The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has said that he will be the courageous leader that Nigeria needs to tackle its challenges.
Tinubu, who is a presidential aspirant, stated this on Wednesday during a one-day forum organised by the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, for serving Speakers and former Speakers and deputies in Ikeja GRA.
At the event themed, ‘The legislature,changing times and Nigeria’s democratic journey,’ which was attended by 15 serving House of Assembly Speakers from APC-governed states, the presidential aspirant noted that he was the first state governor to grant autonomy to the House.
He said, “We have the brilliance, the resources and the focus. We do not just know how to run the race and take care of the gear of progress. Just as I need Nigeria, Nigeria needs me. Nigeria needs drastic courageous changes that will bring revenue and I am that courageous one it needs. I was raised to be courageous and this has been working for me. I want to bring same to bear as president of Nigeria.”
“In the face of tyranny, I have survived, struggled for democracy; I have endured the bush path, lived without a family, spent resources. To make Nigeria one is a task and who could do it? I am one. I am the first governor to grant autonomy to the House of Assembly. I survived non-allocation of local government funds. We didn’t suffer; we didn’t retrench. We made progress out of adversity.
“I inherited N600m as Internally Generated Revenue with zero allocation from Federation Accounts Allocation Committee. But we survived and today, Lagos is number one economy. That is why I am begging you to do me a favour so that I can do Nigeria a favour.
“It is a very challenging time for us in the country and we need to decide the next leadership right. We need to intellectually assess the current situation, bring in a person with a clear vision and ability to deliver. Accelerated development of our country is all about thinking, doing and being courageous. I am a thinker and a doer.”
Obasa described Tinubu as a talent hunter and the brain behind the legislative autonomy of the state.
“I am standing here before you because Asiwaju is a talent hunter. He is someone that would support you, raise you to a point of leadership and give you room to excel. I can confirm that he is the brain behind the legislative autonomy that we enjoy today at the Lagos State House of Assembly and he did this far before the clamour for it by other states,” he said.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the forum was held as part of wide consultations embarked on by the APC leader in his bid to win the support of the party members across various backgrounds and camps.
He stated, “It is not by chance that you all are gathered here today. It is because we agree totally that you all are important stakeholders that need to be engaged and identified with separately from others. You are the real foot soldiers who can go back to the hallowed chambers and pass the message to all members of your respective Houses of Assembly and your former colleagues in the legislature across states.”