Ibekimi Oriamaja Reports
Former Lagos State deputy governor Otunba Femi Pedro has stated that the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would revitalize the economy if elected, “because he is well prepared for the job.”
In Ikeja, Lagos, he spoke at the public presentation and launch of Adesina Adetola’s book, Nigeria & Democratic Governance: The Seats, the Battles, and the Prospects.
“This is God’s appointed time for Tinubu to become president and change the face of Nigeria,” Pedro said. Tinubu thrives best in times of crisis.
“Asiwaju has waited five presidential elections and has come out today because he is ready to change the face of Nigeria.” This is where the slogan, Emilokan, originates. This is the appointed time for Asiwaju Tinubu. The time has come for Asiwaju to save Nigeria; he will solve the country’s economic problems, as well as unemployment and other issues. Asiwaju will take care of them. What he has done in Lagos demonstrates what he is capable of doing for Nigeria.”
Tinubu, according to the former deputy governor, is a courageous man.
He recalled that when Tinubu became governor of Lagos in 1999, he addressed and fixed the issue of infrastructural facilities.
“Asiwaju thrives better when there is crisis, when there is chaos,” Pedro explained. When he took power in 1999, Lagos was turned upside down; the military had finally abandoned the state, moved to Abuja, and cut off supply and income to Lagos. There were piles of trash everywhere, and schoolchildren had nowhere to go. The schools had been decapitated and were in bad shape. Many of the roads were abandoned; many of us who lived in Lagos before Tinubu’s tenure remember 1999. But that’s when he came in, stepped in, and transformed the place into the Lagos we know today.
“I’ve never met Asiwaju before. I was a banker who was not involved in politics or a member of any political party. I had no idea how Alausa worked. But he identified me and pulled me out of the banking industry, and he appointed me as the deputy governor of Lagos State. When I arrived in Lagos, I saw my colleagues from my sector and other parts of the industry who worked with me, people like Yemi Osinbajo and others. He brought them, vouched for them, and said, “I need these people to make Lagos work,” and the result is obvious. When Asiwaju becomes president, you will be shocked and pleasantly surprised by the rapid pace of change that will come to Nigeria because he is courageous, ready, and prepared.”
