Oduduwa News

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila, on Saturday, empowered his constituents again at the Surulere 1 federal constituency in Lagos State, where he distributed several items to beneficiaries.

At a constituency outreach programme held at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, education grants were given to a total of 351 students in public tertiary institutions across the country, while 1,020 secondary school principals and teachers were given laptops for ease of teaching.

Also, 145 automobiles, ranging from fully equipped medical ambulances, security vehicles and gadgets, new school buses initiative and e-hailing cars were distributed to some beneficiaries.

The event, attended by the Lagos State APC Chairman, Hon. Cornelius Ojelabi, the former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Femi Pedro, former Minister, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, and members of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), witnessed the presentation of financial support to 1,596 existing/prospective small scale entrepreneurs and business owners in the Surulere 1 constituency.

This came 24 hours after the speaker inaugurated several ICT centres and newly renovated school buildings around Surulere.

Speaking at the occasion, Gbajabiamila said the event was organised to appreciate and witness the benefits of the interaction between a legislator and his constituents.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila
“Our responsibility as legislators is to feel the pulse of our constituents and work to address their needs. I have always had a passion for education and have tried to focus on touching the lives of students and teachers in our constituency.

“This follows the numerous infrastructural projects we have attracted to this constituency and neighbouring constituencies. From roads to new hospitals, from ICT infrastructure in all public tertiary institutions to facilitating numerous employment for our youth, as well as numerous political appointments for improved representation of our people in government.”

He added that: “We have also succeeded in lighting up all the streets in Surulere thereby improving the night-life economy, security and safety of our constituents. In the area of sports development, we have facilitated the construction of numerous mini-stadia. We are working to do more and attract more projects to our constituency and beyond.”

The speaker paid tribute to one of his constituents, Mr Saheed Okunu, who was a beneficiary of an e-hailing car at the last outreach in 2020, and who “has used that car to improve his life, purchased another car from his thriving e-hailing business and I am glad to use him as a shining example to some of you who might have conceived the idea of selling your cars.”

He announced that Mr Okunu would be encouraged with another e-hailing car to boost his growing business.

“E-hailing cars have become a popular enterprise around the world and even in Nigeria, it is proving to be very popular and a means of growing income”, Gbajabiamila said.

He also expressed satisfaction that all the secondary school teachers in the Surulere 1 constituency had the benefit of the e-learning gadget distributed at the event.

“My prayer is that these interventions will, in one way or the other, not only positively improve the lives of our people but also our future.

“I remain committed to the attraction of more laws and interventions that will improve the lives of citizens, as well as more infrastructural projects, employment and empowerment of our people,” he said.

Dignitaries at the event, who gave goodwill messages l, were full of praises for the speaker whom they saluted for all he had done for the constituency.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, one of the top contenders for the APC’s Presidential ticket, Today Sunday 20th February 2022, paid a courtesy visit to Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, in his word Tinubu Said ” Kabiyesi, you have been my adviser and you always tell me the truth.

I have come here today to tell you that I need your cooperation, blessings and prayer on my ambition to become the president of Nigeria.

Tinubu, while speaking on his political journey so far, said he had sacrificed alot and that it is the right time for his political associates rally round him in his course to become the President of Nigeria come 2023.

Tinubu was quoted as saying “I had obtained and filled the INEC form to go to the Senate, then I realised that I have a Governorship candidate, Mr Babatunde Fashola and Obasanjo was the President, determined to win Lagos state.

I told myself, ‘if I go ahead I will strive to win my seat while leaving Fashola to his fate’. Then one morning I called Ganiyu Solomon and told him to follow me to Abuja, we landed and off we went to INEC office, withdrew my form and handed him another form. Ganiyu was shocked, he asked me for what sir, I said fill the form, he did and that was how I was able to concentrate in the Governorship election, Fashola won and Gani also won his seat. We must make sacrifices,”

In Alaafin Iku baba yeye reply” We have given you our real prayers because you came first and my ancestors have heard this today, THE DESIRE OF YOUR HEART COME 2023 WILL BE REALISED”

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, has said Bola Tinubu, an All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential aspirant will use a “magic wand” to fix Nigeria’s problems if elected in 2023.

Sanwo-Olu said Tinubu knows the issues plaguing the country, hence has the solution.

Speaking in Lagos yesterday, the governor said Nigerians should give the APC National Leader a chance to be president next year.

He urged lawmakers in Lagos State to work towards ensuring that Tinubu becomes Nigeria’s next president.

He said, “Tinubu knows the issues plaguing our nation like the back of his hands and he has the magic wand to fix it.

Nigeria Youth Movement

Anti-Aregbesola campaign has hit Alimosho,as political leaders declear him dead politically.

The fight continues in Lagos as political leaders in Alimosho have decleared the honorable Minister of Interior dead politically following the ongoing power tussle between him and his benefactor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

Before the breakdown of relationship, Rauf Aregbeshola used to be the Numera uno of Alimosho politics….

Details Later……

Some Yoruba leaders, including traditional rulers, yesterday, began a move to resolve the conflict between the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and former governor of Osun State and Minister for Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

Tinubu, who was governor of Lagos from 1999 to 2003 and Aregbesola who, served under him as Commissioner for Works before going to Osun State to become governor in 2010, has been at loggerheads over the Osun State governorship election scheduled to hold on July 16 2022.

The two APC leaders are currently engaging in a war of words over the re-election bid of Governor Gboyega Oyetola. While Tinubu is supporting Oyetola who is his blood brother, Aregbesola, who is the immediate predecessor of the governor, believes that Oyetola does not deserve a second term just like former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was deprived of re-election in Lagos in the October 2018 direct governorship primary election.

Aregbesola is insisting that what Ambode was alleged to have done that made Tinubu, himself and other stakeholders join forces to stop the former Lagos governor in 2018, Oyetola has done worse than that, lamenting that Tinubu is now trying to protect Oyetola because they are brothers.

The concerned traditional rulers said their intervention became important because there are no leadership strata in the Yoruba APC that could stop Tinubu and Aregbesola from the current show of shame.

A source within the traditional institution told The Guardian yesterday that efforts were ongoing to prevent the reoccurrence of what happened between the late Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Obafemi Awolowo and his then Deputy, the late Chief S.L Akintola, that led to the Western Region crisis in the 1960s.

The source also said that beyond the fear of the damage that Tinubu and Aregbesola could do to each other’s political career, the monarchs are of the belief that the fight will set a very bad precedent for the younger generations.

“The thinking of the worried monarchs is that the mudslinging approach the two political leaders have adopted would reduce the pride of Yoruba race among other ethnic nationalities. They wonder what’s the life span of the two fighters for them to destroy the integrity of their race and coming generations because of political interest,” the source said.

But beyond the Osun saga, which is believed to be the remote cause of the outburst between Tinuhu and Aregbesola, The Guardian learnt that what actually triggered the crisis was the advice the minister gave Tinubu to jettison his presidential ambition, claiming that the presidency and northerners were not favourably disposed to it.

“Since that day, there have been targeted efforts to decimate Aregbesola both in Lagos and Osun State, which of course is forcing the minister to fight back now,” the source said.

It was gathered that to further prevent any form of crisis among personalities eying the presidency in Yoruba land, the traditional rulers and other Yoruba leaders may still approach the likes of Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, who is still interested in succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Tinubu. Such invitation is likely to be extended to the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola. The aim is to appeal for a consensus.

When his opinion was sought, Chairman of Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Chief Ayo Adebanjo said he did not want to get involved in the personal issue between Tinubu and his former Works Commissioner. “I don’t want to be involved at all. They know and understand each other’s secret and they will expose it. Let us not degrade national issues to individual matters,” Adebanjo said.

A former Minister of Defence and now Chairman, Social Democratic Party, Dr. Olu Agunloye, who claimed that Tinubu is his personal friend while Aregesola is a close friend of his (Agunloye) junior brother, said their misunderstanding is better resolved not for political purposes but in the interest of Yoruba nation. “The way they are going they will destroy many things.”

Secretary-General, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide said he had been extremely worried over the type of news he read concerning Tinubu and Aregbesola in the last couple of weeks.

“It is not doing the Yoruba nation any proud both at home and abroad. The two of them could be described as foremost Yoruba political leaders for now. To start washing their dirty linens in the public is a great disservice to Yoruba people. I appeal to them to caution their supporters while the elders in Yoruba land will intervene quietly to resolve their differences.”

President of Yoruba Ronu Leadership Forum, Akin Malaolu, said it was necessary for the traditional rulers, especially the Ooni of Ife, Alaafin of Oyo, Awujale of Ijebu land, Alake of Egba land, and others to resolve the crisis. “The traditional rulers should not fold their arms and allow the interests of two political gladiators to destroys the aspirations of millions of other subjects of theirs.”

Gbenga Ilesanmi Ashaolu
For Gemtv Africa

A former president, Olusegun Obasanjo today opined that for Nigeria to move forward, it needs “more rebels” that are bold to speak truth to power not minding whose ox is gored.

He said that having rebels remains one of the greatest steps towards rebuilding Nigeria.

Obasanjo stated this in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, while unveiling the autobiography of the Babanla Adinni of Egbaland, Chief Tayo Sowunmi, titled “Footprints Of A Rebel.”

He said “our country, there is no country that we can call our own except Nigeria. Our country, Nigeria, needs more rebels. Those who would look at things straight in the face and say ‘this is not right, this, I will not be part of, this is not good for Nigeria.”

Shortly before the unveiling of the autobiography, Obasanjo submitted that whoever must live life of honesty and integrity has to be a rebel.

The Minister of Interior, Engr. Rauf Aregbesola has called the recently conducted primary election of APC in Osun State a sham.

This was contained in a statement made available by the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Sola Fasure as read in part:

“On behalf of the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, I will like to thank you most sincerely for heeding the call earlier this morning to participate in our party’s governorship primary and conduct yourselves most peacefully. You adopted a non-violent posture, even in the face of sore provocation.

“You have demonstrated your loyalty to the party and democratic ideals. You have comported yourselves as Omoluabi in the true essence.

“We have received and continue to receive the reports of the shenanigans of the officials who conducted the sham of an election. We have been inundated with reports state-wide of how your names were expunged from the party’s voters register, which was not made available until this morning, contrary to the convention of making the list available to the candidates before the election.

“We have heard of how party registration cards were being hawked this morning to the supporters of the state governor.
We have also received reports of how accreditation was not done at all in many wards and how people without the party identification just participated and queued behind the governor in many polling units.

“We have received the report from our members and independent observers, how government officials and notable supporters of the governor officiated in the election, how votes were farcically counted in favour of the governor and how the votes recorded for him were more than the number of voters accredited ab initio in many units.

“We have heard of the absence of result sheets and other vital documents for recording results and vital data. We note also the absence of INEC officials in most wards, casting serious doubt on the credibility of the election.

“We note with shame and much regret the consternation of local and international observers on what they regard as a travesty of an election.

“I will urge you to maintain your cool and calm. Be not downcast, be not agitated. Hold your head high. We are still receiving and studying all these reports and will take a definitive position on them.

“You are urged not to take laws into your hands. Please leave the rest to the Almighty God and let us explore all peaceful and legal means for addressing the matter in order to obtain justice.

“Please remain committed to peace and the rule of law. Be unflinching in your commitment to the democratic ideals. Democracy is for the long haul. As you all know, we never tire and we never give up on the cause we believe in. Be rest assured that victory is ours”.