CIVIL SOCIETY RALLY ROUND INTERIOR MINISTER, HON. TUNJI-OJO; URGE PRESIDENT TINUBU TO DISREGARD CALLS FOR HIS SACK

Amid the recent strident media campaign calling for the sack of the Honourable Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Coalition of Civil Society Groups in Nigerian has thrown its weigh solidly behind the Minister, describing him as one of the best performing cabinet ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the esteemed leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In a press statement signed by its Secretary General, Com. Osabinu Olufemi, the Coalition observed that the sinister plot against Hon. Tunji-Ojo is being hatched in the media by an amorphous clandestine cabal using pseudonyms and phantom organizations, with the aim of mounting concerted pressures on President Tinubu to sack the minister over spurious allegations of financial impropriety and breach of trust.

The Coalition further stated that knowing they have no legal or moral basis to crucify Hon. Tunji-Ojo on account of his stewardship to the nation, his detractors elected to link him up with the embattled suspended Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, over a contract awarded by her ministry to a company in which Hon. Tunji-Ojo is currently a mere shareholder.

“While we frown at the calculated attempt to ridicule Hon. Tunji-Ojo’s tireless efforts to serve the nation and contribute his decent quota towards improving the overall security and well-being of Nigerians, we must state that we are not attempting to save his job as a cabinet minister, because his job is not actually under threat. Given the personality, integrity and experience of Mr. President, we know he cannot be swayed by the mendacities and sentiments of Hon. Tunji-Ojo’s masquerading traducers” stated the Coalition.

The Coalition, which noted that Hon. Tunji-Ojo’s enemies were using the media space to lower his estimation before right-thinking members of the public, stated that it wishes to set the record straight and forestall further attempts by mischievous shadow elements to mislead the Nigerian public by disparaging honest, hardworking and progressive public office holders.

In the statement, Com. Osabinu, who was a former President of Nigeria’s apex student body, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), further urged President Bola Tinubu to ignore the barrage of unfounded allegations against Hon. Tunji-Ojo by his desperate enemies, while encouraging the Honourable Minister to equally disregard his detractors and remain focused and steadfast in serving the nation as a cabinet minister, and in any other existing capacity, even as they assured him of their staunch support and solidarity.

“He should rest assured that our coalition, along with countless other Nigerians that are aware of his assiduous efforts and contributions to national development, are solidly behind him,” stated Com. Osabinu.

“In any case, if the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation had actually issued a contract to a company in which Hon. Tunji-Ojo is an ordinary shareholder, should the focus not be on the due process and transparency in the award of the contract by the ministry, and its execution by the company? Must Hon. Tunji-Ojo dispose of all his shares and stocks in private companies just because he is taking up a ministerial appointment? Or is a company that has a cabinet minister as one of its shareholders not eligible to bid for any government contract in Nigeria, knowing very well that the government in literally every country is the highest paying client?,” enquired the Coalition.

The Coalition further expressed the view that Hon. Tunji-Ojo had not only demonstrated exceptional competence and dedication to his duties since he assumed office as the Hon. Minister of Interior about five months ago, but had also clearly proven himself to be a man of impeccable honesty, transparency and accountability, as evidenced in the laudable reforms he has engineered in the Ministry of Interior and its various Departments, Agencies and Parastatals.

“From implementing key reforms to enhance security, to spearheading initiatives that foster national unity, the minister’s accomplishments have been pivotal in shaping a better Nigeria for future generations, in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu,” stated the Coalition.

The civil society group opined that Hon. Tunji-Ojo was a stickler for accountability and transparency, adding that he did not hesitate to order a full probe of an intelligence report on the misconduct of some men of the Nigerian Correctional Service, (NCoS), after the Chief of Defense Staff alleged before the House of Reps that some personnel of the service connived with inmates to finance the operations of proscribed terrorist groups.

“…at the 60th Anniversary of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) held last year, the Service informed that it had proposed the issuance of an Economic Trust Visa, through which it will assist interested investors to verify the profiles of their prospective partners. In addition, more passport offices are being opened across the country, while all passport processes are being automated to minimize human contact and its natural tendency to fuel corruption.

“The NIS under Minister Ojo has introduced extensive reforms by deploying IT to drive its operations and equip itself to cope with future challenges of trans-border migration. The service was the first in Africa to key into the latest international reforms in travel documents, which earned it the award of, “Best Performing Agency in Ease of Doing Business” by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council in 2023. This was in view of the current ease in the issuance of travel documents, international passports to Nigerians both at home and abroad and the issuance of residence permits to foreigners. E-border Management, Passport Reforms and Staff Welfare, the three main focus areas of the NIS, have received unprecedented attention under the current Minister,” stated the Coalition.

The Coalition reeled out more of Hon. Tunji-Ojo’s achievements as Minister of Interior to include the release of over 4,000 inmates who were sentenced to various years of imprisonment with option of fine and compensation towards decongesting the nation’s prisons; the immediate deployment of undercover agents by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps to schools and host communities to enhance security in schools nationwide under the auspices of the National Safe Schools Response Coordination Centre (NSSRCC), which is the first of its kind in Africa, amongst several others.

“Even the United Nations, through the UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr. Matthias Schmale, recently commended Hon. Tunji-Ojo on the basis of his stellar performance,” stated Com. Osabinu.

Com. Osabinu further stated that their Coalition comprises concerned and patriotic Nigerian citizens, who have a moral responsibility to rally behind individuals who consistently exhibit a strong sense of duty, integrity, and effectiveness. “It is therefore incumbent on us to lend our unwavering support to the Minister of Interior in the face of relentless cowardly attacks on his person and office by unidentifiable amoebic entities,” stated Com. Osabinu.

The Coalition concluded by imploring all Nigerians to dismiss the baseless allegations against the Minister of Interior, and stand in solidarity with him against the phantom individuals and organizations that are seeking his head on a platter. They prayed the public to rather focus on the tangible accomplishments the Hon. Minister of Interior has made in meritorious service to the nation, as by so doing, they can reaffirm their commitment to the progress, unity, and development of Nigeria.

Signed,

Comrade Osabinu Olufemi,
NATIONAL SECRETARY GENERAL

I'm behind the civil society too.
Imagine the only minister that's doing something tangible.