Politics
Lawan dedicates 2019 Zik Award to senators
Ahmad Lawan
Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan has said that the 2019 Zik Prize in Political Leadership won on Sunday night in Lagos would be dedicated to his distinguished colleagues in the upper legislative chamber for their commitment to the progress and development of the country.
Organisers of the award, the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre, PPRAC, said Lawan’s consideration was in recognition of his “long-standing dynamic service to the Nigerian state” and his “undying commitment to the entrenchment of democratic ideals in the Nigerian polity.”
Receiving the award, the Senate President, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Babagana Muhammad-Aji at the impressive ceremony, expressed his pleasure and delight to have been recognized for the prestigious award.
Lawan, according to a statement his Special Adviser on Media, Ola Awoniyi, said the award would be dedicated to all the senators, “who had remarkably risen above partisan differences to form a bond that is committed to the progress and development of Nigeria.”
He noted that the recognition was a result of the unwavering support that he enjoyed from his colleagues who resolved to be bipartisan from day one of the Ninth National Assembly.
“I consider the award as a further call to duty, not just from a personal point of view but on behalf of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly in general,” Lawan said.
The Senate President, on behalf of his distinguished colleagues, once again assured the nation that they would continue to put in their best in the onerous task of nation building.
The Zik Price was set up in 1994 in honour of the first President of Nigeria, Dr. Nnamdi Azikwe, to encourage and nurture leadership on the African continent and in the Diaspora.
Previous recipients of the prize include President Jerry Rawlings of Ghana (1995), President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania (1997), Dr. Nelson Mandela of South Africa (2000), President Yoweri Muzeveni of Uganda (2003), President John Kuffor of Ghana (2008) and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Sierra Leone (2011).
Others are the former Secretary to the Government of Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed (2010); legal luminary, Aare Afe Babalola (2013); former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara (2015), former super permanent secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Joda (2016), former Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh (2017) and former Vice Chancellor, University of Lagos, Professor Ayo Ibidapo-Obe (2018).
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