Ladi Ahmed Jatto, the Project Coordinator, Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscape (ACReSAL) project, has been conferred with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

President Buhari had approved the conferment of special national awards on 339 Nigerians and friends of the country.

The 2023 honours list was signed yesterday by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Ibiene P. Roberts.

Jatto, a lawyer who is also the Kogi State coordinator of the Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), is one of the few people from Kogi who made the list.

Reacting to the honour on her Facebook page, she wrote: “I am profoundly humbled and honoured by the Order of the Niger (OON) conferment on me by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR.

“I am grateful to the Almighty God for His guidance in my life, and I take this opportunity with gratitude and a deep sense of humility.”

On his part, the Publisher/Editor in Chief, The Nigerian Post Newspaper, Abu Michael, described the feat as unprecedented.

He noted that Jatto is one of the first women to be honoured from Kogi state.

His words: “This news is particularly heartwarming to receive at this point in the year and our history of Kogi state”.

Abu further described Jatto as a compatriot who has shone constantly like the northern star, with outstanding accomplishments and an unblemished track record.

Similarly, the Kogi State Commissioner For Environment, Victor Omofaiye, has sent a message of congratulations to Jatto on the feat.

Omofaiye, in a statement issued to newsmen in Lokoja, described the conferment as most-deserved.

He said: “The honour is most-deserved because, in both your private and public commitments, you have continued to demonstrate uncommon passion, zeal and patriotism required for the actualisation to making the environment habitable.

“You have demonstrated capacity by breaking limits to achieve unprecedented accomplishments. This is evidenced in Kogis state ratings in the World Bank and other areas where the state has made milestone achievements through your efforts and contribution.

”You have been a shining example of women in purposeful leadership, and your unwavering vigour in service delivery remains unrivalled.“

Jatto, a member of the Institute of Public Diplomacy and Management and an active member of the Nigerian Bar Association and the International Bar Association, has been described severally as one of the shining stars of the Yahaya Bello administration in Kogi state.