Adebayo Adenrele
…says Ekiti deserve more than one ministerial slot
A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC) and cordinator of Tinubu support group in Ekiti State, Chief Segun Ajibulu on Tuesday appealed to President Bola Tinubu to persuade the senate to confirm the nomination of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai as minister
He said the former governor of Kaduna State played a significant role in the emergence of Tinubu, first as the APC Presidential candidate and his subsequent victory in the election.
Speaking with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Tuesday, the APC Stalwart stated that it was Mallam El-Rufai who persuaded the Northern political elite, particularly the twelve Northern governors, to allow power shift to the South.
In his words, “Mr President must be careful in the way he handles the matter concerning key personality in the APC . El-Rufai as a governor played a significant role in the emergence of Tinubu, first as the APC Presidential candidate
“It is an open fact that El-Rufai waged relentless war against the cabals under Buhari’s administration to ensure the emergence of President Tinubu.
” Mr President needs to rescue El- Rufai from the old and new cabals who may want to take a palm of flesh from the former governor who thwarted their evil plots against Tinubu .Let Mr President price you the whole world that Yoruba, as a people, has integrity and we are not ingrates .
“We all know the capacity of El-Rufai when it comes to performance and service delivery. I think Tinubu needs a bold ,brilliant and committed politician, like Elrufai around him ,most especially now that the country is going through one of her toughest times in history”.
On Ekiti single ministerial slot, Ajibulu argued that the state deserve more than one ministerial slot, giving the contribution of the state towards the victory of President Tinubu at the presidential poll.
Ajibulu, who contended that, if states like Lagos and Ogun could get three slots each, Ekiti which was the first state to open the floodgates of victory for APC in the last Presidential poll, deserve the same recognition.
“Let me start by appreciating Mr President for choosing one of our own in Ekiti,Dele Alake as Minister designate .I must quickly add that Ekiti,considering the volume support and contributions to the victory of President Tinubu deserves more than one slot.
If some states like Ogun and others could get three slots ,Ekiti should be considered for another slot. It is on record that Ekiti is the first State to open the floodgate of electoral victory for Tinubu in the last Presidential election with over 200,000 votes .
“Again ,President Tinubu should not forget in a hurry ,many of his former comrades and political allies, who fought alongside with him in the trenches during the struggle for democracy . The reward system should be excellent and enduring”
Chief Ajibulu also admonished states and federal government to ensure honest distribution of the palliative to deserving Nigerians ,particularly the poorest of the poor .
“While I will encourage President Tinubu to fashion out more policies and programmes to ameliorate the sufferings of Nigerians, i want to say that the bulk of the responsibility lies with the governors now. Since more funds are now being allocated to the states as a result of the revenue accrued from the stoppage of fuel subsidy payment, the state chief executives should allow their people to feel the impact of the huge resources coming in .
“The federal government should do more in fighting insecurity and protect Nigerian farmers. The fear of kidnapping and banditry is driving many farmers away from their farms. Let them go back to the farm and produce more food for the people.
“In addition to this , Ekiti is so lucky to have Mr Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji as governor. The man has been performing excellently well. He is connecting and relating with the people well .Oyebanji would be about the only governor in recent time who is being praised by both members of the ruling party and the opposition. My prayer to God is to give him the courage and good health to sustain the good work .Ekiti is enjoying the best of time with Oyebanji as the governor.
“Going through the items ,as declared by governor Oyebanji as palliatives for Ekiti people, I think it is the best so far .What is left now is for the governor to institute strong mechanism to monitor the honest and total implementation of the social intervention programme.
“More importantly, the governor should ensure that the informal sector of the state economy are also captured by way of providing interest free or soft soft loans to boast their businesses too. They are also feeling the heat of the current economic hardship.
“Beyond the palliatives, government at all levels must guide against the current exploitation of unsuspecting members of the public by Petrol Marketers as well as other traders .There are barrage of complaints of under-dispensing of petrol products to customers. It is high time we had price regulation task force in Ekiti and other States.Nigerians ae going through a lot already and they should not be subjected to more pains ,through brazen exploitation. “Ajibulu said
