In the last five years, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who represents Lagos Central Senatorial District at the Senate, has kept faith with the resolve to interface regularly with her constituents on deliberations at the upper legislative chamber. Such meetings also present an opportunity for her to empower the people. Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI, who witnessed the latest of such efforts, reports.
It was a carnival of sorts for chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), traditional rulers, community leaders, youths, market men and women, as well as former Executive Secretaries of local councils from Lagos Central Senatorial District, their spouses and all lovers of democracy.
As early as 7am on that fateful Friday, Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos, where the event took place, was already a beehive of activities; as preparations for the 18th Town Hall Meeting hosted by the senator representing Lagos Central District in the Red Chamber, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, got underway. The event was billed to start by 9am, but by 8am the venue was almost filled to the brim. The fact that the amiable senator does not believe in African time must have encouraged everyone to arrive ahead of time. She was on hand to welcome all participants to the venue.
The town hall meeting was designed to bring government closer to the people, by intimating them about deliberations at the Senate, the upper legislative chamber, which is also known as the Red Chamber. Apart from interacting with her constituents, another reason for the meetings are to give back to the people, by delivering democracy dividends to as many of them as possible.
The 18th edition hosted by Senator Tinubu – 4th in the 8th Senate – was no exception. During the event, which took place under the theme, ‘Creating Purposeful Partnerships’, she handed over 250 General Certificate of Education (GCE) forms worth over N3 million to various leaders in the senatorial district, for onward distribution to indigent students who need to make up their entry requirements into tertiary institutions.
In her address, the senator representing Lagos Central District implored the party chieftains who constituted channels for distributing the forms to ensure that they hand them over to worthy beneficiaries in their various communities and not members of their families.
She said: “I need people to get my work done; I cannot identify those in need of it at the grassroots level — that is why I am partnering with these people. The partnership for me is purposeful, not only for the reason of empowerment, but to have the multiplier effect of creating more jobs, making the empowered to be employers of labour with the aim of making unemployment a thing of the past.”
The distribution of the forms was done as follows: A form was handed over to each of the local government chairman within the district (13 in all); two each to the leaders of the 92 wards (184); one each to leaders of the 35 barracks in the district; and one each to leaders in the 18 districts.
The Lagos State Commissioner for Housing, Chief Gbolahan Lawal, promised to pay for additional 25 forms, to be handed over to traditional rulers in the district, who will in turn give them to indigent students in need of it.
Besides the current empowerment effort, Senator Tinubu said she remains committed to the various ongoing developmental programmes initiated earlier, such as the Post Secondary Scholarship Scheme (PSSS), the Petty Traders Empowerment Scheme (PETECS), the Widows Economic Empowerment Scheme (WEES), the Elderly Citizens’ Assistance Scheme (ECAS) and the Muniru Muse U-12/U-15 Boys and Girls Soccer Competition.
The above programmes are being sustained to provide succour to the needy and nurture the talents of the beneficiaries in the district.
The Senator representing Lagos Central said other empowerment programmes that are on course include a recent collaboration with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), where 50 nominated constituents from the 13 local councils acquired skills. The three-month intensive training programme covered five different trades. These are: catering and small chops; photography and video; telephone set repair; barbing and hairdressing; and smoked fish business.
The trainees have graduated and received their testimonials, as well as take-off grants and kits to start their businesses.
Tinubu said there has been a slight modification in her youth empowerment initiatives. She said: “The Good Boys and Girls Empowerment Scheme (GBGES) has been merged with Youth Empowerment and Skill Acquisition Scheme (YESAS), hence, five tricycles were given to some of our youth, i.e. our Good Boys and Good Girls in the district to earn a living.
“Thirteen units of 6.5 KVA generating sets were distributed to our hardworking local government party chairmen. Ten block-making machines were also distributed to some members from the constituency, through their cooperative societies.”
During the 17th Town Hall Meeting, held in March 2016, Senator Tinubu empowered some constituents, through the Petty Traders Empowerment Scheme (PETECS) and the YESAS initiatives. She said: “For the YESAS, leading 28 other unemployed graduate tricycles beneficiaries was Mr. Okachi Henry Chekwube, who proved the age-long saying that ‘punctuality is the soul of business’, being the first beneficiary to arrive at the venue; hence he got the more spacious and bigger tricycle, while 50 others got grinding machines under the PETECS initiative.
“Sending a farmer to the farm with cutlass and hoe, but without the seedlings may prove a helpless task; thus our resolve to allow a take-off grant of N20, 000.00 (20 thousand naira) to each of the beneficiaries to enable them buy fuel, in the case of tricycle beneficiaries and for other implements for the new ventures, in the case of PETECS beneficiaries.”
Senator Tinubu also tried to give a highlight of the activities of the six committees she belongs to at the Senate. The committees are: Women Affairs (Chairman); Environment (Vice Chairman); Airforce (Member); Employment, Labour and Productivity (Member); Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND (Member); and Constitution Amendment (Member).
For instance, the Committee on Women Affairs under her leadership helped to collate data nationwide on women involvement in politics from 1999 to 2015. The nationwide exercise was organised by the National Centre for Women Development, Abuja.
As Chairman of the Committee on Women Affairs, she was in the delegation that represented Nigeria at the 60th session of the Commission on the Status of Women that took place at the United Nations headquarters, New York, United States of America in March. The main theme of the session was women’s empowerment and its link to sustainable development, while the review theme was the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls.
She said: “On May 27, 2016, in commemoration of the International Children’s Day 2016 with the theme, ‘Stop Violence Against Children’, I moved a motion that was overwhelmingly supported by my colleagues and all the nine prayers were approved. This included mandating the Committee to further look into the implementation and enforcement of the Child’s Rights Act in states that are yet to do so and make recommendations to the Senate.”
Quoting the quintessential German theoretical physicist, who once said “only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile”, Senator Tinubu enjoined everyone to contribute their own quota towards uplifting the people. She added that they should continue to have confidence and faith in the nation and in the present government, “as we are all in the planting season and sooner, there shall be a bountiful harvest”.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Leader of the APC, Lagos Central Senatorial District, Prince Tajudeen Olusi, described Senator Tinubu as diligent, devoted and hardworking and enjoined the womenfolk and the younger generation to emulate her.
Olusi expressed satisfaction that the party leaders took the right decision when they appealed to the National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to allow her to represent the constituency once again during the last general elections.
Speaker after speaker at the town hall meeting poured encomiums on Senator Tinubu, saying she is an exemplary senator, who has given a new meaning to representation, by persistently showering love on her constituents.
Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Wasiu Eshinlokun Sanni, said Lagos Central is blessed with a senator that has done what is expected of her. He added: “We thank her for not taking us for granted. If she had not done what she is doing, there is no way we would have known that it is possible to do such, because no one has ever done this before.
The event was graced by leaders of the APC at different levels, party chieftains and other stakeholders within the constituency. Among dignitaries that graced the occasion are: former Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, Hon. Tunde Balogun, Sen. Muniru Muse, Hon. Ayodeji Joseph, Hon. Mutiu Aare, Hon. Gbolahan Yishau, Hon. Muyiwa Jimoh, Hon. Abiodun Elegusi, Hon. Yomi Daramola and Hon. Musa Nasir.
Others are some of the newly-appointed Sole Administrators of local councils in Lagos: Lukman Babatunde Alao (Apapa); Goke Olawale (Ikoyi/Obalende); and Olumide Olayeni (Apapa/Iganmu). The Onido of Iddo, Oba Lateef Aderibigbe Ajose represented the traditional ruler of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Babatunde Akiolu 1. He was accompanied by a retinue of first class chiefs from the district, including: Chief Akin Ojora and Otunba Tayo Oyemade.
A number of senior citizens, including Ahaja Latifat Gbajabiamila and Alhaja Abba Folawiyo, were also present.
