The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Services and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Bernard Mohammed Doro, on Thursday received the Chairman and select members of the Central Planning Committee (CPC) of the Solomon and Mary Lar Leadership Institute in audience as part of ongoing stakeholder consultations ahead of the Institute’s public launch.
The meeting, held in Abuja, saw the Minister describe the initiative as timely and long overdue, noting that in other climes, leadership has made all the difference.
Dr. Doro, who hails from Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State and succeeded Professor Nentawe Goshwe Yilwatda following his elevation as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said he grew up knowing Baba Solomon Lar from his time as Governor of old Plateau State, when his father served as a councillor.
Sharing a remarkable testimony, the Minister recalled that as a young boy, he witnessed Baba Solomon Lar’s rural electrification project in 1981, which connected his town to the national grid.
“My town is one of the few locations in Nigeria where we rarely experience power outage, power is almost constant all year round,” he said. “That footprint Baba created in 1981 has endured till this day, even long after Baba himself had passed on.”
A trained pharmacist turned lawyer and former Secretary of APC United Kingdom, Dr. Doro also eulogized the visionary and detribalised nature of Baba Lar, recalling his pro-democracy credentials even when he could have remained in the Federal cabinet at the expense of the quest for return to civil rule.
The Minister warmly received the CPC and used the opportunity to brief them on far-reaching reforms he has instituted in the last eleven months to entrench enduring structures in the Ministry, ensuring it operates on a structured format for maximum results rather than on whims and caprices.
He disclosed that the quiet reforms have earned him about fifteen invitations to speak at major developmental fora across the world.
The meeting was attended by key members of the CPC including Rt. Hon. Beni Lar, daughter of the visioners, the Secretary of the Committee and Head of Administration, among others.
The Chairman of the Central Planning Committee, Congressman Bimbo Daramola, said the visit reinforces the call for well-meaning Nigerians to prioritize leadership for progressive change.