The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, on Thursday expressed confidence in the cabinet team just unveiled by President Muhammadu Buhari, including the immediate past Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who was named the Minister of Power, Works and Housing.
Tinubu, who spoke in Lagos at the inauguration of the extended Mile 12 -Ikorodu BRT corridor, said he was proud to be a political father and grandfather of Fashola and the incumbent Governor of Lagos state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.
He said he had no doubt that the new Federal Executive Council members assembled by Buhari would succeed beyond the people’s imagination.
“We are in the front row now and we will ensure that Nigeria is turned around and succeeds beyond your imagination,” he said.
Tinubu, who is a past governor of Lagos State, described Fashola as a committed democrat, saying, “he will succeed, and all of them at the centre. This government is focused and they will succeed.
“I am a proud father and grandfather. I believe that Nigeria is in good hands. This government will move Nigeria forward. With the President leading this team and we, at the background telling them what we know about good governance, I have no doubt that we will succeed and Fashola will make us proud in his new assignment, just as he made us very proud in Lagos.”
Tinubu said those already calling President Buhari ‘Baba go slow,’ were ignorant about the strategic thinking required for good governance.
He said, “When I was in government, I was also labelled ‘Baba go slow’. But we were determined to lead a fundamental transformation of our state and break uncommon grounds and today, we are seeing the result of the sound and solid foundation.”
According to him, what President Buhari is doing now is to prepare the ground for a good beginning, adding, “Buhari is taking his time to redesign governance and take us away from the ways of the plunderers.
“He is gathering financial intelligence needed to lead a transformational administration at the centre. Lagos has taken that same road before. I took over the reins of government when the oil (crude oil) was $11 per barrel, and we needed to take another view at our profile and see how we can do things differently, today, I am happy that some of the people who believed in such dream pioneered a different course in governance and many of them have today found themselves serving at the centre.”
Tinubu said the BRT scheme had become a reference point even by the World Bank, being recommended to other nations confronting mass transit challenges.
He commended his successor, Fashola, for continuing the project and making Lagos a model city.
“He has been committed to our vision and our mission in government. He stood his grounds against intimidation and today, he has moved on,” Tinubu said.
The APC leader described Ambode as a man extremely gifted in providing solutions to problems.
He recalled how Ambode provided solutions to the financial crisis that engulfed the state during his tenure between 1999 and 2007 when the then Federal Government seized the monthly allocation of Lagos for 23 months.
“When we were thinking of whom to succeed Babatunde Raji Fashola as Lagos State Governor, Ambode himself never thought about it; we sought him out and I’m proud to be a grandfather.
“I have many of them who are extremely gifted and talented and I have no doubt that Fashola will succeed even as a minister. You can see portfolios they gave to our people here; the government is now put together by our chosen President to move Nigeria.”
Ambode, after inaugurating the BRT extension project and new 434 buses for the corridor, expressed optimism that the project would bring comfort and convenience to commuters in the state.
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