Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, has said Nigeria needs quintessential and selfless leaders like Mallam Adamu Ciroma to rescue the country from the shackles of injustice, misrule and underdevelopment.
A statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Francis Ottah Agbo, noted that Dickson spoke yesterday, in Abuja, when he paid a condolence visit to the family of the late elder statesman, who died last week.
Dickson eulogised Ciroma for his leadership qualities and service to fatherland. While stressing that Ciroma lived for humanity, the governor said his demise is not just a great loss to Nigeria, but clearly irredeemable. He also assured the Ciromas that he will continue to maintain his relationship with the family.
He said: “Mallam Ciroma lived for humanity and worked for the unity and progress of Nigeria. He was exceptional in and out of office. In all the places he worked, from New Nigeria Newspaper, where he was editor and later managing director, governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), finance minister and others, he served without blemish and etched his name in the sands of time. As a top political leader, he played politics of service to fatherland and politics of conviction.
“He was a statesman and a quintessential leader. He left us when we needed him most, but, who are we to question God. We can only thank God for doing what only He can do. He gives and takes at will, ours is to accept this at all times. I join his family, associates and friends to pray for the eternal repose of his soul.
“We condole with the family, the wife and children he left behind. We pray to God for Nigeria to have many Adamu ciromas, who will dedicate their lives to the well-being of their people and rescue this country from injustice and underdevelopment.”
Speaking on behalf of the family, former minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Adamu Maina Waziri, welcomed Dickson and his entourage to the home of the Ciromas. He thanked the governor for his support to the late Ciroma and noted that the family holds him in high esteem.
He said: “I was earlier surprised when we did not see you. But, when I asked my leader’s wife, Hajia Ciroma, she told me you travelled outside the country.”