President Muhammadu Buhari has eulogised the ‘strong leadership’ of the Communist Party-led China, as the Asian giant marks its 72nd anniversary on October 1.

“Nigeria highly commends the tremendous strides in poverty eradication and the great success in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects achieved by China under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, which just celebrated its centenary anniversary this year,” Mr Buhari said in a goodwill message sent to President Xi Jinping.

In contrast to Nigeria’s multi-party democracy, the Peoples Republic of China operates under one-party communism.

Femi Adesina, the president’s spokesman, who disclosed Mr Buhari’s message to the media, on Thursday, in Abuja, said the president lauded 50 years of robust diplomatic relationship between Nigeria and China.

“The past 50 years have witnessed a rapid development of Nigeria-China relations. The bilateral cooperation has yielded fruitful results, bringing tangible benefits to the two countries and their peoples,” Mr Buhari said.

He noted that the relationship had been yielding benefits for both countries.

The president said he looked forward to the uplift of the bilateral ties between the two nations.

“I attach great importance to Nigeria-China relations. While the meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) will be convened soon this year, I am looking forward to working with you within the framework of FOCAC, to uplift the bilateral relations to a new level,” he added.

(NAN)