From Bamigbola Gbolagunte, Akure
ONDO State Gover- nor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has urged intending pilgrims to the 2017 hajj in Mecca to pray for peaceful co-existence of Nigeria and ailing President Muhammadu Buhari.
The governor, while speaking at a farewell ceremony for the 301 pilgrims from the state to Saudi Arabia, urged them to seek God’s intervention on President Buhari’s health challenge.
Akeredolu, represented by his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, advised the pilgrims to con- form with the rules and regulations of Saudi Arabia and shun conducts that could bring their names and reputation of the state into disrepute.
He said: “You must resist the temptation of carrying hard drugs or prohibited goods to the Holy land. The attributes of honesty and discipline which are enshrined in the Holy Quran must be conspicuously displayed in your performance of hajj.” Earlier, Chairman, the state Muslim Pilgrims Wel- fare Board, Alhaji Khaleel Fawehinmi, said: “I like to appeal to you to go to the Holy Land not just to have your own personal fulfil- ment and pray for yourselves alone. I urge you to remem- ber our dear state and country in general.
“We need the prayers of the faithful to re-orientate our psyche, our values and our appreciation of religion itself.” Meanwhile, Governor Akeredolu has assured farm- ers in the state of a brighter future.
Akeredolu, who gave the assurance while presenting N215 million cheque to farmers in Akure, said farmers would soon begin to enjoy bountiful harvest coupled with better yield and price for their produce.
He said his administration would not relent in its deter- mination to encourage more people, especially youths, to embrace agriculture as an al- ternative and reliable source of wealth creation.