Farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago, Governor of Niger State, has bagged Leadership Newspaper’s Governor of the Year award.
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the governors of Benue, Katsina, and Oyo states, as well as Peter Obi, received awards in several categories during the Leadership Newspaper’s Annual Conference and Awards in Abuja.
The Farmer Governor received the prize in recognition of his remarkable innovative leadership style and the enormous developmental strides his administration has made in less than a year.
Speaking on behalf of the award recipients in the Governor of the Year 2023 category, Farmer Governor Umaru Bago underlined the importance of Nigeria’s productivity.
He stated that Nigeria is endowed with enough resources to feed itself and export, emphasizing that Niger State is leading the way in agriculture, having attracted over a billion dollars in agricultural business ventures.
The Farmer Governor stated that the Agricultural Policies of Niger State, in particular, and Nigeria in general, will provide enough food to feed and export.
While commending the Leadership Group’s Management and Staff for recognizing them as deserving of the prizes, they committed to justify the honor.
The Governor, on behalf of President Ahmed Bola Tunubu, the Niger State Government, APC Governors and Ministers, and his family, announced the donation of a N250 million academic scholarship to Auwalu Salisu, a Keke Napep driver from Kano who discovered and returned N15 million to a citizen of the Chad Republic.
He praised Auwalu Salisu’s honesty and exceptional judgment, noting that there are more people like him in society who should be identified and celebrated.
The Farmer Governor agreed to name a street in Minna after Auwalu Salisu.
Alh. Mohammed Idris Malagi, President Ahmed Bola Tinubu’s Minister of Information and National Orientation, represented him in receiving the Leadership Person of the Year 2023 award.
He admitted that Nigeria is going through a difficult time, but that it will emerge stronger as his administration continues to make decisions that will benefit everyone, even as he urged Nigerians to be more patient and understanding.
Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and founder of Sogato Strategies, spoke on the theme “Nigeria’s Distress Economy; Which Way Forward,” emphasizing that bad governance, population crisis, inadequate and unstable electricity, and lack of strategy, among other things, by successive administrations have been the bane of Nigeria’s economic crisis.
He did, however, make certain recommendations to the Federal Government, including the N20 billion bond to support a strategic project involving railway, housing, and agriculture; lowering governance costs; respecting institutional independence; and thinking systemically, among others.
Earlier, Mrs Zainab Nda Isaiah, Chairman of the Leadership Group, stated that the award was intended to highlight people who were deemed deserving of the honors in several categories.
While congratulating the recipients, the Chairman praised their dedication and enthusiasm for the advancement of humanity and the nation.
Auwalu Salisu was also awarded a scholarship at Baze University by the Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate and former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, and his Vice Presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Ahmed.
At the occasion, Niger State was represented by a powerful delegation that included serving federal and state lawmakers from the state, members of the state executive council, the state ALGON chairman, the chairman of the state council of traditional rulers, and other government officials.
