It is the biggest recognition by The Sun Publishing Comapany Ltd, publishers of The Sun Newspaper titles.

Kyari received the award in a ceremony attended by eminent Nigerians at the Eko Hotel & Suites, Lagos on Saturday.

They include the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe; Kano State governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje; Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu; Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki; former Abia State Governor Orji Uzor Kalu; captains of industries and seasoned public servants.

Speaking on the award, the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Newspapers Ltd, Mr. Onuoha Ukeh, said Mr. Mele Kyari was honoured for his doggedness and resilience in the way he managed the operations of the NNPC during the COVID-19 pandemic last year, which saw the economies of many countries across the word struggling for survival.

Explaining further, Ukeh said: “Take Mele Kyari and dissect. In addition to the record breaking N287bn profits posted for 2020, the best since inception 44 years, the NNPC which he heads published the Audited Financial Statements (AFS). It was trailblazing and a whiff of good fortune in a beleaguered entity and time.”

In his response, the GMD/CEO NNPC stated that the NNPC remained ever committed to conducting its operations with transparency and accountability.

He attributed the successes recorded by the management team of the NNPC to the freehand and support accorded him by Mr. President who has never interfered in the affairs of the NNPC.

“What we have done in recent years is to ensure that we take out all the opaqueness in NNPC. We also ensured that we represent Nigerians and work for them,” the GMD/CEO added.

While thanking the publishers of the newspaper for finding him worthy of the award, Kyari described the honour as a huge responsibility and a privilege which would spur him to do more for the benefit of the over 200 million Nigerians.

Mallam Kyari was accompanied to the event by some members of his Management Team namely; the Group Executive Director (GED) Finance & Accounts, Mr. Umar Ajiya; GED Upstream, Engr. Adokiye Tombomieye; GED Gas & Power, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed; GED Ventures & Business Development, Sir Billy Okoye; Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr. Bala Wunti; MD, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Mohammed Ali-Zara and MD, Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL), Mr. Marcel Amu.

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Lawan stated this in Maiduguri, Borno State at the Palace of Shehu of Borno, Abubakar El-Kanemi.

The Senate President was in the state, in company of the Yobe State governor, Mai Mala Buni, on condolence visit to the monarch who lost his elder brother and also to the family of former foreign affairs minister, Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, over the death of his mother-in-law.

The Borno State governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, and his deputy, Umar Usman Kadafur, were also on ground to play host to the visitors at Kingibe’s residence as well as the Shehu of Borno’s palace.

The Senate President seized the opportunity of the condolence visit to reassure the people in that part of the country that the federal government would continue to work with the state authorities to ensure restoration of peace and stability in the region.

“We have come to condole you over the death of your elder brother that occurred recently. May his soul rest in Ajanaah Firdausi.

“This is a loss not only to you, Your Highness but to all of us. That is why we have deemed it fit and necessary to come and condole with you, the family and the good people of Borno State.

“I want to take this opportunity to mention that the Federal Government of Nigeria will continue to work with Borno State government to ensure that there is restoration of peace and stability in this state and in this part of the country.

“The recent surrender by Boko Haram elements is a good development for the security of this country. Personally I believe that the federal government must work with the Borno State government and other states in this part of the country to ensure that those that have been received are appropriately processed.

“Those that have no issues to answer are sanitised and taking back to their communities. Those that may have issues to answer should be taken through the legal processes but we must ensure that we encourage Boko Haram elements and those they have taken by force to come out to surrender so that this unnecessary insurgency placed on us comes to an end.

“And I want to assure you, Your Royal Highness, that the National Assembly and particularly the Senate will work very closely with the Borno State government in this respect.

“I believe there is no need for any controversy over what we need to do with people who surrendered. In any war, in every war, surrender is the ultimate and if we can achieve it, we should do everything and anything possible to encourage more and more to come out so that we are able to come to the end of this unnecessary insurgency that has taken our states back for so many years in term of development.

“I want to also commend you, Your Royal Highness, for the leadership and fatherly role you have been giving in this state and in this part of the country and the country at large.

“Your Royal Highness, I want to also commend the Governor of Borno State, our brother and friend who has shown so much commitment, dedication and leadership in ensuring that Borno State, as much as possible, is safe and the people of this state are protected from insurgency.

“The federal government is devoting so much resources for our security agencies to fight and bring insecurity to an end. Recently, the National Assembly approved over N800 billion for our security agencies in a supplementary budget and Mr President has assured us that he will bring more request for more resources for our security agencies in 2022 appropriation bill which may be presented at the end of September by the Grace of God.

“We pray Almighty God to continue to guide our leaders at all levels, to protect our leaders at all levels and of course, to protect the people of this country,” Lawan said.

Responding, the Shehu of Borno said his people had “seriously suffered as a result of Boko Haram crisis,” but added that they were “lucky” to have the Buhari government which eventually changed the tide.

The monarch said all the local government areas which were under the control of Boko Haram had been taken back and that normal business activities had returned.

He said the news that Boko Haram elements were surrendering “is a welcome development” because “Borno is a home of peace and we are for peace.”

The Senate President and Yobe governor were both accompanied on the trip by Senator Sadiq Umar Suleiman, Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Dr. Babagana M. Aji, Permanent Secretary(Yobe State), Ambassador Zanna Aliyu Ibrahim and Ambassador Babagana Ajimi who is the Chairman, Board of Directors, Federal Neuro Psychiatry Hospital, Kaduna.

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He however did not give details of the roles Obasanjo played, but stated that he tried to convene a meeting of elder statesmen on the developments that followed the annulment.

Kingibe who was a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, spoke while appearing on a Nigerian Television Authority, NTA, programme.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari who attended the first meeting called by Obasanjo did not attend subsequent ones.

Kingibe who was also asked a question on his alleged betrayal of Abiola in the struggle that followed the annulment said the occasion of the celebration of June 12 as Democracy Day should not be one for fault-finding.

His words: “In the aftermath of the annulment, one of the architects of the annulment, former President Olusegun Obasanjo tried to get some elder statesmen (former presidents and so on); I think at the African Leadership Forum to see how the aftermath of the annulment could be addressed or to see how the problems arising from the annulment could be addressed.

“And I think President Muhammadu Buhari did attend the meeting once, the inaugural meeting. I understood that when he (Buhari) saw the direction of the meeting, he decided not to attend again.

“Every time the issue of the annulment came up over the years, his position was very clear; it was very firm that the election was free, fair and there was a clear winner. And that the annulment was unjustified.

“So, having had the opportunity, perhaps, to right the wrong, I won’t be surprised he did so because it is in his character to try and do justice, however, belated and under whatever the circumstances.”

Kingibe said he was not totally shocked by the decision of the president to make June 12 Democracy Day, stressing that it was obvious that Buhari was not happy over the annulment of the election.

He also spoke on his efforts to ensure that the annulment of the election did not stand.

“Suffice it to say that there are many ways of pursuing a goal. To me, the immediate goal was to make sure that the annulment did not stand. That I had a very strong opinion about. Don’t forget, from the annulment and the enthronement of Interim National Government (ING), there were 82 to 84 days or so.

“During those days, we all worked together to make sure the ING did not stand. And it did not stand. Thereafter, we all had our reflections collectively and individually as to the way forward, and we moved on,” he said.

In his tribute to Abiola, he described the acclaimed winner of the June 12 1993 election as the symbol of the struggle for democracy.

“Like all collective endeavours, there is always a leader, and one can never diminish the role of MKO Abiola in the final stages of this political journey to democracy in giving the leadership; in being the arrowhead and the symbol of that struggle for democracy.”

He also spoke about the uniqueness of the June 12 election.

“I think we are now going to celebrate the first of the June 12 being a Democracy Day. It is an opportunity to recall all the positive takeaways of the June 12 experience, what it represented and how we can learn lessons for the future.

“I don’t think it as an occasion for recriminations, who betrayed who, abandoned what. The whole process leading to June 12 was a unique experience in Nigerian political journey towards democracy.

“The facts of June 12, the elections that took place on that day, were unique. We have held many elections but the elections of June 12 were unique.

“The annulment of the elections was unique in the life of all Nigerians and being unique and novel, I think everybody reacted accordingly to their understanding of what reaction was required.

“I do not think that we have the time to go through who played what role, who did what on this occasion. All I said, let us celebrate the event of June 12.”

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