Off-the-Turf
A House of Representatives member from Suleja, Tafa and Gurara Federal Constituency area of Niger State, Hon. Abubakar Lado, says horse-riding is all that catches his fancy in his spare time, writes Jemeelah Sanda
Wherever he went, Abubakar Lado, House of Representatives member Representing Suleja, Tafa and Gurara Federal Constituency in Niger State, always had a reason to look for the race course in the town. Yes, Lado is a keen horseman, who would do anything for a ride.
But if you take the horse away from the man, don’t you ever think you have taken the man from his horse.
Lado loves to travel. It is one of his many forms of relaxation, however, the man even on many of his trips always makes out time to go to the races anywhere he might be in the world to watch the horses race or if the opportunity occurs, to take to the saddle for a ride around. To him, the elegant stallion is the ultimate beast; it is not only beautiful but very loyal. The horse to him is the best friend a man can have.
However, horse-riding is not all there is to this man; he is probably the most popular politician to have emerged from the emirate given what he has done for the people, especially the youth.
His leadership style has proved beyond doubts that indeed he is a true democrat. For this former All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim National Youth Leader, his other passion is youth development.
Lado, whose nickname “Mai Allah” suggests God sent, gives priority to Youth, whom he sees as the engine room for development in any human society. But if there is something he is unhappy about, it is the absence of any tertiary institution in Suleja Emirate, a Local Government Area which generates substantial revenue for the government of Niger State, yet the most neglected.
Lado’s priority projects under the constituency intervention scheme for the year 2015/2016 economic year is designed to focus on three specific areas: Education, Health and Poverty reduction, through skill acquisition training and empowerment. In this regard, the following projects have been carefully executed to ameliorate the challenges faced by his constituents.
Twelve Students were sponsored under full academic scholarship scheme to undertake study in Medicine and Engineering at Noida International University, New Delhi India. One student is on full academic scholarship to study Shari’a related courses at Sudan University.
Full scholarship has also been granted to about 45 Students within the constituency, to study at the New-Gate College of Health Technology, Minna Niger State, while another four students are on full scholarship to undertake specialised study in optical technology at the College of Optical technology, Federal Medical Centre, Birnin Kebbi.
Born 43 years ago, Abubakar Lado has worked as a clerical officer, Judicial Service Committee, Abuja and System Operator, NEPA, before setting up his own company, TA’ANNABI NIGERIA LTD.
He attended Government Technical College, Kantagora, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in 1992. From there, he proceeded to the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and graduated with a Diploma in Power Engineering (Electrical) in 1997.
In the 2000s, Lado joined politics and was soon elected member of the Niger State House of Assembly from 2011 to 2015. The people soon found him worthy again last year as he was elected into the House of Representatives to represent the good people of Suleija.