noted that “he (the President) is a great man and we are very pleased with his accomplishments over the years; he is a good leader.”