By Blessing Bature
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Sen George Akume CON has called on Ministerial Special and Technical Assistants who served during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari to rally Nigerians in support of the new administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed in the socio-economic and political development of Nigeria.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation made the call Tuesday when ex-ministerial aides under the aegis of the Network of former Ministerial Aides, NETMA, paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
According to him, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu means very well for this country. He is a committed leader who is completely detribalized and committed to the peace and development of this country. He is very passionate about creating a new path to the greatness of Nigeria through the faithful implementation of the nenewed hope agenda of the new administration”.
“I urge you to reach out to the Nigerian people with details of the various policies and programmes of the administration in view of your unique national outlook given your membership that cuts across gender, religious, and ethnic backgrounds”.
In his address, the Chairman of the group and leader of the delegation, Dr Philip Ugbodaga who served as Special Assistant to the immediate Minister of State for Budget and National Planning stated that the body was originally set up for synergistic purposes for the effective coordination of inter-ministerial responsibilities by Special Assistants as well as a strategic peer review platform among aides during their tenure with former ministers.
While commending President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finding a very worthy personality in Sen. George Akume for appointment as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the group noted that Sen. George Akume had distinguished himself in politics and service to the country and to humanity.
“You played a very critical role in the victory of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last general elections. With remarkable intellectual acumen and experiences signposted by your very impactful tenure as the governor of Benue State for eight years, as a distinguished senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for twelve years and as a minister in the immediate past administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for four years, the country is blessed to have you in the strategic room of the new administration to fitly coordinate and provide crucial impetus to the swift execution of government policies and programmes as encapsulated in the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu”, the group stated.
The organization, the first in the history of the country, existed as the Network of Ministerial Aides, NETMA, during the last administration and has now been transformed to a Policy Advisory Think Tank. As a think tank, the group look forward to working closely with the new administration to establish cooperation and partnership at all levels, especially as the body has experts in every area urgently needed for the social, political and economic rejuvenation of Nigeria. “We are confident that, working closely with you we can offer the services of individual members of our organization to the new administration in relevant capacities as deemed appropriate in the implementation of the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Asiwaju of the universe, by drawing on our institutional memory working in the last administration”.
The visit had in attendance thirty nine members representing the aides who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2023.