President Bola Tinubu welcomed a high-profile delegation, led by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to the Presidential Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja, for the annual Eid-el-Fitr homage on Sunday.
This comes after the media, not Lapalaras.com, had reported that Wike collapsed during a high-level meeting in Abuja on Saturday due to excessive alcohol consumption and was urgently flown to France for medical treatment.
However, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, dismissed these claims as “fake news.”
“There is no need to respond to unfounded rumours,” Olayinka stated.
The gathering at the Presidential Banquet Hall, which marked Tinubu’s first Eid-el-Fitr celebration with guests at Aso Villa, commenced at 12:16 pm upon his arrival at the venue.
Among the attendees were lawmakers representing the FCT at the National Assembly, area council chairpersons, traditional rulers, Christian and Muslim community leaders, and senior judicial officers.
The session began with prayers led by the Chairman of the FCT Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr. Timothy Amazon, and the Murshid of the National Mosque, Prof. SAS Galadanci.
According to the event schedule, Wike was tasked with delivering the opening remarks before guests presented their Eid-el-Fitr greeting cards to the President.
Dignitaries seated at the event included Vice President Kashim Shettima, National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu, and Minister of Information and National Orientation Mohammed Idris.
The Eid-el-Fitr homage is a longstanding tradition where leaders, community representatives, and religious figures pay respect to the President and celebrate the conclusion of Ramadan, emphasizing unity, peace, and national progress.
