Buhari congratulates ex-Gov. Duke on 60th birthday

President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated former Governor Donald Duke of Cross River on his 60th birthday.

Duke is clocking 60 years on Sept. 30.

In a congratulatory message issued by his spokesman, Mr Femi Adesina, on Wednesday in Abuja, Buhari joined family and friends to rejoice with the political leader “whose antecedents continue to inspire hope in a new generation of leaders’’.

The president affirmed that the leadership strides of the former governor reverberated across the country, with innovative and creative strategies of development that placed Nigeria on the spotlight for rapid urban development, agriculture, industrialisation, hospitality and tourism.

The president believed Duke, who was elected governor in his 30s in 1999, provided a visionary and focused style of leadership that showcased the potentials in Nigerian youths.

Buhari also saluted the former governor for projecting the loyalty, dedication and sense of patriotism that heralded nationalist movements and consolidated the country’s unity.

The president noted “the maturity and measured disposition of the former governor, even in opposition for many years, working diligently to promote peace, good governance and virility of democratic institutions that will benefit the country’’.

Buhari prayed for his good health and the welfare of his family.