Ogun State governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, said the LEADERSHIP Governor of the Year award bestowed on him will serve as a catalyst for his administration to do more for the state in terms of good governance and delivery on campaign promises.
The governor, who expressed surprise that the newspaper found him worthy of the “unsolicited award,” specifically remarked that the LEADERSHIP award had greatly challenged the spirit of a successful private sector player in him to offer the best to the state.
Abiodun stated this yesterday while addressing a top management team from LEADERSHIP Group Ltd who paid him a courtesy visit at his office located within the State Secretariat Complex in Oke – Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, where he was presented with the letter for the “LEADERSHIP Governor of the year 2022” award.
Led by the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, Azu Ishiekwene, and one other member of the board of directors of LEADERSHIP Group, Abraham Nda-Isaiah, the team was in Abeokuta to intimate Abiodun on why he was chosen from among his peers.
Earlier, the editor-in-chief had stated that the editorial board of the newspaper had found him deserving of the award having meticulously studied his approach to governance in the state, particularly through execution of projects that had been consequential in the lives of the citizens and residents of the entire Ogun State, along with his “relatively transparent public service record and a proven interest in businesses”.
“At LEADERSHIP, we fully understand that part of the responsibilities of the press is to hold the government to account which is clearly provided for in Section 22 of Nigeria’s Constitution and we take that responsibility very seriously.
‘’And so, we know when it is time to criticize; when it is the time to admonish and when it is the time to remonstrate. We do that regularly and that is the tradition on which our late chairman, Mr. Sam Nda – Isaiah, founded the LEADERSHIP awards 14 years ago, and so we are actually in the 14th edition of the award.
“But we also understand that public office, particularly in this part of the world, is an extremely difficult business. And, therefore, when we remonstrate, we also believe that we also have a responsibility to encourage public officers and those who hold sensitive positions and also in the private sector to do more. That we also have the responsibility to encourage them to model themselves as examples for others to follow. And it’s precisely in that tradition that the late Mr. Sam Nda-Isaiah founded the LEADERSHIP awards 14 years ago”.
“Before LEADERSHIP chose you as the governor of the year, we neither called you or any other member of your cabinet. We sent people out; we did our research because there are no pre-conditions. For us, it is not a trading block, we do it as a matter of conscience and as a matter of duty to the society. That is how seriously we take it”.
Ishiekwene further disclosed to the Abiodun that the year 2022 edition of the award, which found him deserving it, makes him the first governor in Ogun State to be so awarded with this LEADERSHIP award.
The editor-in-chief went on: “In fact, outside Lagos State, you’re the first and second in the entire South West to be awarded LEADERSHIP Governor of the year.
‘’We have followed Your Excellency’s term of office since May 29, 2019 when he was 59 years old and was sworn-in as the executive governor of the state. We have followed your activities, especially when you started the “Building Our Future Together” agenda under the ISEYA acronym, driving that mantra under that agenda for Infrastructure, Social Welfare, Education, Youths and Agriculture. We have followed your activities throughout
He said it was a tradition that when a new government comes into office, it claims the previous governments had not done much and that it will start on a fresh page.
“But we were very excited that with your experience in the private sector, that has made you prudent. Of course, there are professional politicians and there are professionals in politics. We regard you not as a professional politician, but as a professional in politics and we have seen clearly from your term of office since the last two and a half years and that showed in the things that you have done,” he added.
For the criteria for the award, Ishiekwene said the newspaper looked for a serving governor whose programmes have been consequential in the lives of the community and who has a relatively transparent public service record and has a proven interest in business.
“That, for us, is at the heart of who gets awarded and who does not.
“We have watched all of the points for which you have set yourself to achieve; we have seen the difference that you have made in the lives of the people in the 20 local government areas of the state. And after this meeting, we are still going on a tour of duty to actually confirm the things and feedback to ascertain that the things we have watched and heard are actually true.
“All these things are published in our book of records and I have summarised why we believe that you are deserving of this award,” he said.
Responding to Ishiekwene’s remarks, Governor Abiodun described LEADERSHIP Newspaper as a highly respected newspaper because of its objective reportage, stressing that such must have been drawn from the character of its late founder, Sam Nda-Isaiah, who he described in glowing terms.
The governor stated that LEADERSHIP newspaper had over the years been consistent at providing quality information “that is reliable and dependable” for the Nigerian society.
“That is something that is not very common these days because most newspapers are more interested in sensationalizing, glorifying sensational news, believing that such is what sells a newspaper and once a newspaper crosses to that, one now begins to wonder whether such is still a newspaper or soft-sell newspaper medium.
“But LEADERSHIP has been so consistent over the years; its management is ensuring that the news and information it provides is objective and in line with values and culture of its founding fathers.
He reiterated he had not had a previous engagement with the newspaper, which rules out that the award was purchased, adding that it was a recognition of good governance in the state.
Abiodun said: “It is not even in our character to seek attention, that is why many times, I admonish that with all that we are doing in this state, we are not making enough noise. But coming from the private sector, where one’s performance is what speaks for him, I tell people that those that are benefiting from the people-oriented projects that we are implementing do not need those things advertised on billboards or newspapers. They will feel it, touch it. That for us is good enough and that is how we run our administration since I assumed office.
“This is totally unsolicited; this is obviously the decision taken by the editorial board of LEADERSHIP newspaper based on your very detailed processes and criterion set up for the awards.”
He reiterated that government was a continuum and that preceding administrations were not spending their own personal money on projects, but spending the commonwealth of the state, so his administration’s attitude was to complete them due to their economic importance to the state.
“What most politicians don’t realize is that, oftentimes, it is not he who starts a project, it is the person that commissions the project. So, when a new administration comes in place, they just abandon the projects and begin to do something else. To me, I really wonder what informs such a decision,” he said.
Speaking on the award Governor Abiodun said: “I feel highly honoured and inspired by this award, particularly I have been challenged that despite not making noise about what our administration is doing, there are still some people out there that are silently watching what we are doing.
“We are further motivated. That said, the reward for hard-work is more work: we will be inspired by this award and it will be one of the awards that I cherish the most. Though every day, there has been the call to receive awards from other quarters and we have been turning it down, but this LEADERSHIP newspaper award is with a difference.”