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| R-L, Sen. Ibrahim Gaidam, Gov. Buni, Senate president Lawan, Hon. Min. Aliyu |
Two illustrious sons of Yobe State, Senate President Ahmed Lawan and the Minister
of State for Works and Housing, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu were on Saturday honoured by
their home state.
The duo were treated to a grand state reception by the Gov. Mai Mala Buni amidst hundreds of
supporters at the Banquet Hall of Government House Damaturu.
While Senator Dr Ahmed Lawan is being honoured for
his election as the President of the ninth senate of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, Engr. Aliyu on the other hand was
honoured for his appointment as the minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Engr. Aliyu is the immediate past deputy governor of
the state. He has served as Deputy Governor in the last ten years.
Our correspondent who monitored the event reports
that the immediate past governor, now senator Ibrahim Gaidam chaired the
occasion which was attended by other dignitaries including former governor
senator Bukar Abba Ibrahim and three former military administrators, Group
Captain JI Ben Kalio, Police Commissioners, Dabo Aliyu and Sani Daura and many
others.
Presenting his welcome address, Yobe State governor
Mai Mala Buni spoke glowingly of the two honourees who he described as worthy
sons of the state.
Gov.
Buni believed that the leadership style of Sen. Ahmed Lawan has already started
yielding fruitful results between the executive arm of government and the
national assembly, which he noted has restored trust between the two arms of
government.
His words: “Today, thanks to
his robust leadership and the support of his 108 senate colleagues, the Senate
President has restored that vital trust between the legislative and executive
branches of the government. “For the first time in a very long time, Senator
Ahmed Lawan has also restored the January-December budget circle as provided for
in the 1999 Constitution (as amended), giving the government the opportunity to
more ably deliver on its mandate.
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| Hon. Min. Engr. Aliyu receiving Sword of Honor from Gov. Buni |
“Within six months of becoming the Senate
President, Senator Ahmed Lawan has also recorded a slew of other
accomplishments, justifying once more the need for a cordial, amicable working
relationship between the legislature and the executive.
“These include, but are not
limited to, the speedy passage of the 2020 finance and appropriation bills, and
the passage of the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and the Fiscal
Strategy Policy Paper.
“Some of you here may recall
that when President Muhammadu Buhari sent the list of his ministerial nominees
to the Senate, the Senate President got his senator colleagues to cut short
their recess in order to screen the nominees. It is a testament to his
leadership that all the ministerial nominees were considered and passed in
record time by the Senate.
“There is something equally
significant, if not more significant about the Senate President, that needed to
be told. It is about his character and his vision for the country that he
loves.
“His entire life is a story of
hard work, service and the quest for consensus and compromise. As a university
lecturer, he was an inspiration to his students, and many of his former
students are getting to the peaks of their careers today because of his
mentorship and guidance.
“As a scholar and a legislator
for over 20 years, Senator Ahmed Lawan understands the need for congruence and
harmony between theory and practice, between idealism and realism. He knows
that part of the responsibility of the Senate as a co-equal branch of the
government is to tamper the legitimate, unceasing demands of the people with
the limits of what the government can and should do. That means that the Senate
must always be a bridge for our democracy to thrive and our people to prosper.
“This is a task to which the
Senate President has set himself with remarkable success.
“In doing so, he constantly
works with his colleagues in the APC and across party line to ensure that the
Senate speaks with one voice, and that its main focus remains to legislate for
good governance and the security and wellbeing of the people of the country,”
Gov. Buni said.
The
governor expressed joy that Yobe is
proud of producing the number three citizen of the country and even for that
singular reason cannot seize to celebrate their son, Dr. Lawan.
“We
also celebrate the Senate President today because he is from Yobe State. It is an honour that the number
three citizen of the country is from our state. We are grateful to all the
senators and to Nigerians for making this possible. We are also grateful to the
people of Yobe Zone C. It is their support and their votes that made this
possible; and this made Yobe State an integral part of the nation’s leadership,”
he added.
Speaking
of the Minister of State Works and Housing, Engr. Aliyu, Gov. Buni described him as a role model and an inspiration to the
younger ones who look up to him as “a very loyal and committed person for any
duty assigned to him”, adding that “loyalty, patience and service to people” is
what signifies Engr. Aliyu
“We celebrate him for the
example he sets and the inspiration he provides to so many young people who are
mirroring and projecting themselves in him, and imagining themselves soaring to
higher places if they commit to the values that define his life – loyalty, patience,
and service to the people”, Gov. Buni said.
In his
address, the chairman of the occasion who is the immediate past governor, now,
Sen. Ibrahim Gaidam noted that even though they had difference at a point in their political life, his support for Lawan never withered because of what he saw in his personality.
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| Sen Lawan collecting his Sword of Honor from Gov. Buni |
Those things
he summed up as, “ talent, focus, and reliability, and his capacity to argue
his position powerfully on the floor of the senate”.
Sen.
Gaidam added that “I have no doubt that
in the months and years ahead, Senator Ahmed Lawan will continue to do us proud
by recording many more achievements and advancing legislation that would continue
to promote the corporate existence of the country and uplift the living
conditions of the people”.
Speaking
on the second honouree and minister of state works and Housing who served as
his deputy for more than a decade, Gaidam said, “From the moment I made the
decision to appoint him as my deputy governor following the death of the late
Governor Mamman Ali and my ascension to the position of governor of the state
in 2007, I have not regretted or looked back for one moment”.
He explained
that, “I have worked with Engr. Abubakar Aliyu for a total of ten years and
four months. Together, we have built more than a thousand kilometres of road
across our state; we built a new and modern teaching hospital and a college of
medical sciences for the training of indigenous doctors. We renovated hospitals
and schools and we also ensured that workers received their salaries on a
timely and regular basis and retirees their pensions and gratuities.
“Throughout
that period, Engr. Abubakar D. Ali remained a very loyal and supportive deputy
governor. I dare say that he was arguably the most loyal deputy governor in the
history of this country,” he said.
Highlights
of the even was the presentation of a Sword of Honor to the Senate President
and the Minister by Gov. Mai Mala Buni as a mark to continue the defence of
Yobe State.
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