The Special Adviser to Gombe State Governor on information and strategy management, Shuaibu Gara-Gombe, has flayed the federal government for excluding his boss, Governor Muhammadu Yahaya from the list of recipients of the recent National Honours by President Muhammadu Buhari.
In a statement to newsmen, Gara-Gombe said that it was grossly unfair and unacceptable to have excluded a vigorous action Governor Yahaya from the list, lamenting that the list “comprises some governors who have not achieved half of what Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya had been able to achieve in their various states.
“In terms of primary healthcare, Governor Inuwa Yahaya is the only governor in Nigeria who has renovated all of Gombe State’s primary healthcare centers in every ward. I saw people who are selling whiskey and engrossed in nightclubbing on the list. Why exclude one of the best governors in Nigeria?” He queried.
He added: “I feel it is unfair to exclude Governor Inuwa Yahaya from the list. I have seen the list, which has governors and many others who have not achieved half of what Governor Inuwa achieved. It is unfair.”
Politicians, public officers, security officers, businessmen, traditional rulers, members of the academia, retired public officers, religious leaders and artistes were among the 437 awardees.
Some serving governors who received the CON award were Mai Mala-Buni of Yobe State, Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State, Simon Lalong of Plateau State, Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State, Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna, and Babagana Zulum of Borno State.
Other awardees in the category included Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Idris Wase; Minister of Works, Babatunde Raji Fashola; Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed, and Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede.
Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari; Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Bishop Ignatius Kaigama; and a legal scholar, Dr. Muiz Banire, were awarded OFR.
National Assembly members, including Hon. Alhassan Doguwa, Hon. Muktar Betara, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, a former Permanent Secretary, Sunday Echono, and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Yakubu Maikyau, Grammy Award winner Burna Boy and late DIG of Police Joseph Egbunike (posthumous) bagged the MFR award, while Innocent 2Face Idibia, Shehu Othman, and another entertainer, Teniola Apata, were in the category of those who received the MON award, among others.