Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice President of Nigeria, Atiku Abubarkar has described the death of Allison Akene Ayida, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), as a big national loss.
He also described the late SGF as “a special breed Nigerian and a civil servant extraordinaire.”
Atiku said in a statement issued by his media aide, Paul Ibe that Ayida was “one of the finest of his time who would be greatly missed especially at this crucial time that we are set to get Nigeria working again.
“Ayida was a man with a well nurtured, perceptive and resolute mind. He was always clear in his mind on what to do at any given time, and the choices he made set him apart from the pack.”
According to Atiku, Ayida was a celebrated, outstanding and revered son of Warri Kingdom, a nationalist, an enigma, and a profile of what Nigeria was and should have been.
He described him as a disciplined, transparent and detribalised public servant who was highly respected by his peers and his subordinates for his sound knowledge of the Public Service and establishment matters.
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He recalled that Ayida and his colleagues became “super permanent secretaries” because they served in an “interesting but unpalatable” time which tasked their patriotic sensibilities and their professional capabilities to the limit.
“They were determined to pursue the national project and eventual glory of the Nigerian state by restoring a nation that had fought a civil war and required rehabilitation,” he said adding that the politics of boundary dispute and ceding of some oil wells between Delta and Ondo States were among the issues that thoroughly tested his acumen and problem solving ability.
“His calmness, humility and forthrightness played out in wading through the tumultuous water of ethnic and communal politics involved as he operated with the sensibility of a patriot.”
Atiku commiserated with the family, government and people of Delta state, particularly the Itsekiris, and urged them to take solace in the fact that the late former SGF left behind worthy legacies that would be remembered and valued by generations to come.
He prayed the Almighty God to grant them the fortitude to bear the vacuum created by the irreparable loss of the elder statesman.
