The ambition of a Presidential aspirant and former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) received a boost as President Muhammadu Buhari and immediate past President, Goodluck Jonathan, said he can be entrusted with higher responsibilities.
In their separate remarks Saturday at an event in Abuja to honour Anyim on the occasion of his 61st birthday, they commended him for his service to Nigeria.
President Buhari, represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Boss Mustapha, described Anyim as a patriotic Nigerian who always puts his nation first.
“Anyim is one of stabilising voices we have today in the politics of our country. This he has demonstrated a number of times, but the one that stands out and still echoes with me was his insistence that elected officers should always stay a single term, and he kept to his word by not seeking for re-election to the Senate, after the expiration of his first term as Senator and Senate President in 2003,” he said.
“That many Nigerians cutting across various political divides are gathered here today to celebrate you is a glowing testimony of your contributions to the growth of our nation and its political development.”
In what appeared like an endorsement, Mustapha said, “Let me say on a personal note, as the current and 19th SGF that I have drawn a lot from the wealth of wisdom that has been the source of strength and the endowment that Senator Anyim has brought to the fore of governance in this country. We don’t often meet but whenever we meet, we share knowledge about the responsibilities of the office and the enormity of the act of balancing contending forces and interests, that is always vested on any occupant of that office.
“I made bold to say whoever had occupied the Office of the Secretary to the Government for four years In an evolving democracy like Nigeria, with diverse contentious issues, is capable and able to occupy any office.”
In his remarks as Chairman of the occasion, Jonathan said he has no regret appointing former Senate President, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim as Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).
Jonathan who expressed hope that if given another opportunity, Anyim will do better commended him for diligent service to Nigeria.
The immediate past President said, “We thank God for you today, your wife, your children, all your friends, with all of us here your friends, otherwise, we wouldn’t have been here to celebrate you today. You are government somebody that I know a little.
“You were the Senate President when I was the governor of Bayelsa state and I remembered you visited me in the house one day and of course by divine providence, you became the engine of my government as my Secretary to Government of the Federation.
“The first day I became President, Anyim Pius Anyim wanted to be chairman of PDP and he came to me with a lot of dreams and we spoke. I may not bother you with details but he was never the chairman of PDP.
“When he became the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, he did not even come to me with a biscuit but we found him worthy as a Nigerian that had experience in managing systems, managing issues and also somebody who had friends across the country and when we were looking at the person we wanted to be the Secretary to the Government, of course we wanted somebody from the South-East because PDP then normally made sure that every geo-political zone had one key office. Now, we don’t have enough people, so we don’t have that.
“Up to the time I was the President, something somehow happened in a way that we never expected. The PDP philosophy then was that the President will come from one geo-political zone, the Vice President from one geo-political zone, Secretary to Government from one-geo political zone, the Chairman of the party from one geo-political, the Senate President from one geo-political zone and the Speaker from one geo-political zone but that was when PDP had a lot of spread across the country.
“And so we zoned the Secretary to the Government to the South-East. We looked at our brothers and sisters, the characters, and they were very nice people. They had many competent people but let me say that it’s like a lot it fell on Anyim Pius Anyim and we made him the Secretary to the Government.
“And I don’t regret committing him. He is a very hard working young man, committed to serving this nation and I believe if he has the opportunity to serve more, he can do better.”
Former Vice President, Namadi Sambo, said Anyim’s leadership stabilised the Senate.
The event was attended by many personalities including former Senate President Adolphus Wabara, Venatius Ikem, Col. Bala Mande, former governor of Abia state, Sen. Theodore Orji, Sen. Sanusi Dagash, Senator Dino Melaye, Attahiru Bafarawa, among others.
Others include Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Bello Adoke, the constitutional lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, President of the creative Industry, Kanayo O. Kanayo and former Inspector General of Police, M.D. Abubakar.
