LET BUNMI TUNJI-OJO BREATHE

SAME APPROACH, DIFFERENT TARGET

If there's anything profound about former President Muhammadu Buhari's anecdotic sway as the 15th President, Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic, it is about some witty and satirical quotes attributed to him. One of such is his statement that when you fight corruption as a leader, the hydra-headed monster will, without equivocation, fight back. The new twist to the recent suspension of the Honourable Minister, Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu is the desperate attempt by beneficiaries of the systemic imbalance to drag the Honourable Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo into the sleaze allegation rocking the near 5-year old Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry. This aptly describes the current voyage by these malfeasance and rapacious economic predators.

WHY TUNJI-OJO?

There's a common cliché which inarguably describes the sudden turn out of event in the last 18 hours as flabbergasting, but not unexpected. Success, they say, attracts envy - which sometimes can be lethal or destructive to the adversary. Such description is quite apropos to what Nigerians are likely going to see in the next couple of days. The Presidency must therefore be prepared for a coordinated onslaught against its resolve to rework Nigeria for the benefit of Nigerians, not a minuscule percentage of the population as it has hitherto been over the years. For these economic predators, they may have succeeded in taking out one of their 'nightmares' against their continuous economic sabotage of the country. They needed to move against their next target.

The question that readily comes to mind is why would these unpatriotic souls want Tunji-Ojo out? The answer is not far-fetched. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR did not mince words when he said he is determined to recalibrate, revamp and reconstruct the country's governance architecture to birth a new life for the citizenry. In his words, President Tinubu recently said, 'Let the poor breathe'. It is therefore in consonance with this president's mindset that the young Hon. Tunji-Ojo has, in less than 3 months, carved a niche for himself among all the ministerial appointees of Mr. President. Even the most acerbic critics of the Tinubu presidency have had to commend Tunji-Ojo for his unbelievable and incredible milestones in the Interior Ministry in so short a time.

INTIMIDATING SUCCESS, AN ECONOMIC THREAT

Hon. Tunji-Ojo's unimaginable success at the Ministry has seen several emergency millionaires across agencies under the Ministry removed from the country's cookie jar. Tunji-Ojo has stopped a lot of them from profiting illegally from the system. An endemic system that saw Nigerians continually part with hundreds of thousands just to procure international passports was addressed promptly in less than 3 weeks. Bravo, anyone would say. Does anyone remember the decongestion of the Correctional Centres across the country? Does anyone think people who were profiting from feeding these former inmates would be happy? Only yesterday, January 8, 2024, Ministry of Interior launched the online application processes for passports that will, going forward, reduce human contacts. In another one month, Nigerians in Diaspora will have their launch of same e-application while in another 8 weeks, precisely March 8, Nigerians can do biometrics from the comforts of their homes. All of these reforms will significantly reduce the corruption tendencies surrounding the operations in these agencies. How does anyone expect beneficiaries of such 'free money' to sit back and watch their 'pot of soup' taken away from them by one man with determined resolve to accentuate President's #RenewedHope agenda?


TUNJI-OJO AND NEW PLANET PROJECT LIMITED, ANY INFRACTION?

Sometimes in 2021, I was on AriseTV to advocate for a Tinubu presidency even when President Bola Tinubu was yet to declare his interest officially. One of the questions thrown at me from one of the 3 anchors of that Sunday programme, yes! You heard me correctly. 3 anchors because it had to do with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as he were then. The lady threw the question on the ownership of AlphaBeta Consulting and tried to link it with the now President. All I requested the crew was to do what we call in Company Law, 'Lifting The Veil On Incorporation' to know those running the affairs of AlphaBeta. The narrative from cynics and misanthropes in the media is that Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo owned a company called New Planet Project Limited which got a consultancy contract from the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation. However, a look at the records shows that Hon. Tunji-Ojo has since 5 years ago left the company as its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer. Not only did he leave, he also stopped forthwith having any hand in the daily operations of the company.

But guess what? The mischief-makers have gone to town to create an innuendo of infraction by the Minister. The naysayers are claiming a non-extant conflict of interest because the New Planet Project Limited, a company purportedly owned by Minister Tunji-Ojo but which he had since stopped been involved in its operations got a contract from Betta Edu's Ministry. A company that had carried out several similar jobs in the past for different agencies. And I ask, should the Minister shut down the company just because he is a Minister of the Federal Republic? If yes, what happens to the workers in the company? They should be thrown into same job-seeking environment that the Federal Government is trying to rework.


INFRACTION, WHAT DOES CCB ACT SAY?

The Code of Conduct Bureau Act states that a public officer shall not hold shares or have any other interest in a company, partnership or
other body directly or through another person, IF (emphasis) the holding of those shares or having that interest
will result in a conflict with the officer’s official duties.

However, in a situation where the shareholdings or interest in the company
was in existence before the officer’s employment, election or appointment to
a public office, the officer shall declare such shareholding/interest and recuse
himself from participating in any decision-making process involving that
company, partnership or other body where he holds shares or has an interest.

The question that arises from the above positions from the CCB Act are, 'Does it exist, a conflict of interest between Minister Tunji-Ojo and New Planet Project Limited executing a contract for the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry? None that exists, because not only that Hon. Tunji-Ojo no longer works with the company - New Planet Project Limited, he is not also in the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Ministry. Insinuating peer influence amounts to pure mischief, vendetta and wicked plot by these unscrupulous syndicate.

DEAR PRESIDENT, WATCH IT!

At this juncture, Mr. President should be circumspect not to pander to the media hoopla and/or cacophony out there. There's an overt plot to undermine his administration by many - both within and outside his government (party). There may have been a list of his appointees on the watch-list of these esurient, vampiric and voracious economic predators marked down for the Kemi Adeosun treatment. He must therefore be careful not to clap up decisions. As a thoroughbred political juggernaut and strategist of many decades, he is expected to see a plot from afar.

I hope these unpatriotic souls let Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo breathe





OMOGBOLAHAN L.A BABAWALE (O'CZAR)
Public Affairs Analyst
Convener, The Think-Tinubu Initiative (3TI)
riches.babs@gmail.com