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Tag: Bola Tinubu

  • Obasanjo, defections can’t stop Buhari – Tinubu

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday said that he was confident President Muhammadu Buhari would win the 2019 elections.

    Tinubu made the statement in Lagos while addressing party members at a stakeholders meeting of the state chapter.

    He said that the president had acquitted himself as a leader so far inspite of the challenges of governance.

    The APC leader condemned what he called the frequent attacks on Buhari-led administration by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    He said that the criticisms of Obasanjo were in bad faith, pointing out that he could not stop Nigerians from re-electing the president.

    “Our president, President Muhammadu Buhari has done well, he deserves another term, and we will support him to win because he is our man.

    “Forget about Obasanjo’s letter and his frequent attacks on our president, he cannot stop the president because Nigerians would re-elect him.

    “Obasanjo has spent his own time; he should leave Buhari alone and face his business because he cannot tell us who to vote for.

    Read Also: Tinubu attacks Obasanjo on letters

    “He is part of some of the challenges we are facing in the country today, because he did not lay the right foundation when he was president,” he said.

    Tinubu added that the exit of some members from the APC would also not stop the re-election of President Buhari.

    The chieftain said that the party was unshaken by the defections and was on course to recording victories in the 2019 election.

    Tinubu said that the results of the Kogi,Katsina and Bauchi bye elections, in which the APC was victorious, were a precursor to the pattern of the general elections.

    “I congratulate the winners in the election and their victory is proof that our party is getting more popular by the day.

    “Those who want to defect can defect, that is their problem. APC remains unshaken and these people will know the reality in the election,” he said.

    He commended the National Chairman of the party, Mr Adams Oshiomole, saying members were pleased with what he was doing in the party.

    He said that the direct primary system was good for democracy, and the party would adopt it to conduct its primaries.

    Tinubu urged members to play by the rules in electing candidates at the primaries.

    He urged the members to mobilse others to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards as that was necessary for victory in 2019.

     

    NAN

  • 2019: Senator seeks Igbo support for Lagos APC

    The Senator representing Lagos West, Solomon Adeola, on Thursday  urged all Igbo resident in Lagos to vote for the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC) during the 2019 election.

    Adeola said that voting for APC was the only way to show appreciation for the good work of the party in the state.

    A statement by the media adviser to Adeola, Kayode Odunaro said that the lawmaker made the call when a delegation of Alaba International Market Council of Elders (AIMCE) paid him a courtesy call in Abuja to present an award for good representation to him.

    It said that Senator Adeola who is chairman, Senate Committee on Local Content told the delegation led by Eze John-Greg Ezebuadi, the chairman of AIMCE) and Eze Ndi Igbo of Iba, Ojo LGA that the last election showed that Igbo in Lagos heeded calls of external influence that had no interest in their welfare in the state.

    He said, “I am of the view that you should see the Yoruba that you lived with for years as your brothers more than your tribes people that you see only once or so in a year or not at all for decades. The interest of the APC government led by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and our leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to continue to develop all part of Lagos state is the best interest of all of Lagosians including the Igbo.

    “In spite of negative electoral result from some areas against APC, the government has not discriminated against any section in bettering the welfare of all Lagosian.”

    Read Also: Igbo leaders: ‘We will vote Buhari in 2019’

    Senator Adeola said 2019 election is a good time for Igbo to open a new chapter in their relation with the ruling party APC.

    He added that their support and vote for APC in the state will show they appreciate the progressive and welfarist government of Governor Ambode in the last three years without discrimination.

    “I can say and I am aware that Governor Ambode has not discriminated against any group in delivery of dividends of democracy. He has not abandoned areas that did not vote for him and his party in 2015. The coming 2019 election is time to show appreciation and encouragement for the APC in Lagos State.”.

    It said that Eze Ezebuadi noted that they decided to come to Abuja to present the award to him for his effective representation of Lagos West Senatorial District at the Senate.

    It said that that Ezebuadi added that the voting pattern of the last election was the result of non recognition of relevant and progressive Igbo with long history of working with the progressives of Lagos State.

    It said that the leader of the delegation noted that with the performance of the Ambode administration work is ongoing to enlighten all Igbo on the need to bring to truism the Igbo adage “Ebe madu bi Ka ona owachi” (meaning where you live is where you call your home.)

  • Ekiti 2018: Osinbajo, Tinubu, Oyegun, others storm Ekiti for mega rally

    … Fayemi takes campaign to more communities

    All is now set for the All Progressives Congress (APC) flag off mega  rally in Ekiti State ahead of the July 14 governorship election.

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and the APC National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other key party figures are expected at the rally scheduled for Oluyemi Kayode Stadium.

    Members of the APC National Campaign Council headed by Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu, National Working Committee, governors and ministers are also expected at the rally.

    Security has been beefed up at the venue with riot policemen stationed within the vicinity of the arena. The stadium was being decorated ahead of the rally.

    Osinbajo is expected to hand the party’s flag to the governorship candidate, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and his running mate, Chief Bisi Egbeyemi.

    Meanwhile, Fayemi on Monday took his campaign to communities in Ekiti West and Ijero Local Government Areas urging the people to reject the continuity agenda of Governor Ayo Fayose which he said was aimed at keeping them perpetually in poverty.

    Communities visited include Aramoko, Erio, Ido-Ile, Okemesi, Ikoro, Ijero, Ijurin, Iloro, where more leaders and members of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) defected to the APC.

    The defectors promised to ensure victory for Fayemi in their various localities saying they were rejecting the PDP in protest against Fayose’s alleged “deceit, wickedness, lies and greed.”

    In Aramoko, a stronghold of PDP where the visits kicked off Monday, no fewer than 30 of its top leaders led hundreds of supporters to defect to APC while in Ido-Ile, residents said they would vote for Fayemi for the water project, roads, schools rehabilitation and social security for the elderly people he provided in his first term.

    Fayemi expressed delight that it was mainly those giving APC headaches that defected to APC in Aramoko and assured them of equal treatment in their new party.

    He listed his achievements in agriculture, schools and hospital rehabilitation, social security, appointments, education, roads and electricity, among others, in Aramoko to the thunderous applause of supporters.

    Read Also: Fayemi is the reason Ekiti is under financial burden – PDP

    Fayemi regretted that nothing had been added to what he did in the town except for Fayose to introduce payment of tax by school pupils while workers are unpaid for between six and 10 months.

    He urged the people to dismiss Fayose’s lies on debts, saying though he borrowed N25b to implement projects that are verifiable, including completing projects started by Segun Oni’s administration.

    The APC candidate revealed that he paid back N14.5b of the loan before leaving office while Fayose had so far borrowed N56b but did nothing with it except a bridge built at over-bloated cost.

    Fayemi said the road he awarded but abandoned by Fayose would be completed, including new projects that the community might request for in his budget.

    He urged the people to reject continuity of sufferings, unpaid salaries and lies that Fayose wanted to sustain by working to install Prof Eleka as his successor.

    In Erio, the hometown of Fayose’s wife, residents regretted that though Fayose is their son-in-law, they had not seen any development assistance from neither Fayose nor his wife in the last three years.

    The community presented a copy of the Holy Bible to Fayemi, declaring that APC candidate represented a soldier of Christ who will always win his battles. They said victory is sure for Fayemi on July 14.

    Fayemi expressed shock that the road he initiated leading to Erio worship centre was abandoned by Fayose, promising to complete the project and implement other ones they choose in his pre-budget meetings with the people.

    He promised to continue his pro-people schemes, including social security, free education and helping students to pay for public examinations and scholarships.

    The rally at Okemesi was dramatic, as residents in the town openly rained abuses on one of her sons in Fayose’s administration who early in the morning allegedly led thugs in knife battle to create sense of insecurity to disrupt APC rally.

    The Owa Ooye of Okemesi, Oba Gbadebo Adedeji, in his palace praised Fayemi for appointing indigenes, including Adewale Fapohunda, into his government, while Kayode Fasakin was a member of the House of Assembly. The monarch said they were the best to represent the town in government.

    He said the town had the best of times while Fayemi was governor, even as he praised Fayemi for constructing the abandoned road to the town’s hospital. The monarch assured Fayemi of total support of the community.

    At Ikoro, country home of the third runner-up in APC primary, Kayode Ojo, the former aspirant, who described Egbeyemi as his father’s friend, urged the people to vote for Fayemi, reminding the people that
    Fayemi’s years as governor was an evergreen experience in the development process of the town.

    Another party chief from the town, Dr. Femi Thomas, regretted Fayose’s neglect of the town despite support for him in 2014.

    He described Fayemi as a man of honour who can be trusted with his words while another former aspirant, Dr Bayo Orire, spoke in the same vein, urging residents to vote for Fayemi.

  • Ekiti APC Primary: ‘I have no anointed candidate – Tinubu

    As  aspirants slugged it out for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in the party’s primary election in Ekiti on Saturday, APC National Leader, Sen. Bola Tinubu said in Lagos that he had no anointed candidate.

    Tinubu spoke with newsmen in Ikeja as the APC held its ward congresses in Lagos.

    The winner of Saturday’s primary election will fly the party’s flag in the July 14 Ekiti governorship election, in which the APC is seeking to oust the Peoples Democratic Party in the state.

    ”I believe those in charge of the primary in Ekiti will do the right thing. I have put my own political gear in neutral.

    ”I have no anointed candidate. Everyone there aspiring and contesting are very dear members and they deserve the right to participate.

    ”About 33 of them in all, and we only need one seat for governorship. We have had leadership discussions. I like the fact that they showed up respectfully and committed to the peace and stability of the party in that State,” Tinubu told newsmen.

    He said that feelers from Ekiti showed that things had been going on smoothly.

    “We have responsible leadership around there.

    ”Sincerely, I had wanted to be in Ekiti but when you have this situation where Congress is holding the same time their primary is holding, charity begins at home; I must stay in Lagos to ensure that I help them.

    ” There are capable leaders over there that will see to the smooth exercise of the primaries in Ekiti, ” Tinubu said.

    Speaking on the ward congresses in Lagos, Tinubu urged party members to conduct themselves peacefully to help the country grow and progress democratically.

    He also urged them report any complaint at the party headquarters, rather than take laws into their hands.

    ”Until the various officials conducting the congresses write their reports, my own decision is to continue to appeal to the party to conduct themselves peacefully and comply with the rule of law.

    ”If they have any complaints, they should write to the party headquarters and just don’t take laws into their hands.

    ”I am proud of what is happening. I am very proud of the leadership. The leaders are for everybody; no biases, and they should move on peacefully and help the country to grow and progress democratically,” he said.

    Tinubu said he was impressed with the turnout of members at the ward congresses

    “I am very happy and proud of our party, All Progressives Congress, the APC. We are demonstrating to the people across the country that we are a law abiding political party.

    ”We believe in the tenets of democracy and that we demonstrate the openness in the congresses across the country, particularly.

    ”I can speak emphatically about Lagos that things are going according to plan, very open and transparent. People queued up behind whoever they want, no pre-ordained candidate. The turn-out is very impressive.

    ”The membership of the party is growing in leaps and bounds and open to all democrats who want to be identified with us.

    ”This is one of the best ways to energise the party that is almost remaining dormant at grassroots level and you could see the sense of belonging and the activities of ordinary people. It is a great joy for me,” he said.

    Meanwhile, speaking to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Chief Henry Ajomale, the Chairman of APC-Lagos, expressed satisfaction over the ongoing exercise.

    He urged the incoming Chairman to ensure adequate welfare for members and amicable conflict resolution in the party.

    Also, The Chairman of Ayobo /Ipaja Local Development Council Area (LCDA),Mr Shakiru Yusuf, commended APC members for the peaceful conduct of the ward congresses in the area.

    Yusuf spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the end of end of congresses in Ward C and D in the area

    He said the way party members conducted themselves ensured that the exercise was free of rancour in all the five wards in the area.

    Yusuf expressed satisfaction with the exercise, saying the peaceful conduct was proof that party members were united.

    ‘We are happy with the way the congresses went across the five wards in the area.

    “No case of violence, no case of misconduct everything went on peacefully.

    “I thank our party members for the way they have conducted themselves which ensured that we had peaceful congresses.

    “This is what democracy should be about at the grassroots, I am happy that Ayobo /Ipaja has delivered “,he said.

    Yusuf said ward executive members were elected in all the wards without protests or oppositions.

    He also the thanked the ward Congress committee for a job well done, saying the transparent manner in which they coordinated the congresses was commendable.

    He expressed the optimism that justice the way the congresses in the area were successful the local government congress scheduled for May 12 would also be a success.

    Also speaking, the Councilor for Ward D in the area, Mr Olusola Dada thanked party members for choosing leaders at the ward without rancour.

    He said members had demonstrated that do-or-die politics was an aberration with the successful conduct of the congresses.

    Dada said he was satisfied with the conduct at ward D and expressed the hope that the success would be replicated at the council congress.

    “I am more than elated at tbe peaceful conduct in this ward. It shows there is no division and everybody is working together for the success of the area.

    “We are happy. We can only say things will be the same at the council congress”,he said.

    However, the ward election in some centres under Kosofe LGA in Lagos had some hitches due to disagreements between two groups of APC members.

    At a centre located at No 18, Emmanuel High Street, Ojota, some members refused to allow the exercise to go on, saying their group’s list was not reflected in the one with officials at the centre.

    NAN reports that when the atmosphere was becoming tense, the police and DSS had to escort the electoral officers and their voting materials to Kosofe council secretariat along Ogudu Road.

    One of the party members from Ward F, Ojota, Engr. Kunle Afareogun told NAN that they resisted an attempt to impose one group on the people, contrary to the directive of the APC leadership.

    When NAN visited Kosofe council, the gate was manned by some men who refused to allow anyone to enter, including journalists.

    NAN reports that similar incident happened at Ogudu Primary school, Ogudu Road, where the DPO Ogudu, Mr Gbenga Olorunfemi, evacuated the electoral officials and materials and brought them in his patrol van to the council secretariat amidst heavily armed policemen.

    NAN observed that men of the Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad from Ikeja were also at hand to check any violence.(NAN)

  • Our problem is lack of understanding of history-Tinubu

    National leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu had said that the problem with the country is lack of understanding of history.

    He stated this during the public presentation and launch of the biography of Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji  Muhammadu  iliyasu Bashar in Birnin kebbi.

    “Our problem in Nigeria is not about poor economy, but lack of understanding of difficulties Nigerians are going through,’’ Tinubu stated.

    According to him, the destiny of each and every one is in the hands of God irrespective of who we are, or where we come from.

    “Whether you are from West, South, North, nobody has control over what God has for our lives.”

    He however charged traditional and religious leaders to preach peace and unity irrespective of their religions, tribes and geopolitical zones.

    “There should be no tribal war; we must share boundaries, co-exist and share economic issues with ourselves.’’

    Tinubu lunched 20 copies of the book for N20 million.

    The Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, who chaired the event, said his presence was because of the relationship between the people of his constituency and the Gwandu Emirate.

    He said he would continue to support any cause that would promote peace and unity of Nigeria.

    Saraki commended late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, for initiating the writing of books to foster understanding and knowledge in the country, adding that the books will further brighten the future of Nigerian youths.

    The event was attended by dignitaries from the various parts of the country, including Emirs from Jigawa, Niger, Nasarawa, and Ilorin.

  • Why I want to govern Delta State, ex-Tinubu aide

    A former Special Adviser on Revenue Mobilisation to Chief Bola Tinubu, Dr. Charles Nwadiani, has said the reason he wants to govern Delta State from 2019 is to enable him expand the frontiers of governance and rescue the people of Delta State from oppressive governance.

    Dr. Nwadiani who is a governorship aspirant of the All Progressive Congress spoke to newsmen at the Benin Airport.

    Nwadiani noted that Governors in Delta State have failed to replicate good governance as applicable elsewhere in the country.

    He stated that having helped to lay the foundation for modern Lagos while serving as a Special Adviser to former Governor Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos state, he hoped to replicate the same feat in Delta State.

    Dr. Nwadiani said he would focus on improving security, youth empowerment and making the state an attraction hub for investors through massive investment in agriculture.

    His words, “The most important thing is bringing the culture of good governance and expanding its frontiers to the Niger Delta, making Delta State, the root of great developmental strides. We have limited our action plans to 4 years and we will implement in these 4 years and successive governments will build on it.

    “We will mount surveillance cameras everywhere, make the state safe for investors because if you do not have investors, you will only end up killing the people with multiple taxation and we will achieve this within the first 6 months in office”

    “We will create an organ called Delta state emergency agency (DELSMA). The DELSMA will involve us building a microfinance bank for the youths of delta state. The youths will have access to loans of up to 5million Naira to build their entrepreneurial skills, thereby becoming employers of labour”.

    “We also will employ a lot of youths into the Agricultural sector. We have vast land in the state that can be converted for agricultural purpose and this, we intend to do. After we have done these, we can then conveniently secure the trust of investors. We will have more investors coming and even those that ran away from the state will come back”

    “We will rebuild our industries, our moribund factories through adequate funding and putting competent hands and then, we can begin to look at revenue generation in the next one year”, he noted.

  • APC-V hold special prayer for Ambode, Tinubu

    As 2019 General Election draws nearer, a group, APC Volunteers (APC-V), has endorsed Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, for second term in office, saying it took this decision based on Ambode’s unimaginable performance and commendable zeal for developmental projects that were visible in every nook and crannies of the state.

    The Lagos State Chairman of the group, Akeem Adejuwon Atupa, made this declaration while speaking during the special prayer session for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Saturday. The event took place at the weekend at the LTV 8, Blue Roof, Lagos.

    According to him, the endorsement of Governor Ambode for a second term is a reflection of the wish of majority of Lagosians irrespective of religion, race or creed, noting that, “All the projects initiated by the present administration were not only exemplary but commendable, laudable, exceptional and unique, especially within the short time he has spent., hence our declaration that such a person should go for a second term.”

    He, therefore, urged all residents of the state to ensure they got their voter cards ready before the commencement of the 2019 General Election to enable them to vote in exercise.

    The guest preacher, Venerable Idowu Isaiah Faleye, in his sermon, declared that politicians can only succeed in office based on cooperation and support from the masses, urging all Nigerians not to leave governance to politicians alone but should always endeavour to do their bit by acting as checks and balances in order to guide them in the right direction.

    Representative of Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, at the event, Taiwo Ayedun, who is also the Special Adviser to the Governor on Civil Engagement, while welcoming the declaration also noted that the administration headed by Governor Ambode had recorded numerous achievements within its short period in office.

  • Akala Support Group: Present Akala as your joker in 2019

    *Praises Tinubu at 66

     

    A group of loyalists to former governor Adebayo Alao-Akala on Thursday urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state to present the former governor as its governorship candidate in the 2019 election, saying he is the only joker to coast into victory in the much awaited poll.

    The group made the call at a rally held at the hilltop Premier Hotel, Mokola, Ibadan.

    Attended by former commissioners, members of the state House of Assembly and scores of supporters across the state, the group emphasized that the sterling performance of the party at the federal and in Oyo State necessitates the sustenance of the massive achievements of the Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration.

    The Akala Support Group also showered encomiums on the National Leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on the occasion of his 66th birthday.

    The group, in a communique issued at the end of the rally, said Akala should be called upon to contest in order to “satisfy the yearnings of the people in the state, it is imperative to make a clarion call on His Excellency, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala to contest in the governorship election of Oyo state in 2019, so that the succor, humane posture, economic activities, infrastructural development that was once entrenched in governance of the state during his past tenure could be repeated with renewed vigor. The earlier mentioned criteria suit him best. “

    It continued: “The joker to winning the 2019 Oyo governorship by any political platform is to present Alao-Akala because of serious yearnings for him by the generality of people in state.

    “The clarion call by this body should be immediately transmitted in a formal letter to His Excellency, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala.

    “There is need to locate the right person for Oyo governorship election in 2019. The candidate should be someone who can increase the pacesetting bar of Oyo State, someone who will sustain, equally re-order both social and political development of the state.

    “That, for a way forward in Oyo State in 2019 governorship elections, there is a need to separate the chaff from the wheat among the gubernatorial aspirants as it is presently an all -comer affair where political lilliputians are gladiating without individuals who have high pedigree in governance.”

    Those who spoke at the discourse include Oloye Adekunle Adebowale, a former Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) State Secretary Comrade Olu Abiala, one time chairman of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) Comrade Amuda Babatunde, Oloye Agbo Adeyemo, former commissioner, Mrs Kemi Jayeoba-Olorunsogo and Mrs. Falilat Adeyemo.

    Alao-Akala was Deputy Governor of the state from 2003 to 2007 and Governor from 2007 to 2011. He contested and lost in 2011 and 2015.

     

  • Programme of events at 10th  Bola Tinubu Colloquium

    • Theme: “Investing in People”
    • Stage play titled “iOpen Eye”
    • Multimedia presentation on the history of the colloquium (since 2008)
    • Governor Ambode’s welcome address
    • President Buhari’s opening remarks.
    • Presentation on Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (Mrs Abimbola Adesanmi National coordinator National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) and Rosemary John Ignatius (food vendor)
    • A Poem in honour of Tinubu by a school pupil and beneficiary of the NHGSFP, Muhammad Anaslshaq,
    • Presentation on N Power programme and job creation by Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede SSA to the President on Job Creation and Youth Employment,
    • Presentation on N Power-The Technology Story by the Chief Solutions Architect, Softcom Limited Omoseinde Olabayo
    • North East Makeathon presentation by SA to the Vice President on IDPs Brimah Mohammed
    • Presentation on the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, ‘Market Moni’ by Mrs. Constance Lewechukwu. Executive Director, Bank of Industry and Coordinator, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme, •Presentation by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on ‘Tying the Knots,’ Linking the Philosophy to Governance and Commitment.
    • The Bola Tinubu Documentary to be unfolded

  • March is the month to mark notable nigerians and their achievements – Bola tinubu, Speaker Luke, Jay jay okocha

    Years back at the annual Anyiam Osigwe Memorial Lecture Series, then Governor Bola Tinubu was one of the speakers and he gave an impassioned speech on our democracy as we practice it.

    The keynote speaker was a former German Chancellor, and he roundly praised Asiwaju Tinubu’s speech; making copious references to it in the course of his address. Asiwaji Bola Tinubu was outstanding during his tenure as Lagos State Governor (1999 – 2007).

    He worked tirelessly to uplift the state of Lagos from a place with growing urban slums, to one with some form of structure and order. In the midst of several other opportunistic, wasteful and visionless state chief executives (Olusegun Obasanjo then president, named those ones “Owambe Governors”), Tinubu divided Lagos into smaller manageable local council units and worked on the overall development of the state.

    I vividly remember once when my mother who lived in England, came visiting Nigeria for a few days. In the flurry of her trip she discovered she had forgotten her passport at home. This was as we were en-route the international airport for her return – we were on the Mainland Bridge! We decided to turn back at once.  But she thought of the return to Victoria Island to get the passport, and then to head back to the airport in Ikeja.

    ‘Oh dear, I’ll miss my flight today’ she said. As far as she was concerned, the Lagos transition would be impossible; never mind even flying out.

    ‘Oh no you won’t, I assured her, Tinubu has done the magic’. Her eyes opened, to “see” this great magic. Sure enough we turned back home, picked up her passport on the table and got to Ikeja, in fact, well in time for her flight.

    What used to be a nightmare trip of endless hours in crawling traffic; we covered in no time at all, thanks to Tinubu’s sagacious construction.

    Today, we see Governors being celebrated for putting flyovers in the forest, while the heavily trafficked portions of their cities lack interchanges.

    As Tinubu was building the city, so also was he building men and women, young men and women – the people neglected by this nation.

    I believe Tinubu’s background at executive management level of a multinational (Mobil), must have honed his administrative skills, and he was mindful to mentor the next generation of leaders, all across the south west. It would be a very hard task to name them all. It is worth remembering that at the onset, all the southwest Governors were in the AD (now APC). But by 2003 Tinubu was the only Governor left in that party! Today, he is the National Leader of the ruling party that not only has the president on seat, but unseated an incumbent to win the Presidential election.

    Aziwaju Tinubu serves as an inspiration to all Nigerians. He is a leader not a ruler, a lover of people of all tribes and races.

    So it is not really surprising that Asiwaju would put together a national colloquium of his own; this he has sustained for ten solid years.

    This 10th edition comes up in Lagos in 4 (four) days’ time. No less a personality than Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari is billed to chair this edition which has the theme “Investing in People”. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo chaired last year’s colloquium. And so while wishing Asiwaju a wonderful 66th birthday (the yearly colloquium is to mark Asiwaju’s birthday) this column is sure, from antecedents, that the deliberations will be very robust.

    This is to also wish the Bola Tinubu Colloquium a wider audience; to go from being a national one, to an international discourse.

    AUGUSTINE JAY JAY OKOCHA

    The big picture of the attacking midfielder on the German website has the one- liner the Europeans always use for him; Jay Okocha, so good they had to name him twice.

    Jay Jay Okocha was honoured this month by the footballing giant, Germany. Okocha was inducted into the Bundesliga Legends Network this month for his superlative performance during his time as a player in the German League.

    The Nigerian striker, described by them as superlative, played for Eintracht Frankfurt, a top division German Club.

    The induction is for footballers who have left an indelible mark on the Bundesliga and “are now flying the Bundesliga flag across the globe”.

    Okocha had previously played for Borrussia Neumkirchen, a German association club in the lower division.

    The website of the Legends Network goes on to say that “Okocha set Germany’s playing fields alight”, during his time there.

    The Olympic Gold medalist repeated his success story in France and in other parts of Europe and everywhere he played. Then he hit the English Premier League, where he left his indelible mark (again).

    His former manager at Bolton Wanderers, Sam Allardyce granted a press conference during his short spell as England Manager in 2016. When asked who his favorite team captain was, he instantly named the former Super Eagles captain Okocha; the man who Germany is now honoring this month.

    Big Kudos to Okocha!

    SPEAKER LUKE

    I just discovered when going through my Nation newspapers that another “big birthday boy” this month of March is Barrister Onofiok Luke who just checked forty!

    Luke is the national poster boy for the “not too young to run” slogan, as well as a beacon of hope to all youths, who would want to be part of governance in our deeply entrenched system of Gerontocracy.

    The former Speaker of the National Youth Parliament, Luke today is the Speaker of the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, and a ranking honourable member. Very personable and likeable, Speaker Luke is also an astute politician, good family man and community leader.

    During his first entrance into the state legislature, he was instrumental to the passage of the bill to domicile the Child Rights Act.

    He is said to be very kind to all (no I have not benefitted oh!) and is a bridge builder between the old brigade and the teeming youth.

    Forty more years, and many more are wished the Speaker of our Times, Barrister Luke.