LAGOS COMMENCES DISTRIBUTION OF PALLIATIVES TO CITIZENS

Lagos State Government has commenced the distribution of palliative measures to vulnerable residents in fulfilment of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu’s promise to cushion the effects of the hardship being experienced by Lagosians occasioned by the fuel scarcity and non-disbursement of currency by the banks.

Speaking at the launch and distribution exercise held today at Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium, Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the distribution will be a continuous exercise as the government will be reaching out to religious centres, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) and other distribution channels across the State.

Sanwo[b]-Olu, who was represented at the event by his deputy Dr. Obafemi Hamzat[/b], said the targeted beneficiaries of the palliatives include the vulnerable and civil servants, among others, adding that the move is to alleviate the hunger that has been the outcome of currency redesigned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other crises associated with fuel scarcity.

In his words, “The purpose of the palliative is to cushion the biting effects of the current scarcity of Naira occasioned by the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) naira swap policy and the lingering fuel scarcity in the State”.

The Governor explained further that the measures became necessary to improve the living condition of the vulnerable residents of the State, saying “We are doing this to alleviate the pains and sufferings of Lagoaians. The distributed boxes contain different food items for the consumption of the vulnerable in the society”.

Earlier, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA), Mrs. Cecelia Dada stated that the Lagos State Government has put together the palliative measure for Lagosian, particularly the vulnerable residents in society.

Dada stressed that the present administration is mindful of the welfare of its people and that the challenges faced by citizens are due to the naira swap and difficulties being experienced in accessing their money at the banks.

Members of the Lagos chapter of Yam Dealers and Traders Association of Nigeria have declared their support for presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the party’s gubernatorial candidate in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The yam dealers, in their numbers, led an endorsement rally to the Tinubu-Shettima/Sanwo-Olu-Hamzat Independent Campaign Council (ICC) office in Ikeja GRA, brandishing tubers of yam and their permanent voter cards (PVCs).

The traders were received by the Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and the ICC Director-General, Mr. Tayo Ayinde.

Kehinde Olaosebikan, Chairman of the association, said the rally was a way of conveying the yam traders’ appreciation to the APC Government in Lagos for several interventions, which, he said, had benefited the association’s members greatly.

Dr. Hamzat told the traders that endorsement rally for the Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu tickets was first leg of their responsibility towards ensuring the success of the candidates at the polls. The second leg, the Deputy Governor said, is to galvanise all their members to vote en mass for APC at the elections.

He urged some of the association members who were yet to get their PVCs to do so within the time window announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), urging the electorate to prepare total

Hamzat said: “The coming general elections are crucial for our party and State. We must show our strength and numbers, because we are not just going to vote; we want to humiliate the opposition parties with a very wide margin. We have over seven million voters in Lagos alone and our target is to deliver five million votes to elect our presidential candidate. By the support we have received from your association, we believe the margin is attainable.

Those contesting against Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu are political clowns who don’t understand anything about governance. We must use our votes to retire them. Tinubu is not only fit to run for president, he is the smartest political personality of this period. He is bold, intelligent and influential. We have a Governor in Lagos who is making positive impact on the lives of citizens. For us continue to see the amazing projects delivered, you must return Sanwo-Olu to power. Your endorsement is a great step, but this must be completed by voting massively for APC.”

The Deputy Governor said APC’s agricultural programmes and policies had raised the level of food security in the country, noting that the Sanwo-Olu administration had recently flagged off the construction of what would be the largest Food Security Systems and Central Logistics Park in sub-Saharan Africa.

Dr. Hamzat said part of the objectives of the food park, being built on 1.2 million square metres of land in Ketu-Ereyun, Epe, was to reduce the loss of peasant farmers and petty traders in the value chains.

The food park, he said, is a component of an audacious five-year Agricultural and Food Systems Road Map (2021–2025) launched last year by Gov. Sanwo-Olu to enhance food sufficiency in Lagos.

Ayinde hailed the yam traders for turning out to endorse Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu, stressing that the association’s support for the APC was based on unprecedented growth in food production and security achieved in the sector.

The gesture of the yam traders, he said, would boost the support base of the party in Lagos and increase the APC’s chance in attaining victory at the presidential election.

Ayinde urged the yam traders to mobilise their members into voting all the APC candidates running for legislative seats in the State and federal elections.

Olaosebikan said it was time to pay back Tinubu, whom, he said, was the first Governor in the current republic to create a small business loan scheme for petty enterprises in the informal economy.

The yam traders’ association chairman recalled how Sanwo-Olu came through for the yam sellers when they were threatened with ejection from their depot located around Berger axis. The Governor, Olaosebikan said, had not only protected their interests, but has also sustained the loan programme for petty traders.

He said: “We have embarked on this endorsement rally in support of our father, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who saw our plights and rescued many of us from the grip despair. Many of us could not own shops, much less stocking them with yams. Tinubu initiated a loan programme from which many of our members benefited. Some used the money to start businesses, which are still flourishing till today.

“This is a pay back time for the man who helped us. We are not in doubt that APC Government has done its best in supporting farmers and bringing about best policies to assist us. Sanwo-Olu has sustained the small business loan and we have members still benefiting from this scheme.” We are here with our PVCs to show that we have the numbers and strength to return APC to power in Lagos and at the federal level.”

All Progressives Congress Presidential Candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assured Muslim leaders in the country that he will offer fair and just leadership to all Nigerians if elected president.

Tinubu gave the assurance in a town hall meeting with Muslim leaders from the North West geopolitical zone in Kano on Tuesday.

The APC candidate urged the religious leaders to ensure that they preach unity and harmony among their followers rather than division and disunity, saying that is the only way the nation could experience development.

He said: “Religious leaders like you are agents of harmony and hope, not division and disunity. All well-meaning Nigerians, regardless of political affiliation, must join hands against violence, hunger, ignorance and bigotry.

“We all must live together. No one has the right to try to lord over the other. Allah stands against such injustice. And where Allah stands, all bad things must fall. Mean-spirited politicians – those thinking only of themselves or those who think they mean more than the nation itself - will go to great lengths to deceive or recruit eminent persons to unknowingly preach division and hatred.

“They cannot win with the truth. So, they will try to win with a lie. But a lie never wins in the end. Those they cannot beat with honesty, they seek to beat them with untruth and falsity. They want to turn servants of God into preachers of division and hateful sentiment.”

Speaking further, Tinubu told the Muslim leaders that he had demonstrated a sense of unity and oneness in all his campaigns and would continue to do so.

Tinubu pledged to conduct himself in public office on the values and ideals of fairness and justice, adding that he would always speak about facts and truths, policies and programs.

On expectations from him if elected president, he reminded the faith leaders of his record as Lagos State governor.

Tinubu said: “I promise to be a fair and just leader. This pledge is based on the Islamic teachings on leadership. A leader in a plural society is enjoined to be a leader for all. If elected, I shall govern in harmony with our nation’s democratic Constitution.

“More than that. I shall tackle this nation’s problems with a commitment to solving them. I say this not as a boast. I say it based on my record. As Lagos governor, I assembled perhaps the most diverse team by any state government. That team was based on competence, not tribal this or regional that. It was not based on the attire one wore or the accent one spoke with, but on the quality of one’s ideas and contributions to society.

“If given the chance by Almighty Allah, I will operate in the same spirit of inclusiveness and innovation in order to renew the hope of our people. My highest priorities shall be the protection of our land and prosperity of its people.”

He further dwelt on his plans for the economy, promising to make security, making the economy one of widely shared prosperity and agriculture the three pillars of his government.

"Regarding security, my policy is not an artificial created to sound good for this campaign. My security policy is based on dedicated study and long conversations with experts in this field. This is the same approach I used to tackle the bad security situation that faced me when I became governor of Lagos. I created programs and institutions to solve the real and dangerous challenges Lagos faced," he said.

“We shall increase security personnel and better equip them. Advanced air and ground surveillance technology will identify, track and attack the criminals until they are utterly defeated. As we fight terror and crime, we shall also attack poverty, hunger and the despair they cause, ” he added.

On the economy, he said:

"My plan is to turn this economy into a more robust and broad economy where those who want work can find a good job. We will revive the manufacturing and textile sectors in Kano and elsewhere by reforming tax and import policies to create jobs for our people. These policies will also produce the goods and services that improve the daily lives of the average person.

“We all should find it unacceptable that Kano is no longer the manufacturing hub it once was. My policies will do more than revive it. It will expand it beyond what it once was to make it what it should be.

“As I said during the commissioning of the Kolmani oil wells, we will invest in that project and indeed all vital infrastructural projects such as the Mambilla Power Project, the AKK gas pipeline projects. We shall revive our inland waterways through the dredging of the River Niger and make sure we cut down on our steel import bill by making the Ajaokuta Steel Company work.”

He added, “Regarding agriculture, we will increase food security through enhanced productivity and improved farm incomes. Farming will be adequately returned to its prominent position. To strengthen our social fabric and guarantee the future, massive investment in education will ensure that we nourish and guide our youth toward better lives.”

The APC standard-bearer also promised to provide a lasting solution to the almajiri challenge by appointing a special commission to work towards that. This he said is expedient because “every child has the right to an education. It is a social wrong to see them roam the streets or drop out due to poverty."

Jigawa and Kano state governors Muhammad Badaru Abubakar and Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, respectively, described Asiwaju Tinubu as a visionary person who is trustworthy.

Badaru also stated that Tinubu is physically and mentally healthy, contrary to mischievous insinuations.

"People spread fake news about his health status. We that are with him know that he is very healthy. Aside bodily health, he has very high mental alertness," he said.

The Jigawa governor recounted how he joined Tinubu on a recent trip to London and Saudi Arabia where they had the stressful lesser hajj ritual and came back to Nigeria without having any rest.

He said Asiwaju "has deep respect for our people and we have found in him a dependable friend who will not shame us, by the grace of God".

Ganduje said religious leaders have a role to play in choosing political leadership in the light of their role as guardians of the society.

"As people who are after the wellbeing of the society, you have every reason to be interested in who leads the people to greater prosperity," he said.

He added that Tinubu had over the years demonstrated that he is a fair leader who is not driven by ethnic sentiments.

Some Muslim leaders who spoke at the occasion including Ustaz Aminu Aliyu Gusau, Sheikh Dr Khalid Aliyu Abubakar, Malam Tijani Imam Kano, among others declared support for Tinubu.

Tinubu Media Office,
Tunde Rahman,
03 January, 2023.

We read with amusement the endorsement of Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party Presidential Candidate by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in his New Year message on Sunday.

Following calls by journalists from various media houses who asked for our reaction we decided to make this preliminary statement, though we didn't consider the so-called endorsement to be of any value.

We respect the democratic right of former President Obasanjo to support and endorse any candidate of his choice in any election.

Except that he made it known formally in his new year message, any discerning political watcher in Nigeria knows that Chief Obasanjo’s preference for Peter Obi is expected. He had earlier stated his position at various public events, the last being at the 70th birthday anniversary of Chief John Nwodo, former President of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Enugu.

We make bold to say that our party and candidate, Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not lose sleep over Obasanjo’s move, as Obasanjo is notorious for always opposing progressive political forces, as he did against MKO Abiola in 1993.

The endorsement is actually worthless because the former President does not possess any political goodwill or leverage anywhere in Nigeria to make anyone win a Councillorship election let alone win a Presidential election. He is a political paperweight.

He is also not a democrat anyone should be proud to be associated with.

We recall that in 2003 and 2007 general elections when he was a sitting President, Obasanjo used all the coercive instruments of State at his disposal to railroad people into elective offices against the will of Nigerians as expressed at the polls. In 2007, he declared the polls a do or die affair after he failed in his bid to amend our constitution to have a third term.

From our records, President Obasanjo has not successfully made anyone win election in Nigeria since then.

Not even in Ogun State can anyone rely on his support or endorsement to become a governor or Councillor.

We pity Peter Gregory Obi as we are confident that Chief Obasanjo can not win his polling unit and ward in Abeokuta for Obi in the coming Presidential election on 25 February, 2023.

Chief Obasanjo's endorsement is not a political currency Mr. Peter Obi can spend anywhere in Nigeria because he is not a political force, even in his part of the country.

Chief Obasanjo similarly endorsed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Peoples Democratic Party candidate in 2019 against President Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku was walloped by Buhari with a wide margin in the election.

History will repeat itself in February as our candidate Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu will equally beat Obi by a large margin.

We take a particular notice of the part of the endorsement statement where Chief Obasanjo said none of the presidential candidates is a Saint.

We want to state here that Chief Obasanjo is not a good judge of character. He is a man who considers only himself as the all-knowing Saint in Nigeria.

Over the years, Chief Obasanjo has also convinced himself that integrity, honesty and all good virtues begin and end with him.

Bayo Onanuga
Director, Media & Publicity
APC Presidential Campaign Council
January 1, 2023

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has reinforced his stand on justice for the family of Bolanle Raheem, who was shot dead by a policeman on Christmas Day.
He sent a delegation today to console the family at their home in Ajah.
“We have the permission of Mr Governor to tell you that justice will be done in this matter. The matter will be charged to court as soon as the police send us the case file. I will be leading the prosecution to show the seriousness the government attaches to this matter,” Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice Moyo Onigbanjo SAN said.

Special Adviser Tubosun Alake said Mr Governor urged the family to take heart. He prayed that The Almighty would console the family.
The husband of the late Bolanle, Mr Gbenga Raheem, thanked Mr Sanwo-Olu for his empathy.

Also in the delegation were Head of Service Muri Okunola, who signed the condolence register on behalf of the government ,Women and Poverty Alleviation Commissioner Mrs Bolaji Dada and Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso

Gbenga Omotoso
HC, Information and Strategy