- Tinubu Seeks Stronger FG-Rotary Partnership on Healthcare, Education
- Hails Babalola as Rotary’s second African president
- Says Government cannot transform Nigeria alone
President Bola Tinubu has called for stronger collaboration between the Federal Government and Rotary International to advance healthcare, education, youth empowerment and community development across Nigeria.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the President made the call on Sunday at a presidential inaugural dinner held in Abuja in honour of the newly inaugurated President of Rotary International, Rotarian Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, describing his emergence as a landmark achievement for Nigeria and Africa.
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Babalola became the second African to lead Rotary International in the organisation’s 121-year history.
Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, Tinubu said Babalola’s election was not only a personal milestone but also a reflection of Nigeria’s growing influence on the global stage.
He said the values of Rotary International, including service, integrity, fellowship, diversity and leadership, align with the objectives of his administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritises education, healthcare, youth development, job creation and improved public service delivery.
The President stressed that government alone cannot achieve national development and invited Rotary International to deepen its partnership with Nigeria in critical sectors such as primary healthcare, maternal and child health, education, literacy, youth skills acquisition and community economic development.
“If we align Rotary’s culture of community service with the Federal Government’s policy direction under Renewed Hope, we can create results that are measurable, local and lasting. We can deliver hope not as a slogan, but as a lived reality,” Tinubu said.
The President also commended Rotary International for its contribution to the global campaign against polio, describing the organisation’s role in Nigeria’s successful eradication of the wild poliovirus as one of the greatest examples of international collaboration in public health.
Speaking at the event, Rotary International President, Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, said the organisation was expanding its humanitarian efforts beyond the EndPolioNow campaign through new initiatives focused on improving maternal health and tackling malaria and diarrhoeal diseases.
“Rotary’s greatest achievements are not measured by the meetings we hold or the plans we make, but by the lives we transform and the hope we create,” Babalola said.
He noted that Nigerian Rotarians have worked alongside communities, governments and international partners for decades in the fight against polio, adding that the organisation would remain committed to ensuring the disease is eradicated globally.
“Until polio is eradicated everywhere, our vigilance must continue, because every child, everywhere, deserves the chance to live free from this devastating disease,” he added.
FURTHER READING
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- 6 Million More Nigerians Enrolled in Health Insurance Scheme – Tinubu
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