Joda: Nigeria has lost an exceptional statesman, Olawepo-Hashim mourns

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Presidential candidate in 2019, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, on Sunday, said that with the death of Alhaji Ahmed Joda, Nigeria has lost a super technocrat and exceptional statesman.

In a condolence message sent to journalists in Abuja, Olawepo-Hashim described late Joda as a great patriot who had contributed immensely to the growth and development of Nigeria from independence in 1960 till his death last Friday.

“Late Ahmed Joda was a super technocrat fondly remembered as one of ‘’Super Permanent Secretaries’’ during the military era was Chairman and board member of many ministries and parastatals, and was part of history as head of the transition committee that led to the peaceful transition of power from Jonathan to Buhari,” he said.

In the message entitled: ‘’Adieu Super Ahmed Joda’’, the politician said, “last weekend Nigeria lost one of her most versatile bureaucrat, elder statesman Alhaji Ahmed Joda, one of the well-trained bureaucrats who held forte in the early seventies.

“Alongside his colleagues of that era like Chief Philip Asiodu , Alison Ayida; Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji , Alhaji Damcida etc, etc, they were called Super Perm Secs because of their enormous influence on government.

“These tribe of civil servants relatively had higher integrity and understood what it meant not to be self-conflicted, they kept a safe distance from being businessmen while in service. Nigeria got value for her infrastructural investment and oil revenue was comparatively better managed that the country was able to lend the IMF some money in 1974 according to Alhaji Abubakar Alhaji who was Permsec in 1974.