The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, yesterday led 20 emirs to commission the Maiduguri Central Mosque, completed by the Governor Kashim Shettima administration after 33 years of its commencement.

The mosque was designed as an Islamic resource centre with 10 classrooms, two libraries one of which is electronic, a media center, and other offices. It also has 90 ablution points, 18 conveniences, eight water reservoirs, a dedicated transformer and two stand-by power generators.

After the commissioning by the sultan, the first Juma’a prayer was held with worshipers who filled the 15,000 capacity mosque. The mosque, originally built in 1918 around the Shehu’s palace in Maiduguri, was demolished in 1986 for the purpose of building a bigger one. Despite several efforts by successive governments and contributions by prominent citizens, the project was stalled until Governor Shettima in 2012 approved continuation with a completion target of any time before May 29, 2019.

Sultan Abubakar and the Shehu of Borno (who is the custodian of the mosque) showered encomiums on Shettima for putting an end to 33 years of waiting. “Borno is indeed lucky to have Governor Shettima, especially at these challenging times. He understands the needs of Borno people and certainly completing this mosque touches the hearts of many citizens,” the Sultan said.

The Shehu described Shettima as a true leader and one that will forever be remembered and celebrated by the people of Borno.

Governor Kashim Shettima said his administration intervened to meet a peculiar need of majority of the population in the state.