Gov. Inuwa Yahaya of Gombe state has said that President Bola Tinubu’s administration, in collaboration with the 36 states’ governors, is working out measures and initiatives to address the current hardship in the country.

Mr Yahaya stated this in Gombe on Wednesday after being presented with several awards earned by him and other MDAs in recognition of his outstanding leadership and dedication to good governance in Gombe State.

He stated that the current hardship being experienced by Nigerians was a result of the mistakes made by past administrations.

According to him, the failure of leadership in the past to make difficult but necessary decisions accumulated into the hardship that Nigerians are now facing.

“For those that do not know, Nigeria is virtually starting from minus, not even zero, and the mistake made over the last 45 years is what we are paying for.

“We overlooked some of the decisions, no matter how tough, that we should have taken but did not.

“Now, we have reached the peak of that neglect and carelessness, and we are paying for it.

“Things may get tougher and I believe you all know that tough times are even ahead, but with prayers and determination, we will be able to overcome,” he said.

Mr Yahaya said that Mr Tinubu was aware of the prevailing economic challenges and the hardships faced by citizens and working to ensure a better future for the country.

The governor urged Nigerians to be patient and support the current administration with prayers to bring the country out of its current state.

“I want to urge us all to stand firm and fight harder because the times are not easy and it takes longer time to repair the mistake than the time it took to be damaged.

“We need to brace up, tighten up and add more energy to fight and see that we are through and take this nation back to its feet,” he said.

Mr Yahaya thanked members of his team for their support and cooperation in implementing transformative policies and programmes that resulted in good governance and progress of Gombe state.

“I am delighted to receive these awards; whenever I am honoured in this way, I don’t view it as an individual recognition but rather a recognition of our collective efforts as members of my administration.

“I am grateful to each of you for your support and genuine dedication to realising our shared goals and fulfilling the mandate entrusted to us by the people of Gombe”, he said.

The awards presented to the governor cut across diverse sectors, including education, good governance, e-governance, Hajj performance, peace and security.

The awards were presented to the governor by his deputy, Manassah Jatau.

The awards presented include ‘The Sun Newspaper Governor of the Year 2023’ and ‘The Telegraph Newspaper Governor of the Year (Education)’.

Others include the ‘Best Supporting Governor on Hajj Operations’ and the ‘Best State in e-governance and Geographic Information System in Nigeria’.

(NAN)