President Bola Tinubu has hailed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 25 years of uninterrupted public service and called for a stronger Nigeria-India partnership across key areas of bilateral cooperation.
Tinubu made the call in a congratulatory message to Modi on Wednesday to mark the milestone, describing his quarter-century in public leadership as a rare achievement in a democracy and a reflection of the confidence placed in him by the Indian people.
Modi assumed office in 2001 as Chief Minister of Gujarat and served for more than 12 years before becoming Prime Minister of India in 2014.
The President said Modi had, over the past 25 years, provided leadership focused on development, citing his contributions to infrastructure, digital public goods, financial inclusion and innovation.
He said the transformation of Gujarat and India’s emergence as one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies under Modi’s leadership had lifted millions and provided inspiration for countries across the Global South.
“On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and on my own behalf, I extend warm and fraternal congratulations to His Excellency Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, on a truly historic milestone,” Tinubu said.
The President said Nigeria deeply valued its strategic partnership with India, recalling Modi’s state visit to Abuja in November 2024, when Nigeria conferred on him the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.
According to him, the visit provided fresh impetus to cooperation between both countries in trade and investment, energy, defence and security, health, education and technology.
Tinubu also described Nigeria and India as fellow democracies and leading voices of the Global South, stressing the shared interests between the two countries.
He said the milestone provided an opportunity to celebrate Modi’s contribution to public service while reinforcing Nigeria’s commitment to deepening bilateral relations with India.
