Tinubu allegedly positions his son has governor of Lagos for 2023

The Free Lagos Movement says Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is positioning his son to become Governor of Lagos State in 2023.

The group also accused Tinubu of placing his relatives in key positions in the state, noting that the APC leader has turned Lagos to his “personal cottage”.

This was contained in an address delivered by Comrade Mark Adebayo, at a ‘World Press Conference’ addressed at The Airport Hotel, Ikeja, on Thursday.

The group stressed that its demand were premised on ensuring “a Lagos that is free from stunted economic growth occasioned by monumental corruption and social manipulation of the people; a free Lagos that will embrace in all its ramifications the tenets of good governance in public sector, transparency,  accountability,  fairness and ethnic cohesion.”

He said: “Today, the reality on ground  is that the Centre of Excellence, the economic capital of Nigeria and indeed the fifth largest economy in Africa has been held captive and brazenly been manipulated by a group of power cabal (led by a former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu), for their selfish interests rather than the public good

“It is still baffling to the majority of Nigerians, how Lagos State has ended up becoming a personal cottage industry of one individual, who solely determines the fate and destiny of about twenty million people. For almost twenty years now, Lagos has become his fiefdom, with trails of personal aggrandisement, staggering corruption and virtual enslavement.”

The group went on to list how Tinubu has allegedly continued to entrench himself in the state by placing his people in key positions in the state, among other actions, as follows:

1. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was Governor for eight years but has continued to govern by proxy till date;
2. His wife has been Senator for eight years and still going for the third term now;
3. The incumbent Commissioner for Women Affair in Lagos State, Mrs Lola Akande, a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, is Tinubu’s sister-in-law;
4. Hon. Sunkanmi, the current member of Lagos House of Assembly representing Ikeja, is Tinubu’s nephew. He actually succeeded Mrs Lola Akande;
5. Sade Tinubu-Ojo, the Iyaloja General of Lagos and Nigeria, is Tinubu’s daughter;
6. Her husband, Mr Oja, was a member, House of Representatives, representing Ekiti State;
7. Seyi Tinubu, one of Tinubu’s children, was appointed as the emergency financial consultant to all parastatals and local governments in Lagos State. His convoy is said to rival that of a state Governor, and he’s been positioned to take over as Governor of Lagos State in 2023, while his father Bola Ahmed Tinubu is unrepentant of his own ambition of becoming the President of Nigeria in 2023;
8. Akeem Muri-Okunola, who recently was imposed as the Head of Service against all civil service rules, is Tinubu’s friend’s son. He was Tinubu’s Personal Assistant when he was the Governor;
9. The incumbent Commissioner for Establishment, Akinola Benson, was Tinubu’s Personal Assistant;
10. The Incumbent Commissioner for Health (a three-term Commissioner), Jide Idris, is Tinubu’s Cousin;
11. The incumbent chairman of the Oshodi Local Government, Bolaji Ariyo, was also Tinubu’s Personal Assistant;
12. The incumbent Commissioner for Housing (a two-term Commissioner), Gbolahan Lawal, was ADC to Bola Tinubu;
13. OANDO supplies all the fuel being used by the BRT buses in Lagos and Wale Tinubu, the CEO of Oando is Tinubu’s younger brother;
14. A pseudo-company called Alpha Beta, collects at lead 10% of the revenues accruing to Lagos State, running into hundreds of billions of Naira in fees in the 15 years for doing practically nothing. The state still pays the Lagos inland Revenue Services (LIRS) another 10% as administrative fees to collect same revenue;
15. The landed property of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikosi campus, was converted into private property, for the establishment of a television station (TVC), owned by Bola Tinubu.

The group went on to accuse Tinubu of various corruption-related practices.

The statement continued: “To put it in proper perspective and further drive home our point, an estimated figure of over N7trillion has been lost to corrupt practices on a total expenditure of about N7trillion by the Lagos State government in the last 20 years. The financial resource could have been invested in critical infrastructure like the Fourth Mainland Bridge, Lagos, International Airport in Epe, bridges along the Lekki corridor to eliminate traffic congestion, modern hospitals and schools in all local governments.”