It was commendation galore for the senator representing the Lagos Central District, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, as the All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts gathered in Lagos yesterday to pour encomium on her for quality representation.
It was at the 27th town hall meeting of the Lagos Central District organised by her.
The high-powered delegation was led by the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Others were the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, former Senate Minority Leader , Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Kashim Imam, Senator John Enoh and Senator Fatai Buhari, among others.
Oshiomhole praised the senator for organising the town hall meeting on quarterly basis to brief her constituents on her activities in the National Assembly since she was elected into office in 2011.
The APC national chairman said what Senator Tinubu is doing is a challenge to other senators in the country.
The APC Leader recalled that his relationship with the Tinubu family started when Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was Lagos State Governor and he as a labour union leader had to visit him on several occasions to discuss labour issues in the state.
“It was then I knew that Asiwaju was blessed with a woman that was very humble. Any time we visited them, she, as First Lady then, would serve us food and drinks despite the fact there were cooks in the house. Up till now, if I go to Asiwaju’s house, I feel at home”, he said.
Oshiomhole further said: “Women have a lot to learn from her. Asiwaju is a national leader; he spends most of his time outside the family home. The wife too has to sacrifice the time she is supposed to spend with her husband and the family. A leader needs an extremely patient mother and wife to accommodate all manner of visitors. I want to appreciate Senator Tinubu for what she did for people like us.”
Senator Lawan described Senator Tinubu as a very hardworking legislator. According to him, she always does her homework properly before making her presentations.
“There is no time you will engage her in a discussion that you will not gain something from her. She is a fantastic senator that makes her presentations in robust language. Most of us have to emulate her, particularly on this quarterly meeting with our constituents,” Senator Lawan said.
On the request by the former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Chief Femi Pedro, that Senator Tinubu should be considered for the position of Senate President in the ninth Senate, Senator Lawan said she would get there and promised her his support.
But it was moderated later by Oshiomhole who said Senator Tinubu would go for the office of Senate Leader because of her loyalty to the party.
Senator John Enoh from Cross River was stunned to hear that Senator Tinubu was holding the 27th town hall meeting in her senatorial district. He said it was marvellous because many senators were not holding such meetings with their constituents on a quarterly basis.
Enoh said: “I spent three terms in the House of Representatives before being elected into the Senate. The first town hall meeting in Cross River was done by me. It takes a lot of personal commitment to public service to do what Mrs Tinubu is doing in the Lagos Central District. At the Senate, she pursued the same passion to public service. Being the wife of a national leader did not affect her activities in the Senate. I congratulate the Lagos Central District for having her as their representative in the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly”.
Senator Akpabio, who arrived after the end of the programme, insisted to make a speech. He commended Mrs Tinubu for showing direction for women in the country. He said: “You have laid a good foundation for women by showing them direction.”
Other speakers included the Lagos Central Senatorial Leader, Prince Tajudeen Olusi; Lagos APC Chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Balogun; Senator Muniru Muse; Oba of Igbobi -Sabe, Oba Owolabi Adeniyi; and the representative of Oba of Lagos, the Opeoluwa Onido of Lagos, Chief Lateef Aderibigbe. All of them praised the senator for her empowerment programmes that have lifted many people in her constituency.
The high point of the event was the launching of a book “Compendium of Service,” a collection of town hall speeches of Senator Tinubu. It was launched by Senator Imam. Senator Akpabio and the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Chief Nsima Ekere, also launched the book.
Present on the occasion were former Minister of Defence, Chief Ademola Seriki; Hon. Oyinlomo Danmole; one-time Commissioner for Finance in Lagos State, Hon. Wale Edun; Hon. Wasiu Esinlokun; Hon. Hakeem Bamgbala; Lagos APC Woman Leader, Mrs Jumoke Okoya-Thomas; Chief Babajide Damazio; Hon. Wale Oshun and Lagos APC Publicity Secretary, Mr Joe Igbokwe.
