By Gloria Ikibah
President Bola Tinubu has congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25 years of uninterrupted public service, describing the milestone as a rare achievement in a democracy and calling for stronger Nigeria-India relations.
Tinubu, in a congratulatory message to Modi on Wednesday, said the Indian leader’s quarter-century in public leadership reflected the confidence placed in him by the Indian people. 
Modi began his political career at the state level in 2001 when he became Chief Minister of Gujarat, a position he held for more than 12 years before becoming Prime Minister of India in 2014.
Tinubu said Modi had over the past 25 years provided leadership focused on development, particularly in infrastructure, digital public goods, financial inclusion and innovation.
He also 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 of people and offered inspiration to 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, during which Nigeria conferred on him the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.
Tinubu said the visit had provided fresh impetus to cooperation between the two countries in trade and investment, energy, defence and security, health, education and technology.
He described Nigeria and India as fellow democracies and leading voices of the Global South, stressing the shared interests between both countries.
According to him, Modi’s 25-year milestone offered an opportunity not only to celebrate his contribution to public service, but also to reaffirm Nigeria’s commitment to strengthening its bilateral relationship with India.
Tinubu called for deeper cooperation between the two countries across areas of mutual interest, saying stronger Nigeria-India relations would further advance the interests of both nations and contribute to broader South-South cooperation.
