President Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, implored Kaduna State Governor Ramallan Yero to work toward ensuring peace and stabilising the politics of the state.
“You have the duty of even stabilising the polity of northern Nigeria. So, you have a big reponsibility and God will help you. I also had this kind of experience and have to urge you to be very strong. That is how sometimes you get to leadership positions, sometimes you don’t think about it, you wouldn’t want it to happen but if it does, you have no choice but to do it. And I believe you will succeed. It requires commitment and support”, he said.
Speaking when he received a delegation from the state led by the governor, Jonathan described Kaduna state as a very important state in the north.
He said, “Kaduna state is a very important state. I am not the one to tell you but you know. Kaduna state is the fulcrum of northern politics. It is where everything revolves. So, governing Kaduna carries a lot of responsibilities. Your duty is beyond making food available on the table of the people”.
The delegation was at the Presidential Villa to condole with the President on the death of former Kaduna State Governor, Patrick Yakowa and former national security adviser, General Andrew Azazi who died in a helicopter crash 15 Decemeber 2012 in Bayelsa State. The visit was also part of solidarity and support for on-going transformation programmes by the present administration.
Jonathan said, “What happened on that faithful day that we lost Governor Yakowa and Andrew Azazi is a calamity that both Kaduna and Bayelsa State will continue to feel for a very long time. They were not just ordinary people but were people that were holding very sensitive offices and positions in their states. We thank you for this visit. It is quite encouraging,” he said.
“In terms of my younger brother, on behalf of my family, we have to accept condolences and thank you for the expression of sympathies and empathies during the death and the burial.”
Vice President Namadi Sambo thanked the delegation for the visit saying “we will continue to pray for the repose of the soul of my brother and good friend, Patrick Yakowa and also that of General Azazi.”
In his remarks, Yero thanked the President for his fatherly support to the state since the death of Yakowa, and extended the condolences of the delegation to Jonathan over the incident, as well as on the death of Azazi.
He said that the President’s attendance at Yakowa’s burial showed great leadership qualities even as he also extended gratitude to the First Lady, Patience, for her “motherly support” to Yakowa’s widow, the family and the people of the state.
The governor commiserated with the President over the death of his younger brother, Meni, recently.