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| Joint recipients, Personality of the Year Award, 2015 |
*Says ‘I’ll not
disappoint you’
President Muhammadu
Buhari yesterday told Nigerians that he was feeling their pains saying that
mutterings about the new administration being a scam was far-fetched, saying
that the one-chance scammers have been driven out of town.
Vanguard
report continues:
The
president spoke at the Vanguard Personality Award ceremony in Lagos where he
was jointly honoured with his predecessor, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan as Personality
of the Year Award, 2015.
Buhari’s
call for increased confidence in his administration came as Jonathan praised all
Nigerians for contributing to the successes of the elections that characterized
his time in office.
Yesterday’s
award ceremony which also witnessed awards of Governor of the Year to Governors
Adams Oshiomhole of Edo, Kashim Shettima of Borno, Ibikunle Amosun, Ogun and
Ibrahim Damkwambo, Gombe saw a melting of the political and cultural
differences that shape the country. Various cultural displays intermingled
within and outside the Ekpo Hall of Eko Hotel and Suites that was the venue of
the award ceremony.
Also
honoured yesterday with life time achievement awards were former Vice-President
Alex Ekwueme, Mrs. Nike Akande, chairman of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and
Industry, LCCI, Otunba Sobunmi Balogun and Senator David Dafinone.
Also
honoured yesterday was Mr. Jim Ovia, the chairman of Zenith Bank plc as
businessman of the year while Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was honoured with the
Hero of Democracy award.
Leading
lights in politics and the professions were present at the ceremony yesterday
among whom were Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State.
Yesterday’s
award ceremony elicited measured response from the audience when the governor
of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle embraced his predecessor, Aremo Segun Osoba
twice. He first embraced him just before the commencement of the ceremony and
after he picked up his award.
Yesterday’s
award ceremony was flagged off at 7.30 p.m with opening remarks presented by
the General Manager/Editor in Chief of Vanguard Media Limited, Mr. Gbenga
Adefaye who referenced the award as the epitome of recognition to men and women
of excellence in the professions.
Following
him the chairman of the ceremony, Oba Otudeko described the award ceremony as
one of the most auspicious events of the year.
He
praised the exemplary efforts of the awardees in their various endeavours.
In
his speech, President Buhari who was represented by the minister of
information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed said:
“Distinguished
ladies and gentlemen, let me use this opportunity to tell our compatriots that
this Administration is keenly aware of the difficulties they are facing at this
time, resulting mostly from the fuel scarcity, poor power supply, inflation
etc.
“As
a government that was propelled into office by the power of the people, we
cannot but feel the pains of our compatriots, and we deeply empathize with
them. We are working round the clock to ease the pains of Nigerians, and the
efforts of the government have started yielding fruits as we seek to make the
petroleum products available nationwide, restore gas supply to the power
generating firms, reflate the economy and put Nigerians back to work.
“We
understand that Nigerians have started questioning whether this indeed is the
CHANGE they voted for, while some have even gone as far as saying that by
voting for our party, Nigerians have entered one chance.
“Well,
I can tell Nigerians that our CHANGE AGENDA is real, and that indeed, they will
get the change they voted for. Nigerians have not entered One Chance, because
the One Chance drivers and their conductors have been driven out of town.
“While
we cannot but provide context for the challenges being faced by our countrymen
and women today, in the sense that it has taken years of mismanagement,
corruption and inefficiency to get to this sorry pass, we make no excuses.
After all the people voted for us so we can correct the mistakes of the past
and enthrone good governance.
We
are doing just that. But we want our compatriots to realize that 16 years of
rot cannot be cleaned up overnight. It is much easier to destroy than to build.
But we are determined to rebuild our country and to make life more abundant for
our people.
“Change
is a process, and that process has begun. We commend Nigerians for their
perseverance. We urge them not to lose their confidence in the ability of this
Administration to bring about the much-needed change.
The
pains of today are temporary, and will soon give way to abundance joy as we put
our country firmly on the path of sustainable growth and development.”
The president also lauded
what he described as the salutary role of the media in the development of the
country’s democracy.
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