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‘No Rift Between Fashola, Tinubu’—LASG
June 25, 2009 14:24, 1,242 views
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Lagos state government says there has never been a rift between governor Babatunde Fashola and the immediate past governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
The government viewed the rumour circulating that there is a rift between the duo as a ploy to distract the government of Fashola. Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Opeyemi Bamidele, who received executive members of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos state branch, in his office yesterday, said the state government was not moved by such fabricated lies. According to him, Fashola and Tinubu had never been at loggerheads, saying “they are trying to distract us.”
Bamidele stated that the fact that Fashola had excelled greatly showed that there had not been rift between him and the former governor. The commissioner noted that the Fashola administration would continue to follow the example of the administration of former governors Mobolaji Johnson and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, by impacting on the lives of the people. On the move by the NIPR, Lagos branch, to build the first ever Public Relations (PR) Estate, Bamidele welcomed the idea. He said the estate would help to enhance the mega-city status of the state, adding that the NIPR is the most relevant organisation that had produced dedicated PR practitioners.
He asked the leadership of the NIPR to document all their challenges and what they think government could do to help them actualise their dreams. Bamidele stated that the state government would network with the NIPR in order to move the state forward. Earlier, the outgoing chairman, NIPR, Lagos branch, Mrs. Nkechi Ali-Balogun, complained that the institute was faced with the problem of funding due to the fact that most members of the body did not pay their dues promptly. “Another challenge is capacity building. Our members are not being trained in line with the new trend. Lagos state government has the capacity to train our members,” she said. She stated that the institute would like to partner with the state government to move the state to greater heights. Ali-Balogun appealed to the state government to give the NIPR a land to build its permanent site as well as ensure that over 300 of its members in the civil service pay their dues promptly.
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Alor Otakagwu
25 June 2009 16:52It does not matter if there is a rift between Tinubu and Fashola. Tinubu should leave Fashola to do his work afterall he used his eight years to fight Obasanjo who seized his local government money and got nothing out of that. I am sure Fashola, through diplomacy Fashola has received this money from Yar Ardua. The fact that Tinubu handed over to Fashola does not make him superior to Fashola. What Tinubu did for eight years cannot be compared with Fashola has done in two years. Tinubu is Toronto graduate while Fashola trained in Uniben, and Toronto university has a “special” name in Nigeria. Do you remember the first speaker of the National Assembly in 1999, Burhari, he is also of Toronto.
R.S. Dauda
25 June 2009 17:45I think Opeyemi said it very wonderfully well. Hear it. “Bamidele stated that …….. the Fashola administration would continue to follow the example of the administration of former governors Mobolaji Johnson and Alhaji Lateef Jakande, by impacting on the lives of the people…” I know he cannot follow the example of Tinubu. You know what that means. I know that Tinubu may not like the way Fashola is performing because it is an obvious indictment on Tinubu’s administration of eight years with virtually nothing to show for these years and Fashola between two years has out perfomed him. I also heard that Tinubu has a Company which is in charge of tax proceeds in Lagos State and this company remits certain percentage to Tinubu’s private account which Fashola wanted to block so that more money can be available to develop the state and Tinubu is not happy with such move. Thank God for Fashola. God will continue to uphold you. even if he finds away of blocking you from contesting in 2011, just do what God has sent you to do for the people of Lagos State. He will reward you abundantly. God bless you and your family.
Gandhi
25 June 2009 17:49I have always wondered how a decent person with good pedigree ended up with a dubious character like Tinubu. They’ve even tried very well to maintain the relationship thus far. I’ve always knew the courtship won’t last.
Oladimeji
25 June 2009 17:51Alor, good thinking but should learn to be reasonable at all times. Im sure you are a member or sympathiser of PDP, the party that has mortgaged Nigeria future, spending five years doing nothing. Now Nigerians have been reduced to animals because only animals live in darkness, all at the pleasure of your sponsor. The fact that Lagos is working is a big plus to both Tinubu and Fashola and people should aplaud this.
Oloowu
25 June 2009 17:54please let us stop exhibiting our ignorance, Tinubu has nothing to do with Toronto , he actually attended chicago state University,I wonder what we derive from deriding our leaders .Tinubu did his part as governor, he put his boy there and we are saying he should leave the boy alone, Do you know what pact they signed? after all we had several people who believed they were members of Tinubu’s kitchen cabinet who cotested the primaries with Fashola,He threw his weight behind Fashola and the rest is now history.
If fashola is not complaining why do we have to complain on his behalf, he knew the implication of having a God father so why cause any rift between the 2 of them. Eko oni baje o
AUDU
25 June 2009 18:05we request the oba of lagos to come back again and tell tinubu to leave this great man alone and continue his regional agenda,any man that make’s lagosians happy is more respected than the president,lagos is the only city where all nigerians are complete.tinubu said it by himself that alimosho’s internal revenue is bigger than many state’s allocation,yet in eight years he did not archive what this great man has archive in two years,our able gov.please dont listen to tinubu just continue to devlope lagos,let him use the money he has stolen for last eight years to continue his regional agenda.long live fashola,long live lagos state
debo
25 June 2009 18:29Hello my people, no distraction please. Eko o ni ba je ooooooo
Wasiu2
25 June 2009 18:48THIS CAN NEVER BE TRUE.
BOTH OF THEM ARE THE BEST BEST GOVERNORS WE HAVE IN LAGOS STATE SO FAR.
FASHOLA TINUBU RIDE ON.
EKO ONI BAJE.
Chimezie Ndukwe
25 June 2009 18:53Alor Otakagwu, Senetor Tinubu does not in anyway deserve these hash words. He did well also at his time. Some of the good projects we are seeing now in Fasola’s dispensation, were Tinumbu’s brainchild. It’s part of the numerious benefits of continuity in government and administration. (uninterrupted connection). Fasola simply started from where Tinumbu stopped.
Fasola is building upon the foundation laid by Tinumbu. Please note that foundation laying is not that simple. It takes time and money.
As far as I know, Tinumbu is very sound and kind.
Segun
25 June 2009 19:09Public denials are usually issued for ‘closely’ guarded secrets that are becoming public knowledge. Every right thinking person expects this to happen someday!
TJ
25 June 2009 20:46The headline used on this story is deliberately misleading thus causing me to have misgivings about PM news’ motives. That said, the chairperson “complained that the institute was faced with the problem of funding due to the fact that most members of the body did not pay their dues promptly.” She is also quoted as saying . . “Another challenge is capacity building. Our members are not being trained in line with the new trend. Lagos state government has the capacity to train our members,”.
Why should the state government be responsible for training your members? For any organization to be viable as well as relevant to its members such that they are willing to pay dues to it, the organization must add value to the lives of its members. What has this organization done to add value to the lives of its members? You start to add value by contributing to the members’ academic, professional as well as spiritual growth. In as much as any of these needs are not met, no responsible government would/should mandate membership in an ineffective organization. As far as request for land, again a viable organization will buy its own and develop its followership. It is high-time we all move away from the sense of entitlement that breeds corruption in our society. Should the state give this organization a land what about the others? What about the church, mosque, synagogue and traditional healer that is to follow. What happens to the bequeathed land should the organization fail (as it is likely to.) As a professional group, this organization should look at other comparable organizations worldwide and emulate how things are done at successful ones. To build capacity, encourage your members to give training to other members, raise your profile in the society by volunteering. You can further add value by cultivating membership with students at the nation’s tertiary institutions and as they graduate, you are able to help some secure employment because you’d grown to know them. Such members will always be loyal and you will not have problem getting dues from them.
OLAOLU
25 June 2009 21:23Please be objective in your commentaries.
weather you like it or not,asiwaju provided the needed opposition to the dictator called obasanjo.His records are there for you to visualize.one of them is our own performing BRF.so when next you’re about to comment,reason like your kindred GREAT OJUKWU and not like IWU.
biodun onikate-amosu
25 June 2009 21:26@alor am sure u re [art of people that want to push BRF against Asiwaju of Universe, how can u conclude that Jagabon 8yrs cannot be compared with BRF 2yrs, of course it cannot be compared because Asiwaju had numerous successful projects to show 4 it. for your information the LGA money was released because Yar Adua believe in rule of law Q.E.D.
Omo Ola
25 June 2009 22:29Alor Otakagwu or what is your name called? i think you are very sick? how dare you talk to Asiwaju like that? I don’t blame you are from Anambra State
harry
26 June 2009 11:10why not leave Alor alone and come out with verifiable facts as to what Tinubu achieved in his 8 yrs and justify the N20 billion going to his company’s account every month from the state coffers under the guise of tax consultancy. am sure u don’t know the potential huge socio-economic benefit this money could offer us if it were available for the present gov for development. i know u might be quick to say he was handicapped by Obasanjo who witheld the monthly allocation from the federation account. To me it is a cheap alibi, what has he got to show for the monumental internally generated revenue that accrued within the state in 8 years? common guys! lets call a spade a spade Tinubu has got questions to answer and he not not in anyway distract our tru and true heroe Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Alor Otakagwu
26 June 2009 11:50Omo Ola, you are one of the few insane people that may have to be excised from this forum. Your little education is your bane. How on earth can you call me “sick” because of my views. You are free to say what you want but do not to deride other forum members. I have never met Tinubu or even Fashola in person. I only judge them from what I see on the ground.
Tinubu’s opposition to OBJ was a mere irresponsible rascality that did not pay him any dividend. Afterall he was always going to the airport to receive Obasanjo each time he was coming from Abuja to Lagos and he would always bow down before OBJ. Instead of remaining loyal he would leave the airport to start challenging OBJ on the pages of newspapers. OBJ is not my fan neither is Tinubu. The likes of Omo Ola, are the beneficiaries of Tinubu’s crude administration where area boys were used to collect revenue.
I am not from Anambra, but Anambra is one of the elitist states in Nigeria that has produced many successful human beings in Nigeria. I cannot think of any state in Nigeria that can be compared with Anambra in terms of human intellectuals, maybe Ogun State is the closet to it. So I would have been proud to come from Anambra. For your information I am from the oil rich Delta State. I am not from “tokunbo” state like your s.
john
26 June 2009 14:41May the two gentlemen find a ground for peaceful co-operation so that there will be no disturbance to the good BUT difficlt task BRF is carrying out in Lagos state.
john
26 June 2009 14:41the task before BRF is difficult.