Nigeria: 2023 - Anyim Has Capacity to Serve in Higher Office - Buhari, Jonathan

By Chibuzo Ukaibe

President Muhammadu Buhari and former president, Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday said former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has the capacity to handle higher responsibilities in the future.

Buhari and Jonathan spoke in separate remarks during Anyim's 61st birthday in Abuja.

Anyim, a former senate president, is in the race for 2023 presidency on the platform of the PDP.

Represented by the SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha at yesterday's event, President Buhari noted that Anyim put Nigeria first in all the national responsibilities he held in the past.

Describing Anyim as a patriotic Nigerian and one of stabilising voices in the politics, Buhari 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."

He said the experiences Anyim had garnered over the years afforded him a strategic leverage to occupy higher political office.

"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.

"And I want to thank you (Anyim), for the wealth of experience and the depth of knowledge that we have. I made bold to say whoever had occupied the office of the SGF for four years in an evolving democracy like Nigeria, with diverse contentious issues, is capable and able to occupy any office," he added.

On his part, Jonathan said the diverse persons who came to celebrate with Anyim was indicative of the trust Nigerians reposed in him.

"Some people are very busy and on most Saturdays, some people don't like to wake up early. For you to have gathered this number as early as this time today means a lot.

"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 were the senate president when I was the governor of Bayelsa State and I remember you visited me in the house one day and of course by divine providence, you became the engine of my government as SGF.

"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 SGF 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 SGF, 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, SGF 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.

"Now it is difficult to package that because even the APC doesn't have that kind of spread. So, it is difficult to get that package. That was very unique and it was a good way of accommodating every sections of the country.

"And so we zoned the SGF 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 of it fell on Anyim Pius Anyim and we made him the SGF, 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," Jonathan said.

"Having served in that position for the period, I know he is fully baked and I didn't received too many complaints. You know as a president, ever day you receive complaints from those who work for you, the ministers, your aides, advisers, assistants and so on. I didn't receive too many complaints about Anyim Pius Anyim," he added.

Former vice president, Namadi Sambo who came with Jonathan, also took to the podium to pour encomiums on the celebrant, saying, "His leadership stabilised the senate and we must be grateful for that. He was a team player who worked towards a prosperous nation. He can be trusted with higher political responsibility in the future."

This article originally appeared on Leadership

Photo: Leadership