His campaign promises were clearly spelt out, on eight (8) points, which are:
Food security
Poverty eradication
Growth
Job Creation
Access to capital
Inclusion
Rule of law
Fighting corruption.
Upon being declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and pronounced the elected President by the court, he (President Bola Ahmed Tinubu) left no one in doubt of his commitment to these promises as he translated them from mere campaign promises to the focus of his administration as 8 points Agenda.
Meaning our operations daily will be systemically geared towards making these 8 things the experience for all Nigerians. It is therefore a simple excise to appraise Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s one year in office. Just by asking yourself how secure is my daily bread? Am I on my way out of poverty in the last one year? How much of growth have I experienced in 365 days of Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
Those who were jobless before Tinubu’s presidency and are gainfully employed through his 50 million job creation promise should help us rate BAT on job creation.
On access to CAPITAL, the N90 billion given to Hajj I guess is Capital for those who are going to buy dates to resell in Nigeria?
Inclusion must have sounded ambiguous, but how included are you in the system or how captured are you in its delivery?
On rule of law, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is too stubborn to be the yardstick to measure BAT. Moreover, he is a Biafran. Segun Olatunji is a Yoruba-Nigerian, Editor of First News should tell the story of military invasion at his home and the 14 days of rule of law in military enclave.
Do I need to bother you about our fight against corruption? Pastor Olanipekun Olukoyede should just carry the EFCC Register of persons under investigation, and go to the national assembly to mark register like an old class teacher. For example, please it’s just an example o! He should call out the name of the head of our National Assembly, only if his name is on the list o! Godswill Akpabio! Then we all wait for the response to rate BAT’s fight against corruption.
Like the master of the game and expert in public distraction he is. While the debate on his performance was raging and opinions are divided. BAT set a new agenda for public discourse, a narrative that will drown the performance debate, a move that will definitely put the Governors in a bad public light. A strike that is bound to settle the scores of the political crisis that had engulfed Rivers State for some time now!
Tinubu led Federal Government dropped the ace card of the 2027 game!
Beyond settling the Rivers State issue, it is bound to endear the President to the heart of all the 774 Local Government Chairmen in the country. The President by this, has proven to be the smartest Democrat alive today.
In his days as Governor of Lagos State, he headed to court to have many conflicts between his state (Lagos) and the Federal Government resolved by the Judiciary.
If politics is a game, the grandmaster of Politics in Nigeria is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As a matter of fact, he is in a class of himself. In an article I wrote recently, I narrated the legalisation of the illegality of the phenomenon of suppression and oppression of the third tier of government that has become the culture of relationship between State Government and the Local Government as originating from Lagos State; titled Governors are Nigerians’ number one enemies’. You can visit my blog;
bolajioakinyemi.com to read the article.
This President is far more than what his opponents and Nigerians are making of him. “BAT is not drunk with power, rather power is a victim in BAT’s hands”. This quote should be noted! Posterity will judge me right or wrong on it.
The passage of the bill on Local Government autonomy and assent of President Buhari has made no difference. The illegality has been institutionalised by all the Governors since 1999!
The Federal Government has instituted a legal action against the Governors of the 36 States of the Federation at the Supreme Court over alleged misconduct in the administration of Local Government Areas, (LGAs).
FG, in the suit marked: SC/CV/343/2024, which was filed by the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, is seeking full autonomy for all LGAs in the country as the third tier of government.
It specifically prayed the apex court to issue an order prohibiting State Governors from embarking on unilateral, arbitrary and unlawful dissolution of democratically elected local government leaders.
As well as for an order permitting the funds standing in the credits of local governments to be directly channelled to them from the Federation Account in line with the provisions of the Constitution as against the alleged unlawful joint accounts created by Governors.
Besides, FG prayed the Supreme Court for an order stopping Governors from further constituting Caretaker Committees to running the affairs of local governments as against the Constitutionally recognized and guaranteed democratic system!
It equally applied for an order of injunction, restraining the Governors, their agents and privies, from receiving, spending or tampering with funds released from the Federation Account for the benefits of local governments when no democratically elected local government system is put in place in the States.
Governors of the 36 States were sued through their respective Attorneys General.
In the 27 grounds it listed in support of the suit, FG, argued that Nigeria, as a federation, was a creation of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, with the President, as Head of the Federal Executive Arm, swearing on oath to uphold and give effects to provisions of the Constitution!
It told the apex court: “That the Governors represent the component states of the Federation with Executive Governors who have also sworn to uphold the Constitution and to at all times, give effect to the Constitution and that the Constitution, being the supreme law, has binding force all over the Federation of Nigeria.
“That the Constitution of Nigeria recognizes federal, states and local governments as three tiers of government and that the three recognized tiers of government draw funds for their operations and functioning from the Federation Account created by the Constitution.
“That by the provisions of the Constitution, there must be a democratically elected local government system and that the Constitution has not made provisions for any other systems of governance at the local government level other than democratically elected local government system.
“That in the face of the clear provisions of the Constitution, the governors have failed and refused to put in place a democratically elected local government system even where no state of emergency has been declared to warrant the suspension of democratic institutions in the State(s).
“That the failure of the Governors to put democratically elected Local Government system in place, is a deliberate subversion of the 1999 Constitution which they and the President have sworn to uphold!
“That all efforts to make the governors comply with the dictates of the 1999 Constitution in terms of putting in place democratically elected Local Government systems has not yielded any result and than to continue to disburse funds from the Federation Account to Governors for non existing democratically elected Local Government is to undermine the sanctity of the 1999 Constitution!
“That in the face of the violations of the 1999 Constitution, the federal government is not obligated under section 162 of the Constitution to pay any State, funds standing to the credit of local governments where no democratically elected Local Government system is in place.”
Consequently, FG, prayed the Supreme Court to invoke sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the Constitution to declare that the State Governors and State Houses of Assembly are under obligation to ensure a democratic system at the third tier of government in Nigeria and to also invoke the same sections to hold that the governors cannot lawfully dissolve democratically elected Local Government councils!
It also prayed for the invocation of sections 1, 4, 5, 7 and 14 of the Constitution to declare that dissolution of democratically elected Local Government Councils by the Governors or anyone using the State powers derivable from laws enacted by the State Houses of Assembly or any Executive Order, is unlawful, unconstitutional, null and void!
In a 13 paragragh affidavit that was deposed to by one Kelechi Ohaeri from the Federal Ministry of Justice, the AGF said he filed the suit under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, on behalf of the FG.
The deponent averred that Local Government system recognized by the Constitution are democratically elected Local Government council heads, adding that the amount due to Local Government Councils from the Federation Account is to be paid to Local Government system recognized by the Constitution!
FG said it would in the course of the hearing tender Daily Post online publication of January 29, 2024 titled “LG Administration; 15 Governors, under scrutiny over Constitutional breach”, Vanguard online special report of September 12, 2023, Guardian editorial of January 23, 2024, Premium Times online publication of December 1, 2023, Vanguard online publication of December 1, 2023 and Arise online news of December 2, 2023, to justify the national importance and the public interest on the issue of granting autonomy to LGAs in the country!
I am not a fan of Tinubu and I don’t have to be one to tell you for free that this is the biggest democratic move since 1999. Nigeria would never see remarkable human capital development except we allow the Government at the Local Area levels to function. That is where we all live. There, our franchises are exercised to elect all political leaders.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has fixed May 30 the day after one year of Tinubu’s Presidency to hear the suit.
This ruling of Supreme Court if in favour of the Federal Government’s prayers, will definitely translate into a game changer for the governorship elections in Edo and Ondo. I only hope the oppositions are seeing what am seeing and should be back to their drawing boards.
I can’t wait for this. Get ready for Owambe(balling); no Ankara-no semo, as we fondly say of owambe parties in the South West. 774 locations across the country would witness eating and drinking by men and women in Ankara; singing “on your mandate we shall stand.”
This mandate ehn, na by tulasi! Tuale to the BAT! A creature of two natures. The most ‘democratic’…I leave you to assume the unsaid!
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He’s also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table. He can be reached via email:bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com, Facebook: Bolaji Akinyemi, X: Bolaji O Akinyemi, Instagram: bolajioakinyemi, or Phone: +2348033041236
