The lawmaker representing Imo West Senatorial District (Orlu Zone) Senator Osita Izunaso, has relived how he and the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, worked for each other’s re-election.
Senator Izunaso disclosed this when the Eminent Senators Club of Nigeria held a banquet in his honour.
The banquet, held at the Vitano Hotel, Lekki, Lagos, was themed: ‘Nigeria Business Opportunities and the Capital Market: Reality of Factors Militating Against the Ideal Intentions.’
It was an occasion to celebrate Izunaso, who is also the chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market and Institutions.
The event, chaired by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banks, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru (APC, Lagos East), drew high-calibre personalities, including former Nigerian High Commissioner to Ghana, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro; former Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor, Chief Joe Igbokwe; the Director-General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Emomotimi Agama; Executive Director of Fidelity Bank and President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr Ken Opara; and the Managing Director and CEO of Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange (LCFE) Akinsola Akeredolu-Ale, among others.
Speaking, Izunaso said the Eminent Senators Club of Nigeria ‘is a child of necessity.’
His words: “When I was campaigning to go back to the Senate, my two friends, Prince Nixon Okwara and Barrister C.Y. Obi Mgbecheta, invited me to speak to our people in Lagos and I spoke to them. It was that night that we agreed to form the Senators Club. That was how we started.
“After the presidential election, I invited the Senators Club alongside other people to campaign for Gov Sanwo-Olu. At that particular event, Senator Obanikoro was there at MUSON Centre and I had to introduce the chairman of the Senators Club to Gov Sanwo-Olu and I said ‘They are going to support your second term.’ And that was what happened. Gov Sanwo-Olu is owing the Senators’ Club.”
He stressed, however, that the club is not solely focused on his senatorial district.
“Some people from Anambra are members, like the secretary of the club. What we are saying is that we want to develop our place and at the same time, have peaceful co-existence with the people of Lagos where they reside. Our people have invested so much in Lagos, and Lagos people should appreciate it so we can live together as brothers and sisters. Some of these people here have not been home in a long while. The only home they have is Lagos. Therefore, Lagos should be comfortable for them,” Izunaso submitted.
Speaking directly to the members of the club, he said: “Your job is to stay in Lagos, make your money, and live peacefully with the people of Lagos State. And also Lagos will remember you because you have a stake in Lagos and we are working towards that. I also want to inform you that when I ran for my Senate election, Gov Sanwo-Olu also supported me. That support he gave to me was what made me come to Lagos and say to our people let us work for a man who believes in our people.”
Calling on Igbo to promote the unity of Lagos and Nigeria,
Izunaso said: “What we want them to do is to live in peace with the people of Lagos and live in peace with their own people. Anywhere anyone finds himself in Nigeria, that place should be your home, whether you find yourself in Sokoto or Kano or in Onitsha or Awka, that should be your home. Like our new national anthem, we are saying that “Though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand.” That is the import of the whole thing we are saying today. That this country is ours.”
He added: “Today, an Igbo senator is being honoured, a Yoruba senator is the chairman of the occasion. The lesson is that we are all one nation and we must all work together as brothers and sisters so that we can forge a better place for our country.”
Emphasising the need for citizens to invest in the capital market, Izunaso said: “We have been told that Dangote is who he is today because of the capital market. BUA’s chairman is who he is today because of the capital market. Elumelu is who he is today because of the capital market. New owners of banks will emerge in the next couple of months. So what are you waiting for?”
He averred that meetings should be arranged in future to bring enlightenment about the capital market to more business people.
The SEC DG in his presentation advised Nigerians to invest in the capital market assuring them that it is a place to grow business and educating the audience about the opportunities inherent there.
“Working with Senator Izunaso, we are going to bring development to the capital market; the regulatory framework of the capital market is being revised to meet the test of time. The future is in the capital market, ” he further assured.
The club’s president, Chief Monday N.C. Akunna, in his address, explained why the event was convened in honour of Senator Izunaso.
He recounted: “The Eminent Senators Club was established on October 17, 2022, at the peak of the national election campaign. It was on this day that Senator Osita Izunaso visited my residence in Greenfield Estate to seek support in various capacities. I invited many of my friends to come and welcome him.
Today, we have a club which was convened by his visit which now looks at the larger picture of integrating high calibre and successful men from all sectors of the Nigerian economy and professions to forge a social club with a flair for political awareness.”
Akunna, who reiterated that Eminent Senators Club of Nigeria “is not a political party” but “a social club with deep awareness and consciousness about the political space,” said: “Our visions are not just to make a great social outings, but also to connect with the political corridors of power in order to promote and protect our businesses, careers, and to seek for participation as key plates in the harnessing, processing and distribution of both the natural resources and the commonwealth.”
Chief Afam Chukwuma, the secretary and one of the founders of the club, outlined the essence of the event.
He said: “The theme of the gathering is about the capital markets. As members of Eminent Senators Club, most of us are business people and this is a sociopolitical club, not the usual social club, we have interest and we are aware and we participate in politics not necessarily by contesting election, but we try to influence policies, we try to see how we can through political involvement better our businesses to continue to do our work as individual and also as community where we do a lot of charities.”
Obanikoro in his speech also emphasised the importance of unity among Nigerians.
He said: “This is a very rare occasion and you will allow me to just reflect on what transpired during the last election. I have seen faces here that we sat and spoke extensively before the election and it went the way it did. First thing I am going to say: Our brothers and sisters from the South East, who are originally from the South East, you are Lagosian first now. And I want you to see yourselves first as a Lagos person. Those who are resident in the South East, they are Igbo of South East origin. Those of you in Lagos, you are Igbo of Lagos origin. And Let us begin to define ourselves in that manner so that Lagos interest becomes your interest. That should be your primary focus. After all, we are all immigrants. We all came from somewhere. It is just that the point at which we all came here is different. Whether my forebears came here 500 years ago, and yours came here five years ago, as long as you have adopted this state, let us ensure that we promote that common interest at all costs. We have come a long way and we shouldn’t allow politics to destroy what is possible in Lagos. We can make Lagos a shining example of what Nigeria should be.”
Reinforcing the call for unity, Joe Igbokwe, told the attendees: “Love where you are. Love Nigeria. You may not know, Nigeria is still the greatest country in Africa. You don’t know what you have until you lose it. With a population of 200 million plus population, that is a big market. Everybody should be scrambling for business because if you produce, you will see buyers.”
He added: “I want to encourage you to be at peace with anybody wherever you are. Where you work, where you live, be part of the progress of that place.”
The occasion which started at 5 pm and lasted into midnight also featured the induction of new members into the Eminent Senators Club of Nigeria, the delivery of goodwill messages and comedy and musical interlude.
Chief Afam Chukwuma, the club’s scribe, provided insights into the big picture of the future of the club: “We expect this club to go far and further. We have started raising the bar. We have two serving senators and other top people here today. Next year, our AGM will be outside the shores of Nigeria. We have members in the diaspora, in America and Europe and other places.”
