BY SUNDAY EGEDE
President Bola Tinubu has described Governor Sheriff Oborevwori as a bridge-builder and model political leader, following the calibre of persons across political divides that graced his son’s wedding in Asaba.
President Tinubu stated this yesterday at the wedding of Mr. Clinton Oborevwori and his heartthrob, Knowledge Davidson at the Living Faith Church, Asaba.
President Tinubu, who was represented at the occasion by the Minister of Aviation, Mr Festus Keyamo (SAN), said Governor Oborevwori since he came into office had been a governor for all Deltans and urged his son to ensure he follows his father’s track record.
He lauded the Delta Governor for being a pan-Deltan and detribalised Governor, saying if all leaders shun political and religious inclinations, Nigeria would be a better place for all citizens to fulfil their God-given destinies.
“The presence of people across political divides in the country at the wedding ceremony of Sheriff Oborevwori’s son is a testament to the fact that he (Oborevwori) is a bridge builder,” Tinubu said.
While wishing the couple success in their matrimony, President Tinubu charged them to allow Christ to be the driver of their marriage and reminded couples in the country of the need to live in line with their marital oath.
The Chairman of the occasion and Governor of Zamfara State, Alhaji Dauda Lawal, said marriage was a union of honour hence the need for couples to live exemplary lifestyles.
Governor Lawal said the array of personalities drawn from different political parties, business community, technocrats and well-wishers was a clear testament to the governor’s detribalised disposition.
He advised the couple to uphold understanding as a tool to overcome marital challenges, pointing out that there was a need to guard against third-party interference in their union.
In his sermon titled “The Power Of Togetherness In Successful Marriage,” the Delta State Resident Pastor of the Living Faith Church, Pastor Adekunle Shiyanbade said God’s original intention for marriage was for togetherness and not for separation, adding that togetherness was a vital ingredient for a successful marriage.
Pastor Shiyanbade disclosed that marriage was a sacred union, a partnership involving three vital entities which he listed to include the man, the woman and God, adding that the marital bond was consecrated before God because, according to him, it is more than a legal or emotional commitment but a covenant.
He listed factors that stimulate a successful marriage to include accountability to God; trust and openness to each other; adjustment and adaptation that promotes mutual understanding; God’s words; effective communication; covenant responsibility and forgiveness, adding that couples should respect and celebrate each other.
According to him, any union anchored on fear of God, selfless love, truth and companionship will overcome all marital challenges, even as he said that the cracks in most marriages were due to poor communication, unwarranted secrecy, prayerlessness and insincerity.
He congratulated the new couple, Mr and Mrs Clinton Oborevwori for finding frank love in each other and charged them to allow Christ to remain at the centre of their marriage.
The cleric said the decline in morality in society was traceable to breakages in marriage and advocated the need for couples to keep at bay anything capable of jeopardising their union.
The marriage ceremony was attended by Governors of Adamawa, Ahmadu Fintiri; Agbu Kefas of Taraba; Douye Diri of Bayelsa; Sim Fubara of Rivers; Dapo Abiodun of Ogun; Engr. Mrs Tamunominini Makinde; Mrs Cecilia Otti of Abia State, Deputy Governor of Delta State, Sir Monday Onyeme, Deputy Governor of Bauchi and his Enugu State and Anambra counterparts, Ifeanyi Ossai and Dr Onyeka Ibezim.
Others were the former Governor of the State, Sen Ifeanyi Okowa and wife, Edith; the National Chairman of PDP, Amb. Iliya Damagun; representative of Senate President, Sen Joel-Onowhakpo Thomas; Minister of State for Petroleum, Sen Heineken Lokpobiri; Chairman of UBA Plc, Mr Tony Elumelu and the Managing Director of First Bank Plc, Mr Olusegun Alebiosu, among other dignitaries.
