Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has expressed delight over his choice as winner of The Sun Outstanding Politician of the Year 2017 award, pledging that it will encourage him and the Senate to do more for Nigeria.
The Sun Awards ceremony will hold on February 24, 2018 at the Convention Centre, Eko Hotels & Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos. Twenty-two distinguished Nigerians will be honoured at the event.
Speaking while receiving a delegation from The Sun, led by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Eric Osagie, who visited to formally notify him of his emergence as the award winner, in Abuja yesterday, Saraki described The Sun as a reputable organisation that is enjoying widespread respect among Nigerians.
He promised that the award, which came as a surprise, would spur him and the Senate to do more for the country.
Saraki said: “Thank you for this surprise gift. The Sun
is one establishment that has built its own good reputation. It is well respected. You don’t do things without thinking through it. I am humbled by your recognition and I appreciate it. I give God the glory for this recognition. It will certainly further encourage us at the Senate.
“We have always said that the legislative arm is the most misunderstood. I think this is because it is the youngest arm of government. The electorate sometimes do not understand what our role is and how to assess us. They sometimes do not know what is expected of us. But we will continue to do our best for the country.”
Earlier, Osagie told the Senate president that his choice was arrived at after an extensive debate by the Board of Editors of The Sun, whose members analysed his antecedents and achievements.
He said: “The Sun Board of Editors voted you in recognition of your antecedents as one of the most influential politicians and political strategists of our time. Despite a stormy take off as president of the 8th Senate, you have, in over two years, shown resilience and capacity, such that regardless of the array of mines seemingly strewn on your path, you have remained undeterred in steering the affairs of the upper chamber, with an enviable track record of feats.”
The Managing Director explained: “You are the first governor of Kwara State to be re-elected since the creation of the state, 50 years ago and the erstwhile chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum. As governor of Kwara State, between 2003 and 2011, the state was a compact mass of cohesive web, to the point that you weaved a political dynasty that still throbs in sensation to this day.
“While you were the chairman of the then influential Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), you infused a stamp of authority on it, which signposted as a body to reckon with.
“Your courage and political will at spearheading the feats of achievements attained so far by the 8th Senate of the National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria against all odds is exceptional. Your inspiring and dogged record, incomparable courage and political will have qualified you as a worthy recipient of The Sun Outstanding Politician of the Year.”
Osagie said The Sun Outstanding Politician of the Year award was the ultimate honour bestowed on “politicians whose legacies have stood the test of time.”