Kyari fostered mutual respect in governance with uncommon dedication, says Lawan

Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, has described the late Abba Kyari, who passed on at the weekend in Lagos after a battle with the novel coronavirus, as a man who fostered mutual respect and understanding between the legislature and the executive with uncommon loyalty and dedication.
In his tribute to the Borno State indigene, whom he also labelled as a trusted principal aide and Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lawan pointed out that the “patriot died the way he would have preferred, at the very front line of service, sadly seized by a plague against which he was defending his beloved fatherland, Nigeria.”
He went on: Much has been written and much more will appear about a man who was blessed with so much talent and used it to distinguish himself in his many service stations in the public and private sectors, and at different levels of government.
“This tribute is largely about his role in fostering mutual respect and understanding between the legislature and the president he served with uncommon loyalty and dedication as a trusted principal aide and Chief of Staff.
“Kyari leveraged his office and good standing with his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, to engender a cordial working relationship between the two elected arms. This he did with constructive passion, based on his great administrative skills, consummate understanding of governance and power relations, and eyes firmly fixed on the larger picture of the policy objectives and development agenda of his friend and principal. He did this until his last minute in service.
“A cardinal objective of the ninth National Assembly, which we declared from the outset, is to build a mutual understanding of roles, cooperation and partnership with the other arms of government to enhance performance by government and general public service delivery. How far we have come in this direction with respect to the executive arm has much to do with Kyari availing his office and person as a communication bridge, out of his own convictions too that effective communication makes issues clearer from all sides of view. This should cause no surprise, as he was a lawyer, a journalist and an administrator par excellence. He quickly saw the point of the federal lawmakers’ objective, and typically deployed his energy and influence to achieving it.”