Date: 2010-12-01

The Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, has enjoined the Lebanese firm handling the reconstruction of Ilorin Central Mosque to give the community a first class standard mosque that will be one of the best in the country.

The emirate in June, last year, initiated plans to give the fading mosque a facelift as it launched an endowment fund of N1.8billion.

The emir gave the advice at his palace when the Chief of Staff to Kwara State Governor, Alhaji Ahmad Ali, leading members of various committees involved in the project, paid him a visit. He recalled that when the old mosque was built in 1981, it was the best in Nigeria.

He reminded the contractors that it is the hope of Governor Bukola Saraki and the muslim community to have another best mosque in the country.

He however, charged the contractors to commence work latest by the end of this month on the project and assured them of the support of his people emphasizing that "a very high standard number one mosque is our target".

Alhaji Sulu-Gambari, who commended the governor for his foresightedness, also praised the board of trustees, the technical committee members and the consortium of architects led by renowned architect, Jimoh Faworaja for the painstaking efforts they have been making in ensuring that the Ilorin community has another befitting mosque.

"Governor Saraki through his keen interest in the construction of another ultra modern central mosque for Ilorin has done something great for the people of the community and generations yet unborn. We thank God for giving us a governor who can feel, a leader who is interested in modernizing every aspect of the state’s life as exemplified in the monumental projects scattered across the state," he said.

The monarch, while supporting the decision of the governor and the other committees involved in the reconstruction of the mosque to demolish the existing structure, said, "it is better to have a permanent beautiful structure. And that is what the governor is doing."

In a remark, head of the architecture committee, Jimoh Faworaja said that for the purposes of minimal maintenance stones from Syria and Saudi Arabia would be made use of, while the interior would comprise of Islamic calisthenics.