Hottestgistnaija.com
>
> ·
> RECEIVES VANGUARD PERSONALITY OF
> YEAR AWARD
>
>
> In the wake of
> the stampede that led to
> loss of live among those seeking employment, Delta State
> Governor, Dr. Emmanuel
> Uduaghan on Saturday, tasked the public and private sectors
> to look beyond oil
> for solution.
>
> Uduaghan spoke
> against the backdrop of the deaths recorded, last week,
> during the recruitment
> into the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) which attracted
> nearly half a
> million applicants for less than 5,000 vacant
> slots.
>
> Speaking at the
> award ceremony of the 2013 Vanguard Personality of Year
> Award in Lagos, Governor
> Uduaghan said the deaths during the NIS job test could not
> have happened had
> the nation focused on several ways of generating
> jobs.
>
> Speaking on
> behalf of the award
> recipients, Dr. Uduaghan said:
>
> “Two weeks
> ago,
> we had young ones who died looking for jobs. It was not
> apparent to many
> Nigerians the level of unemployment until that day. From
> stadium to stadium
> across the country, we had people gathered much more than
> those who go to watch
> football matches.
>
> “What were
> they
> looking for? Looking for jobs! Our Delta Beyond Oil is to
> deal with what
> happened two weeks ago. We are encouraging people to create
> jobs so that our
> youths will not go and die in stadia looking for jobs. If we
> had enough jobs,
> what happened two weeks ago would not have happened and that
> is just is the
> summary of our Delta Beyond Oil initiative.
>
> “Creating
> jobs
> so that our youths will be engaged, so that our youths will
> be employed and I
> am happy that Mr. President is leading the way in the
> creation of jobs.
>
> “So, I
> want to
> encourage our private investors to put their money into
> areas that will ensure
> that our young ones are employed. Our vision of Delta beyond
> oil is about
> employment of our youths, of our women, of our men. It is
> not a vision for
> today alone, it is a vision for today, it is a vision for
> tomorrow, it is a
> vision also for the future. So, I encourage all of you to
> also be part of this
> vision.”
>
> Sambo, in his
> own address, praised the recipients, noting that it was
> remarkable that their
> efforts had been recognised by a reputable
> newspaper.
>
> Represented by
> the Minister of State (Works), Alhaji Bashir Yuguda, the
> vice president said:
>
> “We are
> here to
> celebrate three things; we are celebrating Nigeria,
> Nigerians and our own
> products. We are celebrating Nigerians as individuals
> because you have all
> excelled in your own capacities, and the three of you are
> products of our
> environment.”
>
> “We are
> not
> surprised that you are getting this recognition from a
> reputable newspaper,
> Vanguard Newspaper. We are honouring you and the other
> recipients because we
> created the conducive environment for you to
> flourish.”
>
> The award
> ceremony, which saw a high turnout of high society and held
> amidst pomp, had
> Vice-President Namadi Sambo as special guest of honour and
> former Governor
> Olusegun Osoba of Ogun State as chairman.
>
> Uduaghan
> received the Vanguard Personality of the Year 2013, Alhaji
> Aliko Dangote, the
> chairman of Dangote Group, got the award of African
> Personality of the
> Year 2013 while Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, the Chairman of
> Innoson Group, was
> honoured as the Most Innovative Entrepreneur,
> 2013.
>
> Talking to
> Uduaghan, Sambo said:
>
> “You have not disappointed us as a friend and as a
> party man. We believe that
> better things will come to the way of Delta and
> Deltans.”
>
> We’re
> honoring
> our greatest—Osoba
>
> Earlier, Osoba,
> the chairman of the occasion, called for a minute
> silence for those who
> lost their lives during the NIS recruitment
> exercise.
>
> The former Ogun
> State governor, who extolled the virtues of the awardees,
> said, “I am here on
> the order of Sam Amuka, a good friend. I thank him for this
> brilliant idea to
> honour those who have contributed to the growth of this
> nation. Uduaghan, a man
> of vision, is telling us that beyond oil, the state can
> work. Very soon,
> America will be the biggest exporter of oil. I want to thank
> Governor Uduaghan
> for thinking about Delta State beyond oil. Very soon, we
> must start thinking of
> Nigeria beyond oil.”
>
> The former
> governor added, ”I want to also applaud Innocent
> Chukwuma. He had a modest
> beginning, but, today, he is a giant and a star for the
> younger generations. We
> are honoring the greatest of the greatest. When I was
> governor of Ogun
> State, (Alhaji) Aliko Dangote came to ask for land in
> Ibese. Today, his
> cement company happens to be the largest industry not only
> in Nigeria but in
> Africa.”
>
> ‘Why we
> initiated awards’
>
> Explaining the
> rationale behind the Personality of the Year initiative
> started in 2013,
> Vanguard’s General Manager and Editor-in-Chief, Mr
> Gbenga Adefaye, said
> it was to draw attention to the importance of service
> by celebrating
> achievement
