Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has described the late former President, Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, as a decent leader.
Atiku, in a statement on Sunday, recalled that on May 5, 2010, Nigeria lost Yar’Adua, who he said, was a man of peace and a visionary leader.
He also said Yar’Adua brought peace to the former volatile Niger Delta with his administration’s amnesty programme for militants.
Atiku said, “The late President Yar’Adua was a man I was closely connected to. First, because his late brother, the great Tafida of Katsina, Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, was my political mentor, who taught both Umaru and me the ropes of politics.
“Obviously, with Umaru, the apple did not fall far from the tree. And secondly, because we worked very, very closely when he was the governor of Katsina State at the time I was Vice-President to our leader, President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“In this period where Nigeria is facing almost unprecedented violence and insecurity, the world will remember that it was President Yar’Adua who bequeathed peace to the Niger Delta through his futuristic and visionary amnesty and rehabilitation programme.”
Atiku said Yar’Adua’s action saw an unprecedented improvement in the performance of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry which led to record-breaking five per cent Gross Domestic Product growth.
According to him, beyond that, the late Yar’Adua was an advocate and proponent of the rule of law and the doctrine of separation of powers.
Atiku said Yar’Adua’s administration was the only one that did not suffer from executive-legislative tensions in the Fourth Republic.
Atiku said, “I am proud of what he achieved and the fact that such a decent leader was produced by my political family (the Yar’Adua political family) and my political party (the Peoples Democratic Party).
“May the Almighty Allah continue to shine His Light on the face of our late dear President Umaru Yar’Adua as we mark nine years of his passing and may Allah grant him al-Jannah Firdaus.
“I also pray that God will continue to bless the family he left behind. A grateful nation appreciates the labour of its beloved son almost a decade after his passing.”
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