by crossriverwatch admin
Professor Jerry Gana on Thursday conferred on Senator Liyel Imoke the Cross River State governor the title of “Professor of Good Governance” for performing excellently in administering the affairs of the state in the past seven years.
Professor Gana who delivered a lecture at the Cultural Centre Complex to mark the 53rd anniversary birthday of Senator Liyel Imoke organized by a pressure group , Destiny Group in honor of Senator Imoke said when someone excels in what he is doing that makes him a professor in his field.
“Imoke is not a professor who is just a thinker like me but a doer and on this score I confer on him the professor of good governance because he is performer who is a model of humility, a foundation of truth, a man of wisdom and clearly one of the most outstanding governors in Nigeria”
Professor Gana stated that though Imoke does not play to the gallery by publicizing his projects, he has purposefully committed himself to the service of the people of the state with passion and integrity which stood him out to be awarded the Zik award for leadership singling him out as a leader of no mean feat among his peers in the country. “The Zik Award for Leadership recognized him as a leader of no mean standing. A man who has achieved more than his peers and sees no reason to invite the press to celebrate his projects because he is committed to the purposeful service of his people”.
Gana said Imoke is a grassroots politician whose deft calculation has endeared him to the people as seen in 1999 when he was able to sway the support of voters in favor of Mr Donald Duke who came from relative obscurity to win the 1998 PDP primaries ahead of Senator Kanu Agabi who is a well known legal and political figure in the country.
According to him, Imoke’s humility, generosity, and integrity have kept the PDP family intact in the state making Cross River one of the most secure PDP states in the country. “He has accommodated the structures of the former governor Donald Duke and made Duke one of the most loved and recognized former governors in the country which is a clear departure from the battle between successor and predecessor in other states”.
Professor Gana stated that under Imoke the state’s oil wells were appropriated to another state following the loss of Bakassi but rather than descend into despair, the state never lost focus because of what he attributes to a governor “Who is principled, spirited, committed and passionate. Who is in the saddle and has turned the unfortunate events to strength on which he moved the state to higher heights”.
The Guest Lecturer stated that what is needed for a state to grow is not just the resources or the people but a leadership that is critical and focused. ‘The lessons we are learning from Imoke is resilience which is the ability to bounce back and not cow under the weight of self pity which can kill the spirit”.
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