Lagos Ex-Governor, Bola Tinubu denies plot to ‘destroy’ Senate.

Former Lagos State governor, Ahmed Tinubu, has denied a news report that he is plotting to “destroy” the Senate.

Mr. Tinubu, a national leader of the All Progressives Congress, on Wednesday said a report by ThisDay newspaper, accusing him of conspiring with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to attack the Senate, was an “outright falsehood” and a “bald assault against truth.”

It is the second time in five weeks that Mr. Tinubu would reject a report by the newspaper.

In March, the former governor debunked a report by the newspaper that he was planning to run for president, describing it as a “manufactured tale” “masquerading as professional journalism.”

The latest story, titled: “PDP Caucus Accuses Tinubu, EFCC of Conspiracy to Destroy Senate” said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caucus of the Senate at its meeting last week accused Mr. Tinubu of working with the EFCC to destroy the Senate by attacking the integrity of its members.

The story, which THISDAY said came from an unnamed source at the meeting, alleged that Mr. Tinubu was acting in concert with the anti-graft agency to destroy key elements in the National Assembly in order to clear the way for his 2019 presidential ambition.

“Constant bashing and campaign of calumny launched against the Senate by a prominent national daily and a frontline television station, believed to be owned by the former governor, is an example of the on-going underground war being waged against the Senate as an institution,” the source allegedly told the newspaper.

But in a statement, signed by his spokesperson, Tunde Rahman, Mr. Tinubu said those behind the report were “practitioners of political libel,” and slammed the newspaper for publishing what it described as “a rotten lie”.

“The story is such an outright fabrication that it claims the PDP Senators held a special meeting to discuss Asiwaju Tinubu. However, PDP Senators claim no such meeting was ever held and that they hold no special animus toward Asiwaju Tinubu,” the statement read.

It added that as a former senator himself, Mr. Tinubu would not never work to tarnish the reputation of the senate.

“We are usually not in the position of agreement with PDP members. But on this rare occasion, we have no contention with them. Asiwaju Tinubu is a former Senator. He has a special affection for the Senate as an institution. It is not within him to belittle the institution or members of that institution who happen to be in the opposing political party.”

The statement said character and personal attacks are not in consonance with Mr. Tinubu’s political ideology.
“The gutter is no place to build a better nation. We seek higher ground,” the statement said.

 

Source: Premium Times

#BATC17: Use what we make, make what we use – Bola Tinubu [Full Speech]

 

It is more than gratifying to mark my birthday in this good way. To all of you –  many who have traveled great distances –  I am honored that you joined me today. Though the event banners speak my name, this gathering is not about me. It is about what a people united in purpose must do to improve their beloved country. Though our roles may be different, some may work under the public glare and others labor without fanfare, we are all but servants to that goal.
In this noble pursuit, no person is greater than any other. For this is the nation that we seek. We build that nation by forcing ourselves to become that nation, day by day, difficult step by difficult step. We do so by casting aside the prejudices and biases of the past in order to forge a more progressive and just society where no Nigerian is pushed down because of his place of origin, his faith or social station.  And where every Nigerian has a fair chance to rise to his potential by dint of honest labor and constructive enterprise. This is as God intended us to be. We have no choice but to achieve this good destiny.
Before we go further, I must give special thanks to Vice President Osinbajo. As this is my birthday, I am afforded some latitude. For a moment, may I dispense with the formality of titles and protocol. Yemi Osinbajo is many good things. Today, may I simply call him my friend and brother.
Leading a group of fellow commissioners who worked together during my time as governor of Lagos, Yemi and this creative group turned the idea of this event into an annual reality.
This colloquium gets better by the year because of the commitment to excellence of those organizing it. Each year, they assemble creative minds to address the issues that stand in the way of our national greatness.
In this and so much else, the VP has proven himself a true servant of the Nigerian people. While our dear President needed to be away, the VP performed admirably as a loyal subordinate.
We must applaud President Buhari. He meticulously followed our constitution in temporarily transferring the helm to the VP.  As such, these two excellent men exemplified teamwork and the true meaning of unity of purpose.
Showing himself to be a selfless leader, President Buhari set the stage by giving strategic policy guidance and direction. Showing himself to be equally selfless, our VP, as acting president, worked as the faithful arm of the President, by diligently putting in action what President Buhari had directed him in word to do.
We are happy indeed that President Buhari is back, No one is happier than the VP for he has personally experienced that the burdens of high office are heavy and severe. The yoke of responsibility for an entire nation is not a light one.
Yet, this recent episode gives a constructive lesson. Two men, although of different backgrounds, faiths and professional experiences, have forged themselves into a team that manages complex matters of state and governance in a seamless and smooth manner.
Try as critics might, they could neither detect nor create any space between the President and his deputy. This is how things are when people are united in vision and joined in purpose. As President Buhari and his VP have been, we all must now be.
I have been told that I must utter some brief comments. Given that this event has rendered you a captive audience and that my birthday affords special privileges that disappear the next day, I will take undue advantage to give more than brief comments.
ECONOMIC PHILOSOPHY
Tomorrow, I shall be 65. The years have taught much. What I say is based on this inventory of experience.
More than any hour in our recent history, Nigeria stands at a defining juncture. Our challenges are manifold and profound. Yet, so are our collective abilities and talents. The balance will then tip in favor or against us as our commitment and political will to succeed dictate.
The topic of today is thus germane. The central theme focuses on what Nigeria makes and what it uses. Implicitly, it asks if our political economy is properly structured. To answer this, we must dig a bit deeper to ask an even more fundamental question rarely examined.
Is our our political economy structured for the benefit of man or is man to be subservient to the benefit of the impersonal political economy? Much depends on how we – in both word and deed —  answer this question.
The answer seems self evident. Of course, the political economy should be for the benefit of man. Yet, this is not how we act. In reality, we do not first try to bend and mold the economy to extract the optimal benefit for the people. Instead, we have been conditioned to demand that the people to bend and twist themselves to fit what the economy is or what it is not.
If we truly believe the economy is to serve the people, we will seek creative ways to gainfully employ people and improve their living standard by increasing their material and psychic wealth.
If we give only lip service to the primacy of the people, then we shall implement policies that sacrifice the people’s welfare on the altar of some callous ideology that defines economic balance as the unbridled greed of the market place. A place where it is every man for himself and government does much of nothing except watch the economic carnage that will visit the majority of the people in such a heartless circumstance.
I reject this merciless way of thought and of life. It violates the tenets of morality and of sustainable economics itself.
Thus, we must begin and end our pursuit of economic balance with the great volume of the precious things this nation produces and how to put those most special assets to work.
You see, Nigeria is actually a prolific manufacturer. It has produced and is home to 170 million of the most adaptive,  industrious economic units on earth.
I talk about our people. Our task is not to lament their great numbers but to reform the political economy in a manner that puts them to productive work.
Our aim must be to properly employ the maximum number of people for a sustainable period. If we achieve this, the GDP numbers and the rest of the economic indices will follow suit.
However, if registering high aggregate economic figures is the goal without adequate recourse to the people’s well-being then we sorely miss the mark. We will sustain neither the high economic figures nor the welfare of the people.
The old model upon which this economy has so long sputtered, has crashed right before our eyes. We must retool ourselves. A new outlook is needed.
We allowed the economy to atrophy into one too dependent on oil revenue and on the rent-seeking behavior such revenues encourage. Even at the best of times and with the highest of oil prices, we barely survived as an economy.
Widespread poverty, gross inequality and high unemployment of man, machinery and material described our condition.
The decline in oil prices turned our extant economic model into rubble overnight. If we continue in this broken way, we have done nothing less than enter into an economic suicide pact with ourselves.
We must break free of this fate. Fortunately, the current government has begun the sometimes painful process of salvage and reform.
I offer a few personal insights, hoping they may be of some help in this vital economic reformation.
DIVERSIFICATION/INDUSTRIAL POLICY
We are one of the most populous nations in the world. Moreover, a larger percentage of that population becomes urban with each passing year. In the city, there is no such thing as living off the land. One must live by the labor of his brain and hand. Jobs and wages are to the city dweller as fields and crops are to the farmer.
Study the expanse of economic history. No populous modern nation has attained prosperity without creating an industrial base capable of employing great numbers of the urban population and of manufacturing significant quantities of goods for domestic consumption or export.
We cannot simply talk about diversifying the economy. Practical cooperation between government and the private sector are needed.
Again, we take recourse to history to guide us. We must learn from England which barred the migration of its master craftsmen and the export of textile looms at dawn of the Industrial Revolution, to America and the high tariffs it imposed on foreign manufactured goods for over 150 years from its independence until after WWII. To China which implemented a most radical and comprehensive protectionist regime to become the world’s most prolific manufacturing nation.
These three nations represent the past, present and immediate future of national economic achievement. A strong common thread is their policies of encouraging and buffering strategic industries in their early stages so that these pillars of their economies may strengthen and the economy consequently  flourish.
These nations have achieved the greatest growth among all nations. This has been their practice in doing so. Yet we depart from doing what has proven effective. The manuals of mainstream economics tell us not to do as these nations did. We strangely choose to believe the false words written in the books at the expense of the truth of what has been achieved on the ground.
A rich man scarcely reveals to another man the secret of his success. As with men, so with nations. Those nations that have forged ahead will not tell another countries how to echo the same feats. Rich nations seek to maintain their high place, not instruct poorer nations how to supplant them.
Like those developed nations, we must press forward with a national industrial policy fostering development of strategic industries that create jobs as well as spur further economic growth. Whether we decide to focus attention on steel, textiles, cars, machinery components, or other items, the truth is that we must focus on manufacturing important, useful things.
And we must partially reshape and guide the market place to accomplish this aim. Because, if the unbridled free market could have achieved this, it would have already done so years ago.
As part of this plan, government should institute a policy of tax credits, subsidies and the insulation from the negative impact of imports for critical these sectors.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND POWER
Closely complementing the industrial plan, we need a national infrastructure plan. Existing roads, ports, bridges and railways need enhancement. New structures need to be built so that we enjoy a modern, coherently planned and integrated infrastructural grid. A national economy cannot grow beyond the capacity of the infrastructural that serves it. Excellent infrastructure begets a functioning economy. Weak infrastructure turns the economy into an orphan. Government must take the lead in this endeavor. The private sector has not the wherewithal in and of itself to do the necessary.
Such efforts would echo what America and Germany did to help free themselves from the Great Depression. China embarked on an exercise of an even more massive scale to transform itself from an impoverished agrarian backwater into a formidable economic agency within a generation.
Moreover, expenditures for well planned infrastructural spending have empirically proven to boost recessionary economies and provide employment when sorely needed.
Of utmost importance in this regard, we must conquer the economic, political and bureaucratic bottlenecks preventing us from achieving affordable, reliable electrical power.
This is perhaps the single greatest impediment to economic advancement. The lack of power places our businesses at profound disadvantage, driving up costs, impeding productivity and dousing overall economic activity and job creation.  This places us literally and figuratively in the dark with regard to our economic condition.
The problems are not technical in nature as reliable electricity is a staple of economic life in nations less endowed than Nigeria.
We must persuade and convince those factors that currently impede our national quest for reliable power to move aside so that we can achieve this crucial precursor to economic vitality.
As we move on, the nation should consider an infrastructural bank that can attract foreign investment for major projects.
CREDIT, MORTGAGES AND INTEREST RATES
Modern economies are built on credit. However, credit for business investment and consumer spending is too costly in Nigeria to be of much help.
The Central Bank has worked hard to alleviate the exchange rate differential and bolster the Naira. Its efforts in this regard must be sustained to bear the fruit we seek.
However, the long-term economic strength of the nation, is not so much dependent on these exchange rate exercises. It is more dependent on how well we deploy now idle men, material and machines into productive endeavor.
The interest rate has more influence on economic health than does the exchange rate. We dare not confuse ourselves on so vital a point. A “strong” Naira does not beget a strong economy. It is a strong economy that begets a well valued Naira.
The CBN needs to resolve the puzzle of our interest rates. Lower rates are required so our industrialists may borrow to invest more in plant, equipment and jobs.
Our consumer credit mechanisms must be more accessible to the average consumer. Prevailing custom still requires a consumer to purchase in one, up-front lump sum a house, a car, a refrigerator. In a word, this is oppressive. It defeats the average consumer and significantly dampens sales of real estate, vehicles and appliances that could otherwise help energize then sustain our economy.
Moreover, this systemic credit malpractice pushes some toward corruption. People may manage to survive off their wages. Hardly any can save so much that they are able to pay for a house or car all at once. To acquire the lump sum amounts, decent people are tempted to do what they would not even consider if consumer credit was practically at hand.
A vital step we must take is to revamp our government-backed home mortgage system.  Mortgage loan agencies must be better funded, must liberalize their eligibility requirements so that more people qualify and they must provide longer-term mortgages with manageable interest rates.
In this manner, we spur the overall economy by enhancing construction activity and the industries allied to it.
The private sector must make similar adjustments regarding car and appliance sales.
AGRICULTURAL REFORM
We must help the farmer by improving rural output and incomes.  This is best done via ensuring minimum prices for crops strategic to food security. Thus, we must establish commodity exchange boards which will allow farmers to secure good prices and hedge against loss. Complementing this, improved warehousing will enhance food security and lower prices while improving farm incomes. Farmers will receive warehouse scrip or tickets for their products. They can use the scrip to borrow money in the short-term to purchase inputs needed to increase yield. An agricultural mortgage loan corporation should be inaugurated to further promote these goals.
At last year’s colloquium, we discussed various innovations such as establishing a commodities futures market. We must do more than talk. We must have the heart and courage to implement these ideas that have consistently proven themselves in other countries. If we try, these measures will ably acquit themselves here.
CONCLUSION
As I  conclude, I beg your forgiveness for holding you captive so long. But we stand at a moment where history will be made, either for better or worse.  Take a few extra minutes to express some ideas that might help write that history in the correct way is not such a heavy price to pay.
One more thought shall suffice. Here I add a third part to this year’s theme. Not only must we use what we make and make what we use. We must fix our minds to make what the world values. It does little good to expend our finite productive capacities on things that bear little profit.
A nation does itself better in manufacturing a good and affordable appliance or car than in cultivating a sublime mango or perfect banana. We must not allow our present comparative disadvantage in manufacturing and industry to keep us from pursuing a tomorrow where that disadvantage is abolished.
Consequently, we must use our creative insight to peer into tomorrow and see what the rest of the world may want to buy, then devote ourselves to making these products.
Neither Japan nor South Korea had significant iron ore deposits. Yet they built steel industries as the foundation for their impressive rise as manufacturers of cars and other durable goods. They developed these industries because they saw the advantageous value in them.
Nigeria must act in the same manner. We must remember nothing that any other nation can do is beyond our grasp even if we do not currently have the thing in hand. This is the change that we can and must achieve.
God bless you and God bless Nigeria.
Thank you.

Bola Tinubu has earned his place in Nigeria’s history – Osun APC

All Progressives Congress in the state of Osun has congratulated its national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the chain of remarkable achievements he has had since he became involved in Nigeria’s politics.

According to the party, “whether you like or hate Tinubu, or you are his ardent admirer or critic, nobody can remove from the fact that in the last 17 years ( and counting), the national leader of the APC has earned a place in history as one of the most spectacular politicians who effected monumental democratic change in the country’s political evolution.”

This statement of endorsement was contained in a release from the party’s directorate of publicity signed by its director, Barr. Kunle Oyatomi and made available to the media in Osogbo yesterday.

The statement continued; “In the last two decades, your (Tinubu’s) deft political strategies have not only warded off political crimes against the Yoruba nation by those who sought and still seek to humiliate and subjugate us, you have also steered the course of events in Nigeria to make what was thought impossible happen.

“You piloted the APC into an epic electoral battle, which, for the first time in Nigeria’s political history, led to the defeat of a government in power at the federal establishment.

“That by itself is a signature achievement – the first of its kind in Nigeria – and a milestone in our democratic as well as electoral evolution. It is an uncommon feat”, the party claimed.

‘At 65, Asiwaju is comparatively still young and our prayer is that Allah should grant the Leader good health to continue in his good work, most of which is impacting positively on people’s lives.

“May Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s days, months and years bring further progress, stronger and greater democracy to Nigeria in general and Yoruba land in particular.

‘The APC and the people of Osun stand firmly behind the Leader and support his lieutenant and governor of the state, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola who like the Jagaban of Borgu, has distinguished himself as the greatest achiever, Osun has ever had since the state was created over 25 years ago”, the statement said.

‘May Asiwaju’s star shine ever more brightly. Happy Birthday!” the APC saluted

President Buhari congratulates Bola Tinubu at 65

President Muhammadu Buhari has felicitated with former Lagos State Governor and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, on his 65th birthday.

The president’s congratulatory message was issued on Tuesday in Abuja by Femi Adesina, the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity.

Mr. Buhari said he joined “all members of the APC, political and business associates of the Asiwaju of Lagos, his friends and family, in celebrating another milestone in the life of the great leader”.

Mr. Buhari noted that Mr. Tinubu’s foray into politics had ushered in a better understanding of building consensus to achieve historical feats, like unseating an incumbent government.

“Tinubu has raised the bar for many political leaders across the country as a two-term governor of Lagos State, and also bequeathed a style of leadership that completely altered the landscape of the commercial capital,” he said.

The president recalled his “pleasant and intellectually enriching encounters” with Mr. Tinubu over the years.

According to him, as the former governor turns 65, the nation still stands to gain more from him.

He also re-affirmed that the nation had benefitted “a lot from the personal sacrifices, political experience and intellectual foresight of the APC chieftain”.

President Buhari prayed that the almighty God would grant the Asiwaju good health, longer life and more wisdom to serve his country and humanity.

 

Source: NAN

Bola Ahmed Tinubu to fight Evander Holyfield on May 25 in Lagos.

Legendary five-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Evander Holyfield will in May feature in one of the most anticipated exhibition boxing matches in Nigeria when he enters the ring against former Lagos State Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), reports the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

According to a statement by Foluke Michael, the Project Manager of the fight, tagged “Rumbles in Lagos,’’ the fight will hold on May 25 at the Eko Atlantic City and will be beamed live to the world. Holyfield is 54, while Tinubu is 65.

The charity event is the first of its kind on the African continent, she said, adding that Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka will be the celebrity referee. Tinubu in his endorsement of the BAT versus Holyfield bout, said: “I can’t wait to knock Evander down. I am the real champion of the world.’’

“Significantly, it is aimed at bringing world attention to some health-related issues in Africa, and will focus on cases such as Autism in Children, Breast Cancer, Mental Illness and HIV/AIDS and River Blindness.

Foluke said it would also especially focus on the plight of Africans living with disabilities among others.

The event will donate five 40 feet containers of medical and relief materials worth over $2 million dollars to Lagos State Government and other neighbouring states, she said, adding, part of the proceeds from the event would benefit not-for-profit organisations and agencies in Lagos which cater to, and were engaged in research programmes aimed at eradicating these medical conditions.

The “Real Deal’’ Evander Holyfield is billed to arrive in Lagos in May, and he would engage children and youths in the course of his visit. The charity fight is promoted by ACI Entertainment and Bishop Entertainment Consult based in Atlanta, Georgia.

 

Source: The Guardian

I did not reject chieftaincy title from Ibadan monarch – Tinubu

Former Governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has denied speculations in some quarters that he rejected a chieftaincy title from the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji, Aje Ogungunniso I.

The gossip column of a national newspaper (not The Guardian) had reported that Tinubu turned down the offer of a chieftaincy title of Balogun on him by Oba Adetunji.

In a statement released yesterday by his Media Office, Tinubu said he held the Olubadan of Ibadan in high esteem and could not have rejected a chieftaincy offer from him.

“I hold him in high esteem. Governor Abiola Ajimobi also has respect for him. Why would I reject the offer of a chieftaincy title from him?” he queried.

Bola Tinubu in Ondo as Rotimi Akeredolu takes oath of office.

At exactly 11:34am on Friday, Rotimi Akeredolu, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), took oath of office as the sixth executive governor of Ondo state.

Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was among the dignitaries that witnessed the occasion.

Senate President Bukola Saraki; Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo state, Abiola Ajimobi, governor of Oyo state; Lai Mohammed, minister of information and culture, Bisi Akande, former governor of Osun state, also attended the event.

Earlier, Agbola Ajayi, also a legal practitioner, was sworn in as deputy governor.

In November, Akeredolu, candidate of the APC, defeated Eyitayo Jegede of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the state governorship election.

He polled 244,842 votes, while Jegede secured 150,380 votes.

Olusegun Mimiko, the immediate past governor, handed over power to Akeredolu late Thursday, after serving two terms.

 

Source: The Cable

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu talks about his triumphs and setbacks in politics.

Bola Tinubu, national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says in his public life, which spans over three decades, he has had his own “share of triumphs and also felt the sting of setback”.

 

Addressing participants of course 25 at the National Defence College, Abuja, on Wednesday, the former governor of Lagos state said his experiences in politics have taught him to remain committed to a well-articulated vision

 

He also spoke on the strategies he used in fighting his battles, recalling his contributions to the growth of democracy in the country.

 

“My public life spans over three decades.  I have had my share of triumphs. I have felt the sting of setback,” he said.

 

“Through it all, I have tried to keep faith with the overarching vision I earlier set forth – of a more democratic Nigeria with a robust economy that provides sufficiently for all.

 

“Throughout most of this time span, the strategic focus has been on politics, free enterprise and assuring democracy. I believe the toil and sacrifice has been worthwhile. We have secured democracy in Nigeria. Now, our strategic leadership must focus on realizing the second part of that vision, the economic component.

 

“It was first necessary to getting the political equation right. From this platform, we can then better reform the economic side.

 

“The profound lesson my experiences as a political leader have taught me is the need to remain faithful to an achievable, well-articulated vision. Then develop practical strategies and tactics to progress toward that vision. The vision is the unchangeable lodestar. Strategies and tactics may change as events unfold.”

 

He also appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience with the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

Tinubu said for his party to end the 16-year reign of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), he studied the voting patterns of all prior elections since 1999.

 

“The challenge before us is a difficult but not impossible one. If we stick to the progressive beliefs of the APC, we shall overcome these difficulties to place the economy on surer permanent footing,” he said.

 

On the strategies deployed in the buildup to the election, he said: “We fashioned a tripartite campaign message and strategy message. Security, Economy and Corruption.  We would drive these three messages home as if with military artillery. However, we have only our leadership and strategic hammer.

 

“Still all of this would have been to no avail without the right candidate. Given his stature and reputation for integrity, honest dealing and patriotic commitment, there really was no other candidate to have carried the day, than then General Muhammadu Buhari.

 

“Yet, even with such a figure as our candidate, we foresaw the need to construct a public relations strategy to counter false accusations of religious intolerance and parochialism that would be hurled at him. We did this with great success because we prepared for these attacks beforehand.

 

“We established other democratic and leadership strategies for our success, details of which time would not permit me to reveal here. We did not have the vast war chest of the PDP. Our efforts had to be sharper and more compelling. We accomplished this task.

 

“We did not win the election by accident. I had studied the resulting and voting patterns of all the prior elections since 1999. Our team did an honest assessment and detailed assessment of our strengths and weaknesses and those of our opponents.

 

“To win, we knew the votes we needed and identified the likely places and demographic constituencies from which the bulk of those votes must come. We did not waste time chasing votes we would not get. We concentrated on our strengths and the other side’s weaknesses, realising that our defence must be as tight as if we are inside the War College here in Abuja.”

 

Tinubu commended the armed forces for the role played in stabilising the country. He said his opposition to the military ended when it stopped involving in politics.

 

Source: The Cable

I Made A Huge Sacrifice To Ensure APC Victory – Tinubu

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, says he made a big sacrifice to ensure that the All Progressives Congress did well in the last elections.

 
Tinubu, who is a former governor of Lagos State, said this at the 70th birthday anniversary of social commentator and National Democratic Coalition chieftain, Prof. Segun Gbadegesin, in Lagos on Monday.

 

The APC leader said the Peoples Democratic Party ruled Nigeria for 16 years because opposition parties failed to unite.

 
He recalled that in 2011, his party, the Action Congress of Nigeria; Congress for Progressive Change and the All Nigeria Peoples Party presented separate presidential candidates and the PDP leveraged on the small size of these parties.

 
Tinubu said there was also a tendency for the leaders of smaller parties to make themselves the presidential candidates of their respective parties thereby causing division within their parties.

 
He said ahead of the 2015 election, however, leaders of the legacy parties (ACN, CPC and ANPP) that formed the APC, including himself, had to suppress their personal ambitions to be able to “chase away the PDP government led by former President Goodluck Jonathan, because in the past those who float political parties end up as its chairman and presidential candidate.”

 

Tinubu, who was also part of the NADECO campaign from exile, told the audience that progressive politics was the answer to the problems of Nigeria and that the hope and confidence Nigerians had in the APC before the elections would not be dashed.

 

Also speaking at the launch of Gbadegesin’s book, titled “All The Way: Serving With Conscience”, a former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Segun Osoba, praised the contribution of Gbadegesin to the pro-democracy struggle, with the programmes he anchored in Yoruba Language on the defunct Radio Kudirat.

 
Osoba described Gbadegesin as a peacemaker saying, “He visited me the other day, to plead that I should reunite politically with my estranged APC family.”

 
Gbadegesin, a Professor of Philosophy, was the Head of Department of Philosophy and Dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Howard University, Washington DC, United States, who worked as an undercover operative in the dark days of the Gen. Sani Abacha military dictatorship as one of the main anchors of Radio Kudirat; the propaganda organ of NADECO.

Tinubu, Akande meet Buhari after Obasanjo’s visit

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and a former Governor of Osun State, Chief Bisi Akande, held a secret meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa on Wednesday.

The visit came less than 24 hours after former President Olusegun Obasanjo met with Buhari.

Addressing State House correspondents after the one-hour meeting, Tinubu, who is a former Governor of Lagos State, said he did not come to submit any ministerial list to the President.

“What can I do about that, they have the right to speculate, they have the right to their lies and I have the right to debunk,” he said.

However, a reliable source said the ministerial list was one of the topics discussed at the meeting.

The source said just as Tinubu was given the power to pick Buhari’s running mate during the electioneering, Buhari was giving him the privilege of filling some positions that should go to the South-West.

He said, “Buhari never marginalised the South-West as is being reported. Most of the northern appointments that Buhari made are those that will work closely with him in the villa and Tinubu was not really interested in them.

“It was Tinubu that recommended Babatunde Fowler to head the Federal Inland Revenue Service and that is the next best thing after oil which many people don’t understand.

“Buhari has insisted that people that are answering to cases of corruption will not be part of his government and Tinubu is aware of this. He has recommended a former commissioner in Lagos for appointment too and he will be part of Buhari’s economic team even if he is not appointed as a minister.”

When asked how many ministerial slots Buhari had given Tinubu, the source said he could not say for sure but added that Buhari was planning to compensate Tinubu for losing out to Senate President Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara during the National Assembly internal elections

He added, “Every state is expected to produce a minister and we already know that there will be some issues with some stubborn state governors. So, if Tinubu loses out at the ministerial level, he will be made to nominate the chairman of some parastatals and government agencies.”

When asked to explain why Tinubu and Akande chose to visit Buhari just a day after Obasanjo, the source said, “It was purely coincidental. Buhari is travelling out of the country tomorrow (today) and Tinubu wanted to tidy up some things before the President’s departure.”

Meanwhile, Tinubu has dismissed the Peoples Democratic Party’s allegations of dictatorship levelled against President Buhari.

Tinubu, in an interview with State House correspondents said the PDP should be quiet, if it did not have anything to say.

The former governor stated that the PDP created the rot that Buhari was cleaning, adding that the rot could not be swept under the carpet.

The PDP governors, after a meeting in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on Tuesday said Nigeria was sliding into dictatorship under the leadership of Buhari.

Defending the President, Tinubu said, “What is dictatorship about what he has done? He has helped to stimulate the economy in the various states and that is where the people are. So what is dictatorship? And the institutional paralysis had occurred in the country.

“It is very important for a steady man like the President to really help the nation recover from the paralysis and that is what he is doing so I don’t see what is dictatorial about that. If they don’t have anything to say, they rather be quiet. They created what is wrong here today and we can’t sweep that under the carpet. There must be rule of law.”

He also denied a claim that he went to the Presidential Villa to submit the ministerial list to Buhari, saying, “What can I do about that, they have the right to speculate, they have the right to their lies and I have the right to debunk.”

The APC leader said that there was no power struggle between him and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar

“Our party is not even looking at the direction of power struggle or anything of such. The support structure is to encourage and support the President as you have heard from Chief Bisi Akande, to help him institutionalize his goal, principle and vision for a new Nigeria,” Tinubu stated.

He defended Buhari against criticisms that trailed his delay in releasing ministerial list, adding that there was a pitfall in rushing.

Tinubu stated, “Rush can cascade into mistakes of unimaginable magnitude. There is equally glory and recovery in slowness, when you have a slow fix of a bad foundation. So to me, I would rather take the one that will last the country and endeavour for a longer period of time than the rush hour shopping.”

Also speaking, Akande, who was at the meeting, said the President “inherited piles of rot.” He said that they discussed the rot the PDP left for it was defeated.

-PunchPunch