Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and the Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh AbdulGaniy Agbotomokekere, have urged Nigerians to imbibe the spirit of religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Makinde and the Chief Imam made the plea in their separate Sallah messages on Saturday in Ibadan to commemorate the 2022 Eid-El-Kabir celebration.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Agbotomokekere led hundreds of Muslim faithful to observe the Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the City Eid Prayer Ground, Agodi, Ibadan.
In his sermon, the Chief Imam charged the congregation to live peacefully with one another and exhibit the fear of God in their daily activities.
He urged Muslim faithful to emulate the good virtues and engage in acts that would promote harmony in the country.
The cleric used the occasion to pray for the nation’s leaders and the peaceful conduct of the 2023 general elections.
Also, Makinde, while receiving a delegation that represented him at the prayer ground, urged the people of the state to imbibe the spirit of religious tolerance.
The governor declared that people of the state, irrespective of religious and ethnic colouration, have been living together peacefully for ages.
He enjoined all residents of the state to sustain the harmonious coexistence.
NAN reports that the state Commissioner for Establishment and Training, Alhaji Siju Lawal, led the State Government delegation to the praying ground.
Dignitaries at the Eld-el-Kabir prayers were Alhaji Daud Akinola, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Sen. Teslim Folarin, the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Chief Tajudeen Ajibola, who represented the Olubadan of Ibadanland.
