Adasu; a governor to remember

Education, Stories 26/03/2013 by Akaafele

The first and only clergy of the Roman Catholic Church to have been a governor of a state in Nigeria, he is worth discussing because up till now many believes his one and ten months leadership as governor has been the best ever in the history of Benue State. He was one who had a real vision for the state and worked it out practically.

Born on 12th June, 1945 at Mbaamena near Awajir in Shangev-Tiev District of Konshisha Local Government Area of Benue State, Rev. Fr. Moses Adasu studied at St. James Junior Seminary Keffi from 1966 to 1968. He then attended St. Augustine’s Major Seminary Jos, an affiliate of the Propaganda Fide from 1969 to 1972, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Divinity. Later he studied at St. John’s University, New York from 1975 to 1976 earning an M.A. degree, and then at Catholic University of America, Washington DC from 1976 to 1978 where he gained a Master of Religious Education.

The late Fr. Moses Adasu was a Senior Inspector of Education at the Benue State Ministry of Education headquarters, Makurdi. He also taught in Secondary and Teachers Colleges in Jos, Otukpo and Adikpo, and at the College of Education in Akwanga and Katsina-Ala. He was a member of the Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, the Benue State Prerogative of Mercy, the Advisory Council of the Episcopal Commission on African Traditional Religion, and Board of Governors of the College of Education, Katsina-Ala. He was Chairman of the Presbyteral Council, Dean of Makurdi Deanary, Diocese of Makurdi and Vicar-General, Diocese of Makurdi.

The late Man of God was elected the second Executive Governor of Benue State on 2nd January, 1992 under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). During his stay in office, He founded the Benue State University Makurdi on 27th December, 1992. He reactivated and upgraded the College of Education Oju. He conceived the concept of the Tarka Foundation, named after Senator Joseph Sarwuan Tarka and launched on 2nd July, 1992. The fondation’s building occupies five hectares of land in Makurdi and includes an art gallery, conference rooms, recreational centers and chalets. Other projects executed by the then governor include BENCO roof tile, and the Katsina Ala fruit juice company; however some of the projects remained abandoned owing to his short stay in office.

Adasu was removed from office when General Sani Abacha came to power in November, 1993. He was appointed a member of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in January, 2001. He resigned the position in June, 2002 to contest the governorship position of the state under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) but lost out. He died on 20th November, 2005 after a brief illness and was conferred an honorary doctorate degree by Benue State University Makurdi after his demise. He is worth remembering.

2 thoughts on “Adasu; a governor to remember

  1. Inja Catherine

    Did Father Mosed Adasu still celebrate holy mass after serving as a governor of the state?

    Reply
  2. Gabriel

    Did Father Mosed Adasu still celebrate holy mass after serving as a governor of the state?

    Reply

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.