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  • Buhari laying foundation for better future, says Tinubu

    ALL Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has described the President Muhammadu Buhari administration as foundation for re-engineering and reinvigorating the economy for a better future.

    Making the remark in Lagos yesterday during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration, Tinubu noted that a strong foundation mattered in nation building.

    According to him, building such foundation required patience, perseverance and commitment as it often presented difficulties for the people.

    He said: “Economic development and the future of the youth are crucial in the growth of any nation and we are taking care of that.

    “You have to re-grow the economy, re-engineer it from bottom-up, during that process, it is always very difficult for ordinary people.

    “They bear the brunt of the economic difficulties because they are in the lower cadre of the society.

    “You can only use and depend on what you have and if you manage to use resources carefully, yes, you end up enjoying a multiple development in the country and that is why I always emphasise that foundation matters.

    “Foundation is crucially important. I have listened to the people. I have been in contact with them at the grassroots.

    “Even this house is not spared too, from demands from the poor and the needy, but without re-growing the economy, re-tooling, re-engineering the economy, we will not have anything.

    “We ate the seed of growth for breakfast. Therefore, there is nothing for lunch or dinner. Nothing to harvest… that is what we talk about looters.

    “But it will not take a magical touch to bring it to reality. It takes patience and perseverance. Three years is not enough time to for retouching, redevelopment and re-engineering the country.

    “There is a lot of hope, there is a lot of expectation, but when the treasury was empty, when the salaries were outstanding, when the quality of life is low, what will you do?

    “We have oil, they didn’t save money and we have not diversified the economy. We have eaten our dinner for breakfast, nothing in the kitchen.

    “There is no magic about it. It takes dedication, commitment and perseverance.

    “Yes, we might not be communicating effectively with the people but we are working to make things better.”

    Tinubu noted that the country needs a focused and determined leader like Buhari to gradually re-engineer the economy for the benefit of all.

    The former Lagos State governor said: “Nigerians adopted democracy and we are going to live through this democratic government.

    “We need a President Buhari to retool and re-engineer, that is what he is doing in the economy and he is doing it gradually, otherwise we don’t want it to fall apart again.

    “Continuity, perseverance, and endurance, those are what we need. Our determination is progress for the country and for the people. We can’t go back.

    “I am very proud of what I have done in Lagos to be where it is. We were meticulous, dedicated and focused and we lifted the spirits of our people and that is why it is important for Nigerians to be focused now.”

    Tinubu urged Nigerians to make sacrifices, endure, tolerate and forgive one another in the spirit of the Eid-el-Kabir festival.

    “When you pray for forgiveness, you must be able to give forgiveness if you think you deserve forgiveness. Can you ask God to give you what you cannot give to another fellow human being? That is simple,” Tinubu said.

  • Tinubu ‘unfair to Wike’

    The Rivers State Government said yesterday that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is unfair to Governor Nyesom Wike with the comment credited to him that Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal left the APC and joined the PDP because of the promise of presidential ticket which Wike made to him.

    A statement yesterday by Commissioner for Information and Communications Emma Okah, said “Governor Wike has not discussed the political ambition of Governor Tambuwal with Senator Tinubu and so Senator Tinubu cannot rely on mere rumour to speak unfairly about the governor in the way he did”

    Okah said Tambuwal is a mature adult with the capacity to take critical political decisions for himself without Wike’s prompting.

     

  • Tinubu: Saraki, Tambuwal left APC for fear of Buhari

    All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday spoke on the defection of some chieftains from the ruling party to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    He said the defectors, including Senate President Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal, left the APC because they wanted automatic tickets and “the sharing of the national wealth”, which the party could not guarantee.

    Tinubu said those anticipating the decline of the APC on account of the defections will soon be disappointed by their inaccurate predictions, adding that the days and months ahead will reveal that the forecasts were premised on bitterness and not on objective analyses.

    In his view, the debate on the current historic national transition should not be reduced to narrow and cunning electoral calculations based on which party maintains the majority in the National Assembly. Nigerians are more concerned about the quality of governance, Tinubu said.

    He added: “We are locked in battle to define the future of this nation and the quality of its governance. This battle pits one party, the APC, with all its imperfections, that seeks national reforms against another party, the PDP, which symbolises the perfection of the most selfish designs of the most selfish politicians among us.”

    The former Lagos State governor said the defectors, who have presidential ambition, are afraid to face President Muhammadu Buhari at primary.

    Tinubu reflected on the gale of defections in a statement in Lagos titled: “They go away because we go the right way”.

    He said chieftains who had called it quits with the APC embraced the PDP because of the promise of automatic tickets, offices and privileges, adding that they were not interested in political and governance reforms that are critical to the liberation of Nigeria from the tenement of global poor.

    Firing salvos at Tambuwal, Tinubu said his ambition was motivated by a personal ambition predicated on the defeat of the progressive reform and not its advancement.

    He stressed: “Governor Tambuwal’s exit can be distilled to one cause. He covets the presidency. However, he had not the stomach to challenge President Buhari in a primary. Tambuwal felt further insulted that he would be compelled to face a direct primary just to retain the governorship nomination.

    “But for the promise made by PDP hardliners like Rivers State Governor Wike that he would have the PDP presidential nomination, Tambuwal would not have left. His exit had nothing to do with governance of the nation. It was about forging a personal ambition predicated on the defeat of progressive reform, not the advancement of it.”

    Tinubu said it was strange that Saraki could attribute his exit to lack of governance in a government where he wields ample power and influence as the number three citizen.

    Chiding him for lack of proper focus, he said the Senate President had concentrated on activities that fuelled his selfish designs, instead of progressive enactments that could catapult the country to progress.

    Tinubu added: “He harbours dreams of the presidency, but Tambuwal’s ambition will dwarf Saraki’s when the two collide. If Saraki had remained in the APC, he would be unable to reclaim his Senate seat, let alone the Senate Presidency. He thus bolted because he lusts for the presidency, but was promised by the PDP, at least, a return to his position in the Senate.

    “For Saraki to talk about lack of governance is for him to deny who he is and the position he holds. The man stands as Nigeria’s number three citizen. Clothed is he in ample power and influence. If he saw areas where government and the nation needed help, he could have easily applied his energies to these areas. He could have drafted legislation and easily got passed.

    Why announcing his defection, Saraki said it was “inescapably imposed on me by certain elements and forces within the APC who have ensured that the minimum conditions for peace, cooperation, inclusion and a general sense of belonging did not exist.

    He added: “All governance principles which were required for a healthy functioning of the party and the government were deliberately violated or undermined.”

    Speakinmg to his supporters in Ilorin, he lamented that “200 juicy appointments” were made without anyone being given to him and House of Represntatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara.

    Tambuwal also said he was defecting because the APC-led government neglected its promise to Nigerians including “the restructuring of the country as promised and as contained in the APC manifesto”

    He added that he could not “boldly point to any meaningful federal projects initiated in the state under the APC government, adding that “Sokoto State is also not being meaningfully carried along in political appointments and in other matters of national importance.

    “However, no progressive enactment bears his name, for he cared not for progress. He has been more focused on changing the rules of the Senate to favour himself and changing the order of elections so as to coincide with his selfish designs.”

    Noting that the Buhari administration is on course, Tinubu said it is nurturing political and governance reforms that would reposition the polity.

    He said: “We steadily close the door on the old practices that have caused a rich nation to reside in the tenement of the global poor. The corruption of the past is ending; for it must end, if we are to fulfill our collective purpose. With this correction, less public money will be diverted to private benefit. More will be afforded to the causes of the people. The economy is being transformed so that the average person will have a better chance of finding a better life.”

    Tinubu also said Nigeria is on the path of a steady union where exclusive decision making by a handful of uninformed men and rich persons has become a thing of the past.

    He lamented that while some politicians champion the cause of reforms, others are scheming against collective improvement.

    Tinubu stressed: “They seek to halt progress toward a fairer nation. They seek to hold the old ways. The difference between the two parties and why some people returned to their PDP conclave must be seen in this light.”

    To the former governor, Nigerians have a stark choice to make in 2019. They will exercise the wisdom to make a good choice, he said.

    He added: “If they want to relive the certain failure and inequality of the system the PDP had erected against their very interests, the people will walk the way of the defectors. If the people want to give themselves a better chance at an excellent nation, they will adhere to the path elected in 2015 when they voted for reform and the APC.

    “I believe in the collective wisdom of the people. They will choose the right way for they are Nigerians, which means they shall do what is right and just.”

  • APC will be better off with exit of Saraki, Tambuwal, others — Tinubu

    All Progressives Congress National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Sunday said that defectors who left the party wanted automatic tickets and sharing of the national wealth which the governing APC could not guarantee.
    Tinubu said this in a statement he entitled ‘They Go Away Because We Go the Right Way’, released by his Media Officer, Mr Tunde Rahman, in Lagos.
     He said that Senate President Bukola Saraki and Sokoto State Governor, Aminu  Tambuwal among others left the APC because the party could not offer them what they wanted.
    The defectors, he said, “left the party to return to a motley agglomeration that would promise them what true democracy could not: automatic tickets, sharing of the national wealth and other offices and privileges.
    ”The APC refused to make such bargains as they are part of the ancient regime; these bargains are not of our democratic new way.
    ”There is nothing wrong with ambition. Without a degree of ambition, we would never strive to improve and develop ourselves. But ambition, restrained by nothing but itself, is a dangerous commodity.
    ”Unwedded to social conscience, it leads to ruthlessness; it is the father of the deception that leaders are meant to lord over instead of to serve the populace, ” he said.
    Tinubu said the party would be better off with the exit of the defectors.
    ”We can now focus more wholly on democratic governance inside and outside the party. Inside the party, we have adopted direct primaries to discourage corruption of the democratic process.
    ”Regarding public policy, we can now better articulate our progressive stance without having naysayers among complaining that we are going too far or that the good we seek for the people ought not to be done.
    ”We can more decisively push for the jobs program, expansion of social security for the poor, affordable housing programs and a viable mortgage system, national infrastructural program that will provide adequate power and potable water, basic health care for all, and educational reform.
    ”Each of these is important in itself. In combination, these objectives shall reshape the very landscape of our political economy.
    ”They shall bring fairness and prosperity where none has been. They will give the average person a government that serves them and the land that they deserve.”
    Tinubu said he believed Nigerians would make the right decisions at the 2019  general elections.
    ”Come the general election, the people will face a stark choice. If they want to relive the certain failure and inequality of the system the PDP had erected against their very interests, the people will walk the way of the defectors.
    ” If the people want to give themselves a better chance at an excellent nation they will adhere to the path elected in 2015 when they voted for reform and the APC.
    “I believe in the collective wisdom of the people. They will choose the right way for they are Nigerians which means they shall do what is right and just,” he said. (NAN)

  • Tinubu: Annan was global icon

    The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu,  has described the demise of the former Secretary-General of United Nations and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Mr. Kofi Annan, as “a loss to Africa and the entire world because of all that he represented.”

    In a statement personally signed by his yesterday, he said, “Annan distinguished himself as an international statesman, global icon, finest diplomat and tireless champion of human rights for all. His diplomatic achievements, both before or after becoming the UN Secretary-General, are legion.”

    He added, “Specifically, he will be remembered for his important contributions to the fight against HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, and his commitment to defending vulnerable populations the world over, demonstrated by his key role in the development of the UN’s epoch-making Responsibility to Protect doctrine.

    “His time at the UN was also remarkable for his role in ensuring stability of democratic governments in Africa and intervention in conflict resolution around the world aimed at achieving world peace.

    “Kofi Annan spearheaded several initiatives on Africa, including his chairmanship of the Africa Progress Panel and the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He provided leadership in developing the Millennium Development Goals, which made poverty eradication an achievable global imperative.

    “He lived true to his reputation and recognition as Nobel Peace Prize Laureate because he was an advocate of world peace and development throughout.

    “He was Africa’s gift to the world, a wonderful servant to the international community. He was also a loving husband and a doting father. He will be sorely missed, not only by his close family and friends, but by all Africans at home and in the Diaspora.

    “On this day of his passing, I pay tribute to Kofi Annan, a truly modern statesman and an exemplar for all Africans who adhere to the principles of democracy, rule of law and justice for all.

    “May his soul rest in perfect peace.”

     

  • 2019: Lagos APC to elect candidates through direct primaries

    ***as Ambode says it will deepen democracy

    ***Tinubu debunks division in state APC

     

    The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday resolved to elect the party’s candidates for next year’s general elections through direct primaries which will involve all members of the party.

    The party said it would immediately commence the process of registering new members, while the old members who have registered before now as well as the new members would all be issued membership cards.

    Addressing members of the party at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the party’s secretariat on Acme Road, Ogba, APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, said it was gratifying to report that the party had resolved to register additional members, adding that membership register would be opened to facilitate the process, which eventually would be used for direct primaries.

    He said: “We appeal to all our members to update the membership registration and embrace the direct primary that has just been introduced and adopted by our party. We are committed to our party; we are committed to the values of the party; we see direct primary as President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption and internal democracy revolution.

    “We are going to embrace that in which the party is going back to the owners of the party and that is you the people. It is not we the few; it is we the people. We have embraced democracy and you have your decisions to be made but you have to be members of our party in the first place,” Tinubu said.

    Tinubu also dismissed the insinuation that the party is divided in the State, saying there is nothing of such, and that the party is intact.

    “We reiterate the fact that APC in Lagos State is intact. There is no division. I’ve heard some people conspiring to present a situation of division in the party in Lagos but let me assure you that it is just the coming together of adversaries which will have no effect on the party,” Tinubu said.

    Besides, he said the party at the State level also passed a resolution commending the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo for taking decisive actions to save the party and the nation from any embarrassment.

    Tinubu said, “We commend his efforts; we stand with him; and we stand with all members of our party,” just as the party commended all the steps taken so far by APC National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

    The party equally urged members to get their Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) before the expiration of registration deadline by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In his remarks, the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode commended Tinubu for kick-starting the revolution for direct primaries, saying the process would go a long way to deepen democracy in the country.

    “There is no better time to appreciate our National Leader (Tinubu) than now. What we have just witnessed is the beginning of a revolution about the deepening of democracy in Nigeria. People might not understand what is going on but we are giving power to the people and it is starting from APC.

    “So, we want to collectively say a big thank you to Asiwaju for championing this silent revolution and it is very simple; what we are saying is that if we know that Lagos State is truly controlled by APC, we would champion a revolution that has never been witnessed before in this country and that means each member of our great party will now determine who becomes the President of this country and by so doing, we create the championship that Lagos State has the votes and Lagos State has the numbers to make things happen in this country,” the Governor said

    He said the party in the State, with the development, was laying a solid foundation, and that the onus was now on others to build on it and allow Nigeria arrive at its destined destination.

    According to the Governor, “So, for us to say that all the people should go and get their membership card, is going to now determine how many of us are really APC members. We want to determine what really controls political positions in this country and whoever has gone to defect, we are saying that there are no defectors in Lagos State and defection is a major loss to whoever has defected.

    “By the time we count ourselves; by the time we count all the members of APC in Lagos State, other parties will understand where APC is going and that is the assignment for all of us. Each member will get a minimum of 100 new members and by the time we do our count, we should be so sure that that is what should happen in other States and we would deliver the next general presidential election to Muhammadu Buhari by the grace of God,” Governor Ambode said.

    The meeting was well attended by chieftains and members of the party across the State.

  • Tinubu attacks Obasanjo on letters

    All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Tinubu  alleged yesterday attacked former President Olusegun Obasanjo for campaigning against President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election.

    He said Obasanjo was part of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that ran Nigeria for 16 years without result.

    Tinubu spoke yesterday in Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State where Senator Godswill Akpabio formally joined the APC.

    He said: “APC believes in investing in the people. We are giving priority to education, infrastructural development, economic renaissance of today and tomorrow. Their old papa is writing letters, saying Buhari must not run again, because he does not know that Nigeria is now digital. No more letter-writing. People now use e-mail, WhatsApp and text messages, but Obasanjo is still writing letters that Nigeria is going bad, but it is not true. If he is a good father, he ought to have laid a good foundation like Akpabio did in Akwa Ibom State.

    He also spoke of plots by some members of the National Assembly to impeach  Buhari.

    But the former Lagos State governor, he warned the plotters to drop their sinister move because it is not “possible for a lizard to race with an antelope’’.

    Tinubu described events in the country now as a war between progressives and the conservatives.

    “We believe in government of the people, for the people and by the people but the conservatives believe in government of sharing.

    “We say Nigerian money belongs to Nigerians. We say Nigerians must be given development. We believe in investing in the people.

    “But they believe in sharing and looting the money.

    “Today we are aspiring in our vision, but the PDP has no vision. They believe in sharing and looting the treasury.’’

    Nigerians, he said, gave PDP 16 years to rule but the party failed.

    “Today, Buhari says we must change; we must account for Nigeria’s money but they are resisting.’’

    Tinubu is happy that Akwa Ibom has embraced the change.

    With the present posture of the state, it “shall sweep the evil out with the broom”, he said.

    Quoting the Bible, Tinubu, a Muslim, said: “The evil in the city shall be swept away with brooms.’’

    He praised Akpabio’s wife Ekaete for her resilience and steadfastness in her support for her husband.

    Tinubu said: “Oshiomhole is second to none. He is the most brilliant and the most visionary politician I have known. He is a committed individual and we work together.

    “Akwa Ibom State experienced infrastructural development when Akpabio was governor, which is due to vision, not religion. This is broom revolution. Broom is to sweep evil. So, there will be no evil around you. APC is the party that will give you progress.

    “Today, we are sharing our vision. The other party, the Poverty Development Party (PDP), has no vision. For 16 years, we gave them the opportunity to change Nigeria, but they failed. They believe it’s sharing money and looting of the treasury. Buhari came with progressive ideology, for all our money to be accounted for, through TSA, it is a war between the progressives and the conservatives. It is a war of ideology.

    “Those people (PDP members) believe in sharing. We believe in the government of the people, for the people and by the plenty. They (PDP members) want to pocket Nigeria’s treasury. We are saying no. The money and development belong to the people. They were the leaders of yesterday. We are the leaders of today, tomorrow, day after and many years to come.

  • Photos: RCCG ordains Senator Tinubu as Assistant Pastor

    Senator Oluremi Tinubu was on Tuesday, ordained Assistant Pastor at the 66th Annual Convention of the Redeemed Christian Church of God.

  • Tinubu to build faculty complex at LASU

    Former Lagos State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, is to build a complex to house the Faculty of Arts at the Lagos State University (LASU)) in Ojo.

    The Vice Chancellor, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun, broke the news to reporters yesterday in Lagos.

    Fagbohun said the donation, the value of which was not given, would mark the maiden edition of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Spirit of Africa Awards, instituted by the institution to honour the statesman.

    The vice chancellor said the awards had been slated for September 27, and that the event was designed to facilitate Africa’s renaissance.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari is expected at the event.

    Fagbohun said: “The former Visitor to our university, His Excellency, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has fully bought into this vision of our institution by accepting this event to be held annually in his honour.

    “Asiwaju Tinubu has long been a champion of a progressive cause in Nigeria and he is a committed Pan-Africanist.

    “His advocacy for anti-poverty initiatives in ending all forms of ethnic and religious biases in Nigeria is well known,” the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quotes the vice-chancellor as saying.

    “It is our fervent belief that the institutionalisation of the Spirit of Africa Awards will contribute to the spread of knowledge and the pursuit of excellence on the African continent.”

    Fagbohun said the theme of the event is: Africa: A New Dawn or a Newer Colonialism? and that the celebration will include an award to three unsung heroes of corporate governance in Africa.

    He said: “We will be hosting eminent personalities across the African continent, including heads of government, leaders in private and public sectors and policy makers from all walks of life.”

    According to him, a former United States  envoy, Mr Walter Carrington, has been chosen to lead a team of respected individuals to select people to be honoured at the event.

  • ‘Tinubu, APC Southwest leaders behind Fayemi’s victory’

    A lawyer, Adeniyi Ojogbede, has attributed the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just-concluded Ekiti State governorship election to the doggedness of the party’s stalwart, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and other Southwest governors in Nigeria’s mainstream politics.

    The House of Representatives aspirant for Akoko Southwest/Southeast Federal Constituency in Ondo State, Adeniyi Ojogbede, stated this while declaring his intention at his home town, Epinmi, in Akoko Southeast Local Government Area.

    He blamed the poor representation of the area on lack of legislative knowledge.

    Ojogbede, who pledged his loyalty to the party, said he would bring dividends of democracy to the two local government areas in the constituency through proactive legislation.

    The lawyer hailed Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu for rehabilitating the dreadful Oke Maria, on Oka Road, up to Epinmi and Isua, which was a death trap.

    He expressed appreciation for the current renovation of public primary schools across the state.

    Ojogbede urged his people to be law-abiding and perform their civic duties to the state government to enjoy dividends of democracy.

    An APC leader in the area, Dr Bola Arohunmolase, described Ojogbede as good for the job, considering his exposure and profession.

    He urged party members to rally round him to enable him win the National Assembly election.

    Arohunmolase said Ekiti election was a testimony to 2019 acceptance of President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term and continuity for APC administration.