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Tag: Bola Tinubu

  • Nigeria needs divine intervention, says Tinubu

    As Muslims celebrate the Eid-el-kabir festival, National leader of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Senator Bola Tinubu has said  Nigeria needs divine intervention.

    In a sallah message he however noted that God would not come down but will raise and use disciplined leaders that will make Nigeria a functional government.

    ” Nigeria needs help. The problems we ought to have overcome now threaten to overcome us. Millions of our people endure the daily grind of poverty and deprivation.  In the midst of plenty we remain empty. May Nigeria experience a new day,” he said.

    Tinubu while congratulating Muslims for being alive to witness another celebration urged them to pray for the nation.

    He reminded them that the task of rebuilding Nigeria is one that all must be part of because according to him Nigeria will yet attain greatness but with a lot of sacrifices.

  • Tinubu mourns ‘Black Scorpion’ Adekunle

    National leader of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Bola Tinubu has mourned the death of General Benjamin Adekunle who died on Saturday morning in Lagos.

    In a statement issued on Saturday, Tinubu noted that Adekunle was a man of valour and unimaginable bravery.

    “ The Generalissimo has fallen. The Great General Benjamin Adekunle (Rtd.) has left this world and his departure saddens me greatly.

    “The Civil War Hero was a Soldier’s Soldier. Lion-hearted and a leader of men. He served his Fatherland devotedly and without question when we most needed him.

    “Like most great men, he was greatly misunderstood. His flamboyant and outspoken nature made him a colourful character. However, that never stopped him from emerging as one of the most remarkable icons in Nigeria’s military history.

    “The “Black Scorpion” was a man of uncommon intelligence and fierce determination. On the battle field, he had no equal. He represented the best generation of our military personnel. The ones who refused to back down from any enemy; who put their very existence on the line for our continued coexistence.

    “Of all of Gen. Adekunle’s qualities, it is his loyalty to the flag that I most admire. He was a worthy ambassador of his people and a great example in service. He led from the front.

    “ Let it be said of Gen. Adekunle: “Here is a man who gave his country the best of his life.” May his warrior soul find rest. And I pray his wife family find the fortitude to bare the irreparable loss,” Tinubu stated.

  • Dimgba Igwe was a thorough-bred journalist-Tinubu

    National Leader of All  Progressive Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu, has described as shocking and unbelievable the tragic death of veteran journalist, Dimgba Igwe of The Sun  Newspapers.

    “The tribe of great journalists in Nigeria has again been depleted by this sudden and most heartbreaking death,” Tinuhu said in a statement last on Saturday.

    “It is indeed a sad day for the Nigerian media and all those that were associated with Dimgba.  He was a thorough-bred journalist and writer, who remained steadfast and lifted The Sun newspapers to a position of reckoning.”  

    He described the circumstances of Dimgba’s passing away as painful and avoidable.

    “I knew Dimgba personally and respected his professional contributions to building our country. 

    “I recall vividly my several encounters with him. I remember Dimgba and Mike Awoyinfa chasing me down and interviewing me for close to three hours on the book they were writing on Lagos state and the post-military era development. It was an enjoyable experience.  He will be dearly missed.

    “My condolences go out to his wife and family and all relatives. I pray God will grant them strength for this period and peace in abundance,” Tinubu stated.

  • Jonathan, Tinubu, governors condole with el-Rufai over son’s death

    Jonathan, Tinubu, governors condole with el-Rufai over son’s death

    President Goodluck Jonathan, All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and some governors yesterday commiserated with former Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, on the death of his son, Hamza, in an accident.

    Hamza, a graduate of the University of Virginia and United World College of the Atlantic in the United States, died in an auto crash in the FCT.

    The President, Tinubu, Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo), Ramalan Yero (Kaduna) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) expressed shock over the death of the young El-Rufai.

    They noted that no amount of consolation could fill the gap that Hamza’s death has created.

    In a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President commiserated with El-Rufai and members of his family.

    He hoped the outpouring of support by friends and associates would comfort the former minister.

    Jonathan prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the departed and God’s blessings, comfort and protection on Mallam El-Rufai and the rest of his family.

    A statement in Lagos said Asiwaju Tinubu called Mallam El-Rufai to commiserate with him on the death of his son.

    The frontline politician offered soothing words from the Holy Qur’an and prayed Allah to grant El-Rufai the strength to bear the very painful loss.

    Tinubu said: “The news of your son’s death came to me as a shock. It must have been most wrenching for you.  I feel your pain as a parent myself. I can only offer you words of consolation from Allah. He is the one who gives and takes away.

    “Be assured that my family and I and the APC family are with you in prayers during this very sad and painful period. God will keep you all that are left behind in His full protection and prevent further danger and deaths in your family.

    “You must never let this put you down. Please accept my heartfelt condolences.”

    Amosun expressed deep shock and sent heartfelt condolences to the family of Mallam El-Rufai.

    In a statement yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, by his Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mrs Olufunmilayo Wakama, the governor described the demise of Hamzat as “most regrettable and unfortunate”.

    Amosun added: “It is so sad that his life was cut short in a fatal accident at a time he would have been contributing his quota to the development of his fatherland after acquiring a good education.”

    The governor prayed Allah to grant the soul of the departed Al-Janah Fridaus and his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

    Ajimobi commiserated with El-Rufai through a statement yesterday in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo.

    The governor described the death of the son of the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain as unfortunate and disheartening.

    Ajimobi said: “It is with deep shock that I received the death of Hamza, a promising young man, in a ghastly motor accident that occurred in Abuja on Tuesday.

    “It is even more painful considering the fact that he was snatched by the cold hands of death at the prime of his life.”

    The governor described the deceased as a rising star and potential leader of tomorrow.

    He urged the former minister to accept the incident as an act of God, adding that nothing could happen to any human being without the knowledge of God.

    Ajimobi prayed for the repose of the soul of the deceased. He beseeched God to grant El-Rufai and his family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

    Yero expressed deep sadness over Hamza’s death.

    In a condolence message by his Director-General, Media and Publicity, Malam Ahmed Maiyaki, the governor said he received news of Hamza’s death with shock and grief.

    He said: “The demise of Hamza, a young, intelligent young man with bright prospects, is a huge loss to the country, especially to us in Kaduna State.”

    Yero urged El-Rufai’s family to take the irreparable loss as an act of Allah, who knows best.

    He said: “I urge the entire El-Rufai family, their friends and associates to take solace in the fact that the late Hamza lived a short but eventful lifetime full of positive narrations.”

    Yero prayed Allah to grant the soul of the late Hamza eternal rest.

    The governor also prayed Almighty Allah to grant the El-Rufai family the fortitude to bear the loss.

    Aregbesola also condoled with El-Rufai over his son’s death.

    In a statement in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, by the Director, Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, the governor said death, though the end of everything, came too early for Hamza.

    He stressed that whatever comes a man’s way should be seen as an act of God, which every mortal has little or no control over.

    Aregbesola said: “We are indeed saddened by the untimely demise of our dear son, Hamza. In as much as we have lost a gem in this young man, we, however, take solace in the fact that only Allah knows what is best for his creatures.

    “We, the government and people of Osun, express our heart-felt condolences to the immediate and extended families of El-Rufai.

    “We pray that Allah will grant the departed Al-Janah Firdaus.”

     

     

  • Asiwaju group empowers the needy

    Asiwaju group empowers the needy

    A Lagos political group, Asiwaju For Life, has empowered over 750 indigent people across the state. The group, named after the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, regularly empowers people with entrepreneurial items.

    The major beneficiaries of the 4th empowerment programme, which coincided with the end of the Ramadan, were artisans, traders and others drawn from the 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas of Lagos State.

    Some of the items given were hairdryers, sewing machines,  refrigerators, grinding machines,  generators and others.

    Money was also given to the needy.

    The coordinator of the group, Alhaja Ola Williams, said the programme was put in place to meet the needs of the less privileged.

    Other dignitaries who attended the event were Mrs. Jumoke Okoya Thomas, a member of the House of Representatives; Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, the Iyaloja General; Mrs. Tayo Ayinde, the Ojon of Lagos; Chief Olubiyi Agoro; Ayodeji Oyekan, the Bajulaye of Lagos; Dr. Kazeem Fatade; Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya (aka MC Oluomo) and others.

  • That Akiolu’s statement

    SIR: Through the Oba of Lagos, Akiolu has spoken, the race has not  ended. It has just begun. I have followed the reactions of  many Lagosians to  Oba Akiolu’s open endorsement of  Akin Ambode for the Governorship of Lagos. The alacrity and  suddenness of his endorsement shocked many people. Many have criticized him for such brazenness and others are already plotting how to deal with him. There are also insinuations in many quarters that he is on an errand sort of. That there is a hand of Essau and the voice of Jacob, sorry, the voice of Akiolu. Again, Bola Tinubu is being fingered to be behind the message so brazenly delivered.

    I however beg to differ.

    Those that share this position do not know him well enough. If they do, they will know that he holds his cards close to his chest. A political generalissimo, he never pulls the chestnut out of the fire until the last moment. He distracts to surprise. He waits to pounce. He hibernates to be able to spring a  surprise. Such are his ways. He weighs every option carefully and never plays his hand too soon because he knows that will give his detractors enough time and ammunition to attack.  For him, the surprise element is an asset as risky as it may be. But later on Tinubu and his political abracadabra.

    Back to Oba Akiolu’s endorsement. Here is my take. We are in a democratic setting. Lagosians have become more politically savvy but that should not deny any one the right to exercise his freedom of speech. Akiolu has expressed an opinion that is well within his right to express. He may have done it in an unexpected manner with the timing suspect, but there is no denying him the right to do so. All this talk about Obas not being involved with politics is hogwash. All Obas are leg and neck deep in politics. Politicians seek and court their support for electoral victory and to solve problems.  Akiolu’s idea about the man that is good for Lagos will be tested come February 2015. Lagosians will choose who will be the next governor and not Akiolu. He has had his say. The people will have their way.

    We must give Akiolu a pass. Lagos has become a country within a country. It is the biggest prize after the centre. It is attractive. AKiolu;s love for Lagos must have driven him to want the best qualified man for Lagos, even though what he announced publicly ought to have been left for the privacy of his palace. There is no faulting his love for Lagos.

    The APC will still hold primaries and I urge all that come from within the zone to see Akiolus’s statement as a challenge. They must come out and compete and not close shop. If they simply close shop because of what Akiolu said, then that means in the first place, they lacked the courage and temerity to contest and to govern Lagos. Against all odds, let’s have all of them at the track and at the starting point. The months ahead will be interesting. These permutations will change. New alignments will emerge. Even Oba Akiolu’s feet which now seems set in wet cement may soon soften. Akin Ambode now the front runner has his job cut out. He will soon realize that an Akiolu endorsement will not be enough for him to get the trophy. The lion of Bourdillon has only hummed and not said a word. It’s amazing how people attribute so much to him and also swear by what they do not know. His silence right now should worry the contenders while it should give we the voters hope. The APC owes Lagos and the country transparent primaries in Lagos to set the tone for other countries.

    While the dust of Akiolu’s state

  • LAUTECH to instal Tinubu chancellor

    LAUTECH to instal Tinubu chancellor

    The Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) will today invest the National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, as its chancellor.

    The former Lagos State governor will also be awarded honorary Doctor of Science (Honoris Causa) in Management Sciences by the institution.

    The event will take place in the university’s SIFAX Lecture Theatre in Ogbomoso, beginning from 11am. It will be the university’s 11th special convocation ceremony.

    A convocation lecture will be delivered by President Emeritus of Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, USA Dr. Robert Michael Franklin.

    He will speak on the topic: “Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education for Nigeria, Africa and the Diaspora.”

  • Politics of religion dangerous for Nigeria, says Tinubu

    Politics of religion dangerous for Nigeria, says Tinubu

    NATIONAL leader, All Progressives Congress of Nigeria (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, yesterday decried the resort to religion by some politicians to curry votes, and said it was a dangerous signal for the country.

    “The current religiously divisive politics our current leaders are playing will not augur well for our body politic. Religion has been elevated to a point where it is now used as a tool to curry and win votes,” Asiwaju Tinubu said at the church dedication of the Overcomers Pentecostal Prayer Ministry and 60th birthday of its General Overseer, Rev. Ogedengbe Samuel, in Lagos.

    He said that while morality could not be taken out of politics, “I must serve notice that governing the country along religious lines and manipulating religious sentiments will endanger our body politic.”

    Nigerians, he stressed, should be conscious of the fact that “no nation has ever survived a religious war. No religion has ever being able to wipe out another.”

    He asked Nigerians not to look at politics purely from the prism of religion but from the perspective of development.

    “We can only make progress if we begin to look at progress from the perspective of development and the capability of people we want to lead us and not from the prism of religion as many would want to do. The desire to hold power must stem from a commitment to rid Nigeria of frustration, lack of medical care, good roads, insecurity and poverty,” Tinubu said.

    In the audience were Lagos State Works Commissioner Femi Hamzat, former Health Commissioner, Dr. Leke Pitan, Pastor Kalejaiye, the leader of the Cherubim and Seraphim worldwide and His Eminence Olufemi Akinsanya.

    Rev. Samuel doubles as special adviser on religious affairs to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State.

     

  • Resign now, ex-governor tells Jega

    Resign now, ex-governor tells Jega

    Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu has urged the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Atahiru Jega, to resign, if he cannot guarantee perfect elections next year.

    He was reacting to Jega’s comment that Nigerians should not expect perfect elections in 2015.

    Speaking with reporters yesterday after the All Progressives Congress’s (APC’s) membership registration sensitisation meeting held at the party’s secretariat in Lagos, Tinubu said: “With such comment, Jega is already admitting failure and laying the foundation for failure. If he cannot do the job, let him quit. What do we pay him for? A perfect election makes a perfect society. We must strive to give the people what they want.

    “There have to be perfect elections in 2015. They have to be 99.9 per cent perfect. If he wants to lecture again about perfect and the imperfection of the electoral process, let him go back to the university.”

    Lamenting that the country should have learnt enough from past polls, the APC National Leader said: “Jega is presently moving from one country to the other. Is he saying he has not learnt enough from this country to give us a perfect election? He is in America now, gallivanting around the countries. Is it the estacode of his speeches that is enough for us? If he has not learnt from these countries in the last few years, then we can excuse him.”

    On the series of defection of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the National Assembly to the APC, Tinubu said the lawmakers have the right to “choose their alliance as it suits the mandate given to them by the people”.

  • ‘Clark not laying good example’

    ‘Clark not laying good example’

    A partian group, ‘Total Loyalty’ yesterday advised the Ijaw leader, Senator Edwin Clark, to lay a good example of statesmanship, instead of heating up the polity.

    The group said in a statement by its leader, Alhaji Oluwatoyin Balogun, that a wise man should engage in acts that unite the country at the twilight of life.

    Flaying the elderstatesman for his uncharitable remarks about Senator Bola Tinubu, the group also correct the impression that noise making is the hallmark of leadership in the Niger Delta.

    According to ‘Total Loyalty’, Yoruba have leaders of impeccable character, adding that Asiwaju Tinubu is one of them.

    Balogun said: “Old age should connote wisdom. But, reasoning and judgment can be called to test when a leader is not constructive in his criticisms. Old age demands that the aged should be more careful before making a statement.

    “Also, as an elderstateman is expected to give priority to the general interest of the country against the interest of his ethnic group. When Chief Edwin Clark said that the Yoruba nation has no leader, he was being malicious. He made an offensive and provocative remark.

    “We have a leader and the one we are proud of. Tinubu’s leadership acumen is evident in the development of his region. It also reflects in the activities of his followers who are governors in five states. In the Southwest, good governance is a priority.”

    Balogun described Tinubu as a dependable leade worthy of emulation, adding that his legacies are evergreen in Lagos State which he served as the governor between 1999 and 2007.

    He recalled that the former governor fought for democracy at a time some elders supported the military regimes.

    Balogun said that Clark is on the prowl because reality has dawned on him that President Goodluck Jonathan will be voted out of power in 2015.

    He added: “Chief Edwin Clark undoubtedly lacks the moral justification to mock the antecedent of this outstanding Yoruba son. Making a derogatory remark against the Yoruba further portrays the Ijaws as ingrate. Chief Edwin Clark should rather confess his fear, which is that his son, Dr. Jonathan, who has not lived up to expectation, will not be re-elected as the Preident in 2015.”

    Balogun challenged the Ijaw leader to list the achievements of the President that will make Nigerians to vote for him at the presidential poll.

    He queried: “ What has the country benefited from his advice to his kinsman in the Aso Villa? In his sincere judgment, is the country fair better under the headship of Dr. Jonathan?”

    Balogun described Clark as an ungrateful politician who has suddenly forgotten the past.

    He reminded the Ijaw leader that a Yoruba man engineered the emergence of a Nigerian from the minority tribe as the President.

    Balogun added: “The Ijaw chief is a beneficiary of that power shift. His region is a beneficiary. They now have a sense of belonging. When his kinsman was unconstitutionally denied the right to leadership, Yoruba leaders rose in defense of Dr. Jonathan. Yoruba spoke above the whispers, staged a protest, supported the doctrine of necessity and voted for him in 2011. But, problem started when the President failed to perform.”