Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed made history on Friday bowing out as the country’s longest-serving Information Minister.
He described his 8-year tenure as challenging yet fruitful and memorable. The Minister spoke at a valedictory dinner organised in his honour by the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture last Friday in Abuja.
He said; “If I am correct, this is the longest period anyone has served as Minister of Information and Culture. I believe this is a testament to the confidence reposed in me by Mr. President, for which I am most grateful.”
Alhaji Mohammed said “he served during a period marked by great challenges and great opportunities. While we jointly tackled the challenges headlong, we also made the best of the opportunities.”
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the support and cooperation of the staff of the ministry as well as of its agencies, for which I am most appreciative.
“In the course of my tenure, there is no doubt that I had occasions to disagree with some of you for one reason or another. But this was all in a day’s work, and did nothing to affect the cordial relationship that I enjoyed with you,” the Minister stated.
Alhaji Mohammed also said his agencies and team lived up to the mandate, which is the management of the image, reputation, and promotion of the culture of the people and government of Nigeria through a dynamic public information system that facilitates access by the citizens as well as the global community to credible and timely information.
Alhaji Mohammed said together with the five different Permanent Secretaries that he worked with, CEOs of the agencies under the Ministry, Directors, Deputy Directors, Assistant Directors as well as all staffers, did their best in the service of the nation, for the benefit of the people and to the glory of God.
He then urged the same team to extend to his successor the same warm cooperation that they gave him and his team.
The Minister’s words: “Please permit me to end by thanking Mr. President for finding me worthy to hold this office for a record-breaking tenure. His unflinching support was indispensable for the successful execution of our mandate. I thank my family for standing by me and for enduring long periods of my absence. Above all, I want to thank God for charting our path, for giving us health, and for keeping us all through the years.”