Bebe Akinboade
You Are Here

TINUBU, FASHOLA CLASH @ BIRTHDAY COLLOQUIUM

Spread the love

“If there’s no partiality, you cannot be governor yourself,” Mr. Tinubu tells Mr. Fashola.
The Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, got a rude shock from his principal and predecessor, Bola Tinubu, Wednesday after he tried to make a case for disgruntled party members.
Mr. Fashola, one of the speakers at the 4th annual Bola Tinubu Colloquium, an event organized to mark the former Lagos State governor’s 60th birthday; said that he had been asked by the lower cadre members of the party to prevail on the celebrant to dispense “justice equally” to all members.

MR. TINUBU REFUSED
“If there’s no partiality, you cannot be governor yourself,” he told Mr. Fashola, adding that he had not regretted choosing him as governor.
“Ask them not to give me the task, that I’ll not be able to deliver,” said Mr. Tinubu.
“What I’d done consistently in the past, why would I want to change at 60?
“I’ve succeeded with that behaviour and sorry I’ll not deviate from it,” he added.

 POLITICAL HEAVYWEIGHTS MEET
The colloquium, which held under a heavy police presence at the Eko Hotel and Suites, was a gathering of political heavyweights across the country.
Adams Oshiomhole and Lucky Igbinedion, present and former Edo State governors; Diepreye Alamieseigha, former Bayelsa State governor; Rauf Aregbesola, Osun State governor; Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, Niger State governor; Aminu Tambuwal, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

LAGOS BATTLES
With Ade Ipaye, the Attorney-General of Lagos State; and Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a member of the House of Representatives; introducing the speakers for the day; the colloquium delved into graphic presentations of some landmark achievements in the state from 1997 till date.
“Hardly anybody gave us a chance, but on reflections, it was an extremely daunting challenge,” said Yemi Cardoso, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget during Mr. Tinubu’s administration.

In his presentation ‘Public Finance in an Emerging Megapolis,’ Wale Edun, a former Commissioner for Finance, noted how the state grew its internally generated revenue from N600 million in 1999 to more than N15 billion in 2011.

Leke Pitan, a Commissioner during the celebrant’s administration, spoke at length on the reforms in the education and health sector since 1999; from provision of free anti malaria and ante natal drugs to building “mega” schools before it was cut short by the audience applauding him in mid speech.

Yemi Osinbajo reminisced about his first meeting with Mr. Tinubu in April 1999 and the state’s various litigation with the federal government.

The occasion also witnessed the presentation of the book ‘Asiwaju: Leadership in Troubled Times’.
About N50 million cash was realized from the sale of the book at the event, with most of the guest preferring to disclose their donations privately.
The organizers said that the proceeds from the sales would be channeled into a fund, the Bola Tinubu Institute for Good Governance.

bebeakinboade
Latest posts by bebeakinboade (see all)

Related Posts