Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Zaria has given an award to the Deputy Governor of Kaduna state, Dr. Hadiza Balarabe, for the role she is playing in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

The Vice Chancellor of the university, Professor Kabiru Bala who presented the award, stated that Dr Balarabe was specially recognized for her efforts as the Chair of the State Standing Committee on Covid-19.

The award of excellence was given by ABU’s Gender Policy Unit, in collaboration with the Department of Sociology.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Mr Boss Mustapha, the wife of the President, Hajiya A’isha Buhari, Hajiya Ummi El-Rufai, the wife of Kaduna state governor, President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongnam-Mensem and the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen were also given wards.

Professor Bala congratulated the awardees, noting that their recognition reflect their contributions and achievements to national development, especially in espousing gender equity and equality.

In her acceptance speech, the Deputy Governor said she received the award on behalf of all the people of the state, for their resilience and cooperation with the state government before and during the pandemic.

“I want to sincerely thank the Gender Policy Unit and the university community for recognizing the little contributions that we made before, during and even after this period of Covid pandemic. This award is truly not for me, it is for the people of Kaduna.

If the people did not follow the rules and the guidelines we set, we would not have made the positive difference that we had in their lives,’’ she explained.

According to Dr Balarabe, the government took several measures to protect lives against the new virus, reminding that ‘’we were the state with the third highest number of Covid cases, but we managed it well.’’