President Muhammadu has heaped praises on former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, describing him as a “perfect public officer”.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
The statement, read at the launch of Akande’s book titled ‘My Participation’, which held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, said the former interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is well respected for his ‘‘inflexible integrity,” in and out of public office.
Buhari also praised Akande for his numerous achievements during his time as the governor of Osun State. The president said Akamde will be remembered forever for paying off all salaries within a year and also showing his mettle as a competent and serious administrator.
Buhari also used the occasion to narrate his first meeting with Akande, his passion for Nigeria, achievements, and his appointment as Governor of Osun State as well as his many battles to wrest power from the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
“My first personal contact with Chief Akande was, if I recall correctly, in 2006 when preliminary consultations were coming to fruition for a grand coalition to unseat the PDP government.
”Those efforts eventually came to nothing. Neither he, nor I, nor many of our friends and associates gave up as, in Chief Akande’s words: ‘the country was going down and down under PDP’ (p.396 of My Participations).
”He was always in the thick of things through the difficulties and political discontinuities of the 1980s and 90s.
‘‘He emerged as Governor of Osun State in 1999 when the military handed over to the civilians.
”Chief Akande had a horrendous baptism as Governor of Osun State with discord from his own party; his state assembly (including an attempt to impeach him without any reason whatsoever); from the trade unions and from his own Deputy Governor!
”On top of that, he inherited a deeply indebted treasury, huge arrears of salary, allowances, and pensions. Enough challenges to overwhelm many aspiring leaders.
”Bisi Akande stood four square and faced all the challenges head-on and overcame most of them.
”His first action was to stop payment of ‘critical allowances’ a euphemism for government money customarily shared by the big boys in Osun State.
”This set the tone of his Administration. By 2003, Chief Akande had virtually sanitised governance in Osun State having cleared some of the troublemakers from his government and, though reluctant to serve a second term, he was persuaded to run again,” the statement read.
