Former governor of Bauchi State, Barrister Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar, has commended Governor Abusullahi Sule of Nasarawa State for his exceptional leadership.

The former Bauchi governor gave the commendations while delivering a goodwill message at the closing ceremony of the 3-day retreat organised by the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), for political office holders and top government functionaries in Abuja on Wednesday.

Abubakar described the event as unusual, especially that Governor Sule is at the twilight of his second term, when it is the norm for governors like him to abdicate their responsibilities and to relocate to either Abuja or Dubai.

“What is not normal about this gathering is because it is coming at the twilight of his second term. Usually, in Nigeria, two years into even your first term, governance is abundant. Politicking will commence. But particularly two years into the second term of a governor, in Nigeria what usually happens is that you abdicate your responsibilities completely, you move either to Abuja, some brave ones move over to Dubai or some other locations,” he stated.

He added that contrary to this view, Governor Sule, two years into his second term, is still rejuvenating his administration for improved service delivery.

“But the Governor of Nasarawa State, two years into his second term, has brought in new blood into the government and has held this three-day retreat. It is very significant. There are rules and regulations in government. There are policies in government. There are manifestos of political parties. But all these are documents. The people that give life to all these documents are the people gathered in this room,” he said.

Abubakar described the retreat as very critical particularly that the participants require the skills and knowledge right from the onset to allow for the germination and exchange of ideas.

He however called for the stepping up of monitoring and evaluation to evaluate the impact of the retreat on the performance of the participants once they resume their responsibilities.

This is just as Governor Abdullahi Sule emphasized that his administration would henceforth no longer condone rivalries among the appointees, especially that the administration has renewed its commitment to focus only on development efforts.

Declaring closed the 3-day management retreat on role relationship for political office holders and top government functionaries of Nasarawa State, Governor Sule expressed confidence that avoidable rivalries between members of state executive council and other categories of appointees, including permanent secretaries have been addressed by the retreat.

“I want to believe that this Retreat has bridged the gaps and also exposed you to roles and relationship between and amongst yourselves, colleagues who are supposed to pursue a collective cause. I also trust that the synergy, collaboration and partnership amongst you is strengthened by this Retreat,” he said.

He stated that the retreat is expected to create an enablement to facilitate smooth and seamless operations of government among the various categories of the workforce.

” I am optimistic that with the knowledge you have acquired within these three days, you are now better informed and well positioned to contribute to our development objectives which we have earmarked to achieve within the remaining period of our Administration,” he added.

The Governor appreciated the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) for coming up with specific topics that would further widen the horizon of the participants for better service delivery.
In a remarks, Director General of ASCON, Mrs. Cecilia U. Gayya, commended Governor Sule for his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to fostering excellence in governance.

The DG pointed out that the three-day management retreat on role relationship provided a fertile ground for introspection, dialogue and collaboration among political office holders and top government functionaries.

In an opening address, Secretary to the Government of Nasarawa State, Labaran Shuaibu Magaji, PhD, appreciated Governor Sule’s commitment in pursuing people-oriented policies and programmes in line with the yearning and aspirations of the people of the state.

The SGNS said the retreat would no doubt equip the appointees with technical know-how and prepare them towards facing the task of driving the implementation of programmes and policies of the dynamic administration under the leadership of the Governor.

At the end of the retreat, a communique was issued where 18 resolutions were arrived at to include that all line ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) should endeavour to initiate reward and punishment systems in order to motivate their respective staff who have distinguished themselves and sanction staff who show lackadaisical attitude in the course of discharging their official duties.

It was also resolved on the need to cascade the retreat to the Permanent Secretaries who are integral in the implementation of government’s policies and programmes.