ASHH Foundation Honours Bauchi Speaker with an Award
By Bashir Hassan Abubakar
A Nigerian based Non Governmental Organization, Attah Sisters Helping Hand Foundation (ASHH Foundation) on Thursday bestowed an award of excellence to the Bauchi State speaker of the house of assembly, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y. Sulaiman.
In a short remark before presenting the Award on behalf ASHH Foundation, chairman of the board of trustees, Dr. Isaac O. Crown said the NGO deems it fit to honour the speaker for his doggedness and concern in the plight of women and other vulnerable groups in Bauchi State and beyond.
The chairman said that it did not come as a surprise to many observers when he was recently elected as the chairman of the conference of state speakers of house of assembly and therefore congratulated him on the feat.
Dr. Crown further extolled the excellent leadership qualities of the speaker saying, “the people of Bauchi State will forever remember the state legislature under your leadership for passing the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP Law), that seek to address challenges in the prosecution of culprits perpetrating sexual and gender based violence against women”.
This, according to Dr. Crown, is inline with one of the goals and ideals of ASHH Foundation in it’s crusade against SGBV.
Crown, who is also the provost of Commonwealth Institute of Leadership further commended members of the Bauchi State House of Assembly for the support and cooperation they are extending to ASHH Foundation, describing such gestures as “heart-warming”.
In his response shortly after receiving the award in his office, the speaker, Rt. Hon. Abubakar Y. Sulaiman thanked the management of ASHH Foundation for finding him worthy of the prestigious award, saying, “it is one of the real and genuine award that i will cherish for a long time to come”.
He said one of his primary focus as legislator is striving on creating enabling laws that will address SGBV and add value on the lives of women, children and other vulnerable groups of the society.
The speaker who described the honour as morale booster, said that it will spur him to sponsor others bills to further curb the menace of SGBV in Bauchi State.
“Already, we are on the verge of passing a bill on sexual harassment and another bill on free and mandatory treatment of victims of SGBV in government health facilities.
The speaker also acknowledged the immense contributions of women from his constituency that ultimately led to his being elected as state legislator, which eventually saw him emerging as speaker.
Sulaiman used the occasion to dedicate the award to the entire membership of house, whom he described as partners in progress.