President Bola Tinubu has conferred the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) on American billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates, in recognition of his longstanding commitment to global health and development, particularly in Nigeria and Africa.
The award ceremony took place in Lagos on Tuesday, with confirmation shared via social media by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga. Gates is currently in Nigeria to engage with President Tinubu and discuss initiatives to strengthen the country’s primary healthcare system, as revealed in a statement from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
President Tinubu praised Gates for his decades-long efforts in areas such as polio eradication, education, digital innovation, and agricultural development. “Bill Gates’ contributions have saved millions, uplifted communities, and inspired global action,” Tinubu said.
In a video shared by the Special Adviser on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, Tinubu described Gates as “one of the greatest human beings that the world has brought,” thanking him for his “indivisible commitment to humanity.”
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In his response, Gates expressed gratitude for the honour, crediting the Foundation’s team and long-standing Nigerian partners. He highlighted the country’s success in reducing child mortality through vaccine coverage, the eradication of polio, and recent achievements in distributing HPV vaccines to prevent cervical cancer among young girls.
“Nigeria achieved a better result than any other country in getting the vaccine out to young girls,” Gates said, pledging to further support Nigeria’s fight against malaria and malnutrition, and reaffirming his goal of investing his wealth into health initiatives over the next two decades.
He commended the commitment of Nigerian leaders, including President Tinubu, Health Minister Muhammad Ali Pate, and businessman Aliko Dangote, for their roles in transforming the health sector.
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