Senator Oluremi Tinubu, lawmaker representing Lagos Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, in this interview with select journalists, speaks on critical issues and why she is going for a Third term. TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI brings the excerpts:

Despite moving a motion three years ago on the gridlock along the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, the problem has not ameliorated. Don’t you see this as a negligence of the executive to Senate proposals including your zonal intervention projects?

You have seen that the Minister of works recently flagged off the work which is being done in partnership with Dangote. I was honoured to have been invited for the ceremony. This was the aftermath of such motions and that is why for me to raise a motion in the Senate is something that should be thought out; it is not something that is to seek attention. We really look at what is affecting the district.

Actually that motion was supported by all the senators. It was something very, very sensitive and important for us and I believe that the resolutions were part of what we are witnessing even if it has taken some time.

Even if we raise a motion, that doesn’t mean that the Federal Government is not attending to it. At times motions can be political, but that of the gridlock I can tell you that as we speak Dangote is giving us a time frame of two years. So, we are hopeful. Alhaji Dangote is a credible man, he has the money to do it. So, we are quite hopeful and I particularly, I am quite excited at the move and I can tell you that it would have stemmed from the motion in the Senate.

On the zonal intervention projects, I cannot speak for my colleagues, but mine is for me to be true to what I have been given in the Senate and what has been my own allocation. I have even gone beyond what I receive from the Senate (appropriated for constituency) to assist in the work in my district and that is why whatever I do, I stay true to it and be God fearing in the process and even if the people don’t see me, God sees me. And as a Christian, I believe that He that sees in secret will reward us openly. I am not saying that I am perfect, but I am striving for perfection.

What are your perspectives on Special Economic Assistance and Special Status for Lagos?

These two concepts are two different things. They are never the same. When I introduced the Special Economic Assistance, they twisted it out of context. When we are looking at the Special Status, we are talking of money being taken from the Federation Account and if you had followed what my colleagues did in the Senate, they gave the Northeast Zone, I think about 2-3% from the Federation Account and this is like a special status given to the Northeast Zone because of the security situation.

Special Economic Assistance came from the point that Lagos State gives a lot through taxes, VAT to the Federal Government from Lagos. Special Economic Assistance is requesting that even if it is 1% of money that is being taken to the Federation Account from Lagos State should be given back to Lagos State which can help things like the gridlock and the infrastructure damage that we are experiencing.

So, these monies are supposed to be used to augment most of the projects in the state either; education, health sector or roads. That is what we are asking for. The National Assembly will determine the percentage to be channeled back to Lagos State and the State Assembly will appropriate for the money for state use.

However, my colleagues took it out of context; maybe because of the mood of the Senate. If you witnessed what happened, I had never seen such hatred for a bill in my life and I think that bill sparked very, heated argument in the Senate. They were even telling me to bring it back, but I said no; that somebody else can take it up, that I am done because since 2011 I had been advocating for it.

What is the lastest on Zonal Intervention Programmes?

I can tell you that the day that we were launching the compendium (compendium of her projects), we sent a copy to our party chairman and you know our party chairman is a dynamic man and he went through it and by the time he came; he actually gave a thumbs up to zonal intervention programmes.

One of my husband’s colleagues, Ambassador Kazaure, I gave a copy to him, he read it and he was really, really proud. He said you did these? Immediately we get back by the grace of God if I am voted back to represent my people and even if I am not, I am going to be giving that book to every senator. And I believe that not all the senators are retuning and that has been the trend in the Senate. There is a lot of brain drain in the Senate, we lose a lot of people who are very cerebral men and women. But you see, politics is really a game of being able to inspire your people, inspire them in the sense for them to trust you enough for them to say, please represent us.

So, my message to my colleagues and people who are running for office is that you cannot take people for granted. Even if you win well, you want to go back to do well for your people, you can’t take them for granted.

How can the leadership crisis in the Senate be prevented?

For the leadership (issue) in the Senate I experienced it and I believe the president also learnt from what happened. We don’t have to say that we are preventing it, because most of the work he could have done, if we had the right leadership we wouldn’t have been going through what we are going through today.

So, I believe that the president would have learnt one thing or two because when he came in, he said he doesn’t belong to anybody, but I know that by this time, he knows those people who belong to him. He will know that some people have his best interest at heart and some don’t!

What can the president do to smoothen relations between the executive and the legislature between now and May 29, 2019.

I don’t think much can be done now. It will lead to blackmail. For me, we are going to run and walk with what we have and I don’t think a PDP administration has much to offer us. They are the ones who got us into this rot in the first place and we are trying to get out of it.

To me, there is hope returning back to this nation and Nigerians should give the APC led administration another four years and they can decide thereafter. He is not a magician to just wave a wand and everything is back to normal. We didn’t get there overnight. Executive and parliamentary parley I think is gone. The president will still try and I think he is doing that, but that is why I said that it is more of blackmail but politics is like blackmail and I think he would be able to handle it.

But I don’t see our president yielding to blackmail and I think Nigeria needs such people. And I pray that he would remain focused and continue to steer the ship so that we can have a safe landing.

https://www.independent.ng/president-buhari-now-knows-those-who-belong-to-him-oluremi-tinubu/

Mtchew

And that is where the problem of Nigeria started . . . our leaders loyalty is to the person in power and not to the nation. This again is the erroneous definition of loyalty we held in nigeria.

Then he should know that 70 percent of Nigerians are not with him

Ok

Looting as a family business is Wonderful.


Remi, tell your husband to stop supporting the economic terrorist.

Even his cows are nt with him any more