AN action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leader in Lagos Chief Ayo Akande has lauded the leadership role of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu in Yorubaland. He urged the people of the six states to support the party’s national leaders noble intentions for prosperity and progress of the race.

He said, although Senator Tinubu is a detribalised national leader of ACN, he has demonstrated that charity begins at home. Lauding him for the power shift from the conservative bloc to progressives, he pointed out that the performance of ACN governors of Lagos, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Ogun states demonstrated that his liberation struggle in the Southwest in post-Bola Ige era has not been in vain.

Akande noted that Ige was murdered before he could leave the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to lead the battle to reclaim the Southwest from political marauders.

Akande, a member of the executive committee of the party in Lagos State, observed that Tinubu had laid the foundation upon which his successor, Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has continued to build.

He recalled that, despite the hostility of Obasanjo Administration, the former governor proceeded with the creation of additional councils to foster grassroots development.

Akande said, not only was Tinubu preoccupied with economic and political development of Lagos, he also spared thoughts for the fate of other Southwest states groaning under the yoke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said the schools he built, the roads he tarred, housing estates he constructed, hospitals he established and other amenities he put in place are worthy legacies of his eventful tenure.

Akande also spoke on “Tinubu the true federalist”, pointing out that his objection to the lopsided federal arrangement has exposed Nigerians to the dangers of the centrist approach to governance.

He said: “What is the federal government doing? It is a large congregation and they are holding on a large percentage of the revenue. You must break it down.

“Local government creation is very fundamental. Once the local governments are doing well, the state will do well. If your local government is able to do roads and drainages, you have done the whole of the state. More money should be pumped into local government structurally and put quality into their management. But, except you remove this element of corruption, you will never get quality people running them. “What has the federal government got to do with roads? Federal roads are not being fixed and in deplorable condition. For example, Ibadan to Lagos is bad. If they had left their repair to the state, one connecting state will be able to say let us fix this road. Not that somebody would sit in Abuja and say “Airport road is not good”. They don’t care”.

Akande lamented that Tinubu was being witch-hunted by the PDP federal government as part of its agenda to foist one party system on the country. He congratulated the party leader for triumph over his detractors.

He said: “Tinubu left office more than five years. Bringing him before the Code of Conduct Tribunal was a distraction.It is an attempt to intimidate Tinubu. They have seen him making steady progress politically. ACN’s profile is rising. But Tinubu is not somebody that can be intimidated. He is a fighter for a just cause, rule of law and democracy. “Tinubu should be the leader of the Yorubas in the context of political leadership. Awolowo was the leader of the Yorubas and he was not an Oba. The Obas should look after the tradition. Let the politicians look after politics. Whoever is doing well in politics should be the leader. He is the leader now”.

Akande said that, under Tinubu leadership, Yoruba has been united by the outcome of the last general elections in the geo-political zone, reminiscent of the harmony of the Awolowo era when the states rejected the mainstream agenda.

He enjoined progressives across the federation to use the opportunity of the constitution review to press for true federalism, state police, review of the revenue formula and sustainability of the local government system.

Akande opposed the single tenure proposal by President Goodluck Jonathan, saying that “what are important to the citizens are electricity, regular fuel supply by home refineries, jobs for jobless people, good roads and comprehensive social welfare”. [url]http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/politics/31173-%E2%80%98why-tinubu-is-a-political-icon%E2%80%99.html[/url]