The newly appointed Permanent Secretary ( PS) of the Nasarawa State Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Dr Stephen Sasetu, has assumed office with the promised to build on the enduring legacies his predecessor has left behind
Dr Sasetu said his predecessor, Dr Ibrahim Alhassan had impacted heavily by setting the Ministry on the pedestal for growth and development and he was prepared to carry on to take the Ministry to greater heights.
Speaking during the handing/ taking over ceremony on Monday in Lafia , the newly posted PS described Dr. Alhassan’s tenure as greatly impactful.
“It’s not how long you are in a place, it’s how impactful you are. You can be in a place for three months, and people will say good things about you because of the impact you made,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to God for the opportunity to serve in the ministry, saying, “I was thanking God because I was coming to a place where somebody that I knew, somebody that I have looked up to and respect thoroughly had worked.”
Dr Sasetu assured staff of his resolve to work towards moving the ministry forward promising to maintain an open-door policy of administration and encouraged staff to share their ideas and suggestions.
In his farewell speech, outgoing Permanent Secretary, Dr Ibrahim Alhassan expressed his gratitude to the staff for their cooperation and support during his tenure.
“I have enjoyed every bit of my working here. I have built relationships, I have built friendships with people here. And I think it’s going to be lasting,” he said.
Dr Alhassan credited his success to the staff’s willingness to work together for a change of the narrative and thanked them for their support in achieving the ministry’s goals, including his personal participation in sports activities.
He urged the staff to extend their good work and support to the new PS, Dr Sasetsu, whom he described as a colleague and friend.
Speaking separately, Director of Administration and Supplies, Ms Helen Madaki and Director of Facilities and Stadia Management, Malam Yusuf Ahmed, both acknowledged the dedication and hard work of Dr Alhassan in transforming the ministry.
They highlighted the ministry’s achievements under his leadership, including the development of a youth policy, improved travel arrangements for contingents, and record-breaking victories by athletes, among others.
The duo equally welcomed the new PS and assured of the ministry’s cooperation and support.
On his part, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Youth Affairs, Hon Shuaibu Sani thanked the outgoing PS for his outstanding leadership and commitment to restoring sanity in the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), Nasarawa State chapter.
Sani noted that when the PS took office, the NYCN was in a state of comatose, plagued by crises and factionalised, but that the PS took bold decisions and restored order, despite initial discomfort from some stakeholders.
He assured of the ministry’s cooperation and support, urging him to build on the foundation laid by his predecessor and to ensure due process in all dealings.
Dr Sasetu took over from Dr Alhassan who has been redeployed to the State Ministry of Health.
