The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Abbas Tajudeen has celebrated his 60th birthday with humanitarian services to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and prison inmates.
Speaker Abbas, who clocked 60 on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, had called for low-key celebrations by members of the House, aides, friends and political associates. He called for humanitarian campaigns instead.
To mark his Diamond Jubilee birthday, the Speaker lined up a series of humanitarian activities, including sponsoring examinations for prison inmates and securing the release of others by paying their bail.
He also gave food items to IDPs.
At the Kuje Custodial Centre in Abuja, Speaker Abbas paid registration fees for 100 inmates to sit the 2025 National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB) and National Examinations Council (NECO) tests. While 57 will sit for NABTEB examination, 43 were registered for NECO.
The Speaker was represented by his Deputy Chief of Staff (Legislative), Dr Chamberlain Dunku, who led several senior aides to the presentation ceremony.
Speaker Abbas said: “Identifying with the Nigerian Correctional Service in the area of quality transformation of inmates through education is a cause that is very close to my heart. This celebration goes beyond personal milestones; it is about extending hope, giving second chances and investing in the future of our brothers and sisters who, though confined today, still carry within them the potential for greatness tomorrow.
“The registration of inmates for the 2025 NABTEB and NECO is not merely an academic exercise — it is a statement of faith in human dignity and redemption. It is a reminder that conviction is not condemnation, and that every life, when given the right opportunity, can be transformed.”
Moved by an inmate’s story, Dr Dunkwu, in personal capacity, gave a cash gift of N1 million to Chikwendu Hart, who is currently pursuing a doctorate at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), and has published seven books while awaiting trial for 13 years.
In Zaria on Wednesday, Speaker Abbas spent over N3million on bail bonds, securing the release of nine inmates from the Zaria Medium Correctional Centre.
The beneficiaries are Ibrahim Dan’asabe (N240,000), Kabir Ibrahim (N180,000), Ibrahim Ahmed (N60,000), Haruna Musa (N350,000), Aliyu Tukur (N390,000), Prince Wadilor Wodu (N326,000), Mustapha Abubakar (N410,000), Sagir Sani (N685,000) and Shehu Abubakar (N440,000).
Also on Wednesday, Speaker Abbas donated food items to IDPs at the Kabusa Camp. The palliatives include over 1000 bags of rice.
This is just as his wife, Hajia Fatima Abbas-Tajudeen, donated N2million to the IDPs, while both the Deputy Chief of Staff (Legislative), Dr Chamberlain Nnamdi Dunkwu; and the Deputy Chief of Staff (Administration), Alhaji Ilyasu Balarabe, donated N1million.
Chairman of the House Committee on Nutrition and Food Security, Chike Okafor, who also announced a N1million gift to the IDPs in support of the Speaker’s humanitarian gesture, described Speaker Abbas as “a national asset.”
Medical personnel from Nizamiye Hospital Abuja were also on the ground to offer free healthcare services to the IDPs as part of the humanitarian services in honour of the Speaker.
Addressing the IDPs through Dr Dunkwu, the Speaker noted that the gathering was not just about marking his 60th birthday but about “extending a hand of compassion, solidarity, and hope to our fellow Nigerians who, through no fault of theirs, have found themselves displaced.”
He also stated that the event “is a testament to the fact that leadership is not only about legislation and policies, but also about love, empathy, and service to humanity.”
The Speaker also commended the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI), partners and all stakeholders who made the humanitarian exercise a reality.
Speaker Abbas assured the IDPs that their welfare remains a top priority for the government, “and we will continue to support measures that provide education, healthcare, food security, and opportunities for a better future.”