By Mohammed Mohammed
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan was on Sunday night awarded the 2019 Zik Prize in Political Leadership.
Lawan’s Chief of Staff, Dr. Babagana Muhammad-Aji was at the impressive ceremony in Lagos to receive the award on behalf of the Senate President.
The organisers of the award, the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre(PPRAC) said Lawan’s consideration was in recognition of his “long-standing dynamic service to the Nigerian state” and his “undying commitment to the entrenchment of democratic ideals in the Nigerian polity.”
In his acceptance speech which was delivered by Dr Muhammad-Aji, Lawan expressed his pleasure and delight to have been recognized for the prestigious award.
The Senate President said the award would be dedicated to his Distinguished colleagues in the Senate who had remarkably risen above partisan differences to form a bond that is committed to the progress and development of Nigeria.
Lawan said the recognition was a result of the unwavering support that he enjoyed from his colleagues who resolved to be bipartisan from day one of the Ninth National Assembly.
“I consider the award as a further call to duty, not just from a personal point of view but on behalf of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly in general,” Lawan said.
The Senate President, on behalf of his Distinguished colleagues, once again assured the nation that they would continue to put in their best in the onerous task of nation building.
The Zik Price was set up in 1994 in honour of the first President of Nigeria, Dr Nnamdi Azikwe, to encourage and nurture leadership on the African continent and in the Diaspora.
Previous recipients of the prize include President Jerry Rawlings(1995), President Julius Nyerere(1997), Dr Nelson Mandela(2000), President Yonweri Muzeveni(2003), President John Kuffor(2008), Alhaji Yayale Ahmed(2010), President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf(2011), Aare Afe Babalola (2013), Hon. Yakubu Dogara(2015), Alhaji Ahmed Joda(2016), Chief Audu Ogbeh(2017) and Prof. Ayo Ibidapo-Obe(2018).