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Meet Bola Ahmed Tinubu, APC 2023 Presidential Flagbearer
Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently emerged as the 2023 Presidential candidate for APC, who is he and what were his achievements as the governor of Lagos State
Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently emerged as the 2023 Presidential candidate for the All Progressives Congress. He was declared the official flagbearer after winning the just concluded party’s primary election with 1,271 votes. But who is Bola Ahmed Tinubu and how well did he perform as the governor of Lagos State?
Who is Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Nigerian politician and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress. He is also known as the Jagaban of Lagos and the Lion of Bourdilion. He was the Governor of Lagos state from 1999 to 2007.
Tinubu was born on March 29, 1952, in Osun State. He attended St. John’s Primary School in Lagos and Children’s Home School in Ibadan. He then went to the United States in 1975, where he studied first at Richard J. Daley College in Chicago, Illinois, and then at Chicago State University. He graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is listed as one of the richest politicians in Nigeria.
READ: See the meaning of the symbol in Tinubu’s cap
Political Career
Tinubu began his political career in 1992 as a member of the Social Democratic Party where he was part of the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua faction. He was elected to the Senate, representing the Lagos West constituency in the short-lived Nigerian Third Republic.
He was also one of the founding members of the pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition, a group that mobilized support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of Moshood Abiola as the winner of the 12 June 1993 presidential election after it was annulled by the Babaginda regime.
Tinubu became the Governor of Lagos State after he won the 1999 gubernatorial election through the party Alliance for Democracy. He reportedly designed the master plan responsible for the infrastructural and economical development of the state
As one of the founding fathers of the All Progressive Congress, Tinubu is one of the people responsible for stopping the People’s Democratic Party 16 year rule. He is often regarded as a kingmaker in the party by virtue of the role he played in the emergence of President Buhari in 2015. He also supported Buhari’s re-election in 2019, defeating the PDP candidate Atiku Abubakar.
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Achievements of Tinubu as the Governor of Lagos State
All progressive Congress (APC) National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
During his tenure as the governor of Lagos State, Tinubu reportedly designed a master plan concerning the infrastructural and economical development of the state. It is generally believed that the plan is responsible for the development of the state.
He instituted a reform plan that greatly improved the welfare of judicial officers and magistrates in the state, revamped the civil and criminal procedure rule as well as the creation of the Citizens Mediation Centre; a well-staffed and independent Office of the Public Defender, offering legal services for the poor.
He also created 37 Local Council Development Areas, the Bus Rapid Transit System (BRT) and the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority.
According to records During the eight-year period of Tinubu’s Tenure in Office, he made large investments in education in the state and also reduced the number of schools in the state by returning many schools to the already settled former owners. He also initiated new road construction, required to meet the needs of the fast-growing population of the state.
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