The Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday said former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a hero who should be praised for standing by the Yoruba nation at its critical moment.
The former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President said protesters against fuel price hike were molested by the Olusegun Mimiko administration in Ondo State.
Akeredolu addressed reporters in Akure, the state capital, during an interactive session with members of the state chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).
In a statement by his spokesman, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, the ACN candidate said: “Asiwaju Tinubu is a hero of our modern time. He should be crowned for providing leadership for the Yoruba at this critical point in history.
“Governor Olusegun Mimiko said I would be an ajele (stooge) for Tinubu in Ondo State, but the same Mimiko sought assistance from Tinubu when his (Mimiko’s) mandate was stolen. Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Segun Osoba, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) are heroes who fought alongside other National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leaders to enthrone democracy in Nigeria.”
The Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) of the Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday berated the Olusegun Mimiko-led Labour Party (LP) for allegedly saying he designed the urban renewal of Lagos being implemented by Governor Babatunde Fashola when he was Minister of Housing and Urban Development.
LP also allegedly claimed that the ACN governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) was a worker in the ministry.
In a statement by its Director of Media, Publicity and Strategy, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, ACO said: “This is another lie from the pit of hell by a government that has nothing to showcase to the people of Ondo State, despite the whopping N550 billion accrued to the state in the last three and a half years, except the building of markets, stalls, boreholes, town halls and a fountain.
“It is a known fact that when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was elected in 1999 as Lagos State Governor, he gathered eminent professionals to brainstorm on how to develop Lagos. The result of that team is a 25-year master plan to transform Lagos.
“It was this that led to the formation of Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA); the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA); the Lagos State Signage and Advertisement Agency (LASAA); and the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT), which has moved over 80 million people across the state in the last four years. In fact, it has become a reference point for transport solution in other West African countries.
“…The ongoing eight-lane dual carriage, the first in sub-Sahara Africa; the expansion of the Lekki-Epe and the massive urban renewal that has transformed Lagos from being a glorified slum, are parts of the sweeping reform.”
The organisation urged Ondo State residents to ask Mimiko and his co-travellers where the governor was when the transformation was going on in Lagos and what he did when he was a commissioner in Ondo State.
It asked: “Was he not a commissioner under the late Governor Adebayo Adefarati, who he betrayed? How then can he develop a master plan for the sitting governor of another state? Besides, when he became a minister, Lagos was already on the path of beautification. It is also a notorious fact that he did not establish a single housing unit.
“Why did he not replicate the same plan in Ondo State, with the reckless abandonment of cities, such as Ondo, Owo, Ikare and Ore in the past three and a half years? It is also not a surprise to see that the LP administration has just woken up from its slumber to start distributing cheques to workers at the twilight of their tenure? One wonders whether giving loans to workers is a favour to them when they would have to repay it!
“This is just a cheap way to hoodwink the workers into getting their support in the coming election. We want to categorically state that the Mimiko administration lacks the capacity, competence and creativity to transform Ondo State. As such, it could not be trusted to do more than the cosmetics projects we have already seen. In fact, we have heard Governor Mimiko declare that he would continue to lead a government of market, town hall and stall builders.”
ACO urged the people to avoid another round of deceit by Mimiko and the LP.
It advised them to vote for Akeredolu, another SAN in the mould of Fashola (SAN) for “a true transformational leadership that will endear sustainable massive infrastructural development, educational revolution and enterprise building that would give the state a pride of place in the Southwest”.
THOSE posting misleading remarks and publishing fabricated reports on the recent visit of action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu to the National Convention of the Democratic Party in the United States (US) got a reply yesterday from the Tinubu Media Office.
Some on-line news sites had joined issues with the ACN over its claim that its leadership was specially invited to observe the Democratic National Convention (DNC) IN Charlotte, North Carolina, US).
Besides, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has latched onto such reports to attack the ACN and Tinubu.
But in its reaction to the on-line reports, the Tinubu described the publications as misleading and specifically skewed to portray the CAN leadership in bad light.
The Office said in a statement: “For the most parts, the reports are inaccurate, slanted and laced with a deliberate ploy to deceive the unsuspecting public.
“The facts are that governor Tinubu, a long-standing supporter of the Democratic Party was invited by a senior member of the party to attend the convention. This invitation earned him a place on the Convention’s VIP list, a fact that can be easily confirmed from the DNC Security clearance list.”
According to the Office, there was no mention anywhere in its earlier statement that American President Barack Obama personally invited Tinubu to the epoch-making event.
It said: “Contrary to what has been erroneously reported, the press statement issued by Tinubu Media Office did not anywhere mention or claim that President Obama personally signed a letter or issued a “gold card” inviting Governor Tinubu.
“The gold card stated in the press statement infers a VIP status. A perusal of the original press statement will reveal that no such claim was ever made.”
“We recognize that media houses are at liberty to cast headlines that promote and sell their papers, hence, the miss-representations, but insist not to be quoted out of context.
“However, from the recent online and newspaper reports, it is very clear that those responsible never read the full press statement or mischievously chose to ignore the facts in order to score cheap political points. There is no iota of truth in their claim that money was paid to obtain tickets.
“And these publications have offered no shred of proof about money paid to purchase any ticket. They have no proof to justify their claim that the statement issued stated that Obama personally signed an invitation.
“They never spoke with anyone in the Tinubu media office to seek clarifications and ended up running a one-sided and heavily slanted story.
“The decision of the leading members of the Democratic Party who invited Governor Tinubu to the Convention is no doubt informed by the recognition of his long standing relationship with top members and support for the party.
“Governor Tinubu attended the Convention in his right as the National Leader of Nigeria’s second largest party- the , Action Congress of Nigeria – and most importantly, his status as a leading voice for change in the country and indeed as a former Senator of the Federal Republic and former Governor of Lagos State for eight-years.
“We urge media outlets that will rather ignore the substance of a story, or miss-interprete portions of statement issued to serve a specific agenda to re-trace their steps in the interest of journalistic integrity.”
