Chuks Oyema-Aziken
The former Permanent Secretary, Ecological Project Office, Dr. Habiba Lawal has been described as someone who excelled in the discharge of her duties and brought her vast experience to bear in the EPO.
Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha stated this at the Retirement and Book Launch event of the Permanent Secretary titled “Account of my Stewardship in the Management of Ecological Emergencies in Nigeria” in Abuja.
“Let me begin by congratulating Dr. Habiba Lawal, Academic, Administrator, Educationist, Scientist, Mother, family matriarch and motivator, on attaining the age of 60 and for a resounding public service career.
“She comes with a lot of firsts, in the class of achievers. At the peak of her career, she was appointed a Permanent Secretary in 2013 thus becoming one of the longest serving in that class, today.
“It is also on record that she served as the Ag. Secretary to the Government of the Federation for at least six months before my appointment in 2017. By way of speaking, therefore, it will be right to call her my predecessor,” the SGF said.
Chief Host of the event, Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, in her remarks said, Lawal was living an indelible mark in the life of the civil service, stating that she was very resourceful throughout her career as she had also served in several committees set up by her office to improve the service .
Dr Yemi- Esan disclosed that Dr Lawal used her office to mitigate the devastating erosion challenges in two Civil Servant Estates in the FCT, Abuja .
In his remarks, former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Alhaji Mahmoud Yayale Ahmed said, Dr Lawal has been dedicated, committed and focused on her career in the service and has left a foot print in the sands of time. He opined that she deserved a National award for having had a ‘clean career’ devoid of scandal.
The book reviewer, Emeka Odokporo informed that the author, Dr Habiba Lawal in articulating her stewardship in EPO in the 278 page book, captured in eight chapters, chronicled some of the initiatives she introduced to reposition the office for optimal performance and service delivery such has expanding the departments beyond the technical arm of Soil Erosion and Flood Control, Pollution Control, Drought, Desertification and Coastal Management to include service departments such as : Special Duties, Procurement and the Press unit.
He said the Permanent Secretary also initiated the change in name from Ecological Fund Office (EFO) to Ecological Project Office (EPO) to better reflect the interventionist mandate to ecological challenges in the country.
Speaking earlier in his Welcome Address, the Director, Special Duties, EPO, Dr. Famous Eseduwo said, the occasion was an opportunity “to re- dedicate our commitment to the service of our fatherland for the greater good of all of us”.
He said the Permanent Secretary will be greatly missed for her kind heartedness and sunny disposition to the service of humanity.
The occasion witnessed an array of dignitaries including: Members of the National Assembly, Deputy Governor of Niger State, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammad Ketso, Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, retired and serving Permanent Secretaries, Directors, CEOs of Agencies, Traditional Rulers, Stakeholders, the academia, friends, family and well wishers.
