Lagos East Election: Senator-Elect, Tokunbo Abiru Gives Victory Speech [READ]

Published

3 years ago

December 6, 2020

Victory Speech by the Senator-elect for Lagos East Senatorial District on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just-concluded bye-election

Mr. Adetokunbo Mukhail Abiru (Tokunbo Abiru) on December 6, 2020.

Protocols

If there are people out there, who still doubt the popularity of our great party; who do not reckon with our leadership in this political landscape and who still dispute our progressive approach to governance, our comfortable victory in the just concluded bye-election readily offers them an infallible answer.

It is the answer the people of Lagos East generously delivered at the conclusion of last Saturday’s bye-election. It is the answer that resonates in their popular decision to give us their mandate. It is the answer that our unrepentant critics cannot contest, even in their wildest dream, given the credibility of the process that gave us the mandate. This answer did not in any way come by accident or chance. It came by dint of the hard work our party and campaign council invested in the electioneering. It also came through the selfless service of all members of our Campaign Council and Local Organising Committees (LOCs) that canvassed support for our party even during sometimes difficult circumstances.

On this note, I wish to commend and appreciate our party leadership from the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman of Lagos APC, Prince Babatunde Balogun; all our leaders in the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) and all members of the State Executive Council (SEC) and State Working Committee (SWC) for putting up a formidable structure that again earned us the people’s mandate. Honestly our Campaign Council and all its Directorates have done a great job with the deft approaches they adopted to prosecute our campaign from the level of local councils and development areas to community engagements, street-to-street campaigns and house-to-house mobilisation, setting up meetings upon meetings with different groups of stakeholders in the five Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 11 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in our senatorial district.

The creativity, energy and passion with which the Chairman of our Campaign Council, Otunba Kaoli Olusanya prosecuted our campaign was amazing. Otunba Kaoli worked tirelessly and seamlessly with the Vice Chairman of the Campaign Council, Alhaji Bode Oyedele and all heads of our Campaign Directorates to secure our party’s mandate. Across the senatorial district, there are other people and groups, who passionately believe in the ideals of our party; who stood by us when those on the other sides were maligning our hard-earned reputation; who shared the burden of governing Lagos State and worked day and night with us. In this category are the Obas and Chiefs, the youth; women; non-indigenes and also indigenous people of Lagos East, among others. They all stood with and still stand by our party. I also recognize and applaud our friends and professional and business colleagues in the private sector who supported this noble endeavour financially and otherwise and demonstrated their understanding of the need for more professionals to enter the public space.

With the support of our formidable team, we campaigned relentlessly from local council to local council, community to community and indeed from house to house. We shared our mission and vision with the people of Lagos East across all social strata with confidence and conviction that the future of our children, youths, women and our people at large is safer and more secure with the progressives. As a political party, we reeled out our performance index, pointing out what we had done differently in government and what we are capable of doing now. As a party candidate, I presented my sterling career success, enviable records of service and robust pedigree as testimonials to my capacity, commitment and competence to represent the people fairly and bring them expected ends.

And our records abundantly spoke for us at the poll. Our people – whether in Epe, Ibeju-Lekki, Ikorodu, Kosofe and Somolu – believed in the evidence of our previous stewardship rather than in the concocted accounts of our traditional opposition. Our people believed in the ideals of our party rather than in the fabricated reports those who could not play by the rules resorted to in a failed attempt to discredit us politically or the fictitious opinion poll they dished out to score cheap political points. In spite of the campaign of anger and frustration they prosecuted, the people of Lagos East generously gave us their mandate. This is perhaps the smoothest victory our party has secured in its recent history. We polled 89,204 votes, while our closest rival scored 11,251 votes. This outcome is no doubt, a reaffirmation of our expanding political support base, not just in Lagos East, but also in Lagos State at large. It is without doubt a proof of the degree of public trust we have earned in our party’s two decades or more in governance in Lagos State.

The election has been held and we have won with a landslide. Now that we have secured this Senatorial mandate; we cannot afford to fail our people. We cannot afford to fail those who voted for us; those who chose not to vote for us for whatever reasons and those who did not vote at all. We cannot afford to betray the invaluable trust our people reposed in us as a political party and as their representatives in government. Now is the time to translate all the promises we made into positive and tangible outcomes our people are expecting us to bring about. Now is the time to take our people from the realm of expectations to the limelight of fulfilment.

I commit myself irrevocably to the agenda I laid out before the electorate-offering people-focused quality representation; ensuring welfare of my constituents; working with my colleagues in the National Assembly to ensure special status for Lagos; promoting policies to improve national economic performance and financial sector development; implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); facilitating completion of all federal and state road projects in Lagos East; promoting ease of doing business; supporting the 5 for 5 agenda for police reform; supporting fiscal federalism and joining forces with colleagues in the Senate and members of the House of Representatives to ensure devolution of powers to the sub-national governments.

Within the limits of our statutory mandate, this is the time to make the aged smile; empower our jobless youths; minister to the vulnerable; secure the future of brilliant indigent children and support the implementation of the ideals of our party. To achieve these enviable goals, we are already in the process of establishing an Endowment and Empowerment Fund to actualize my private philanthropy. The Fund will implement different interventions we are coming up with in line with my agenda and the ideals of our party. Already, our team is perfecting the modalities for the implementation of all these intervention programmes. By the middle of January, we will unveil these programmes in full and begin implementation immediately.

I thank our people for this mandate and promise to live up to your expectations.

Thank you and God bless.

Mr. Adetokunbo Mukhail Abiru, FCA.

(Tokunbo Abiru)

Senator-Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

December 6, 2020

Business

Trade minister, Uzoka-Anite launches NATEP, targets 50 Million jobs for youths

Published

1 day ago

September 24, 2023

CelebrityPlus

The minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite has launched the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP) in a bid to position Nigeria as a talent export hub designed to create not less than one million jobs in the next five years.

The Minister performed the launching on behalf of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in New York, United States of America.

In her opening remarks at the launch of the initiative at the Microsoft office in NewYork, the minister highlighted the need to ensure Nigeria takes the lead in exporting global talents that are doing well across the world which will also drive a huge investment in training and also attracting more investment in talent exportation.

According to her, the initiative is in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda to diversify the Nigerian economy, create sustainability opportunities and generate about 50 million jobs for the youths over time.

“NATEP is an initiative that will serve as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to position Nigeria as a leading global hub for service export, talent sourcing and talent export.

“As part of our strategy towards achieving this, President Bola Tinubu whose agenda is job creation, we have initiated a National Talent Export Programme (NATEP) for Nigeria, which targets the creation of one million jobs across Nigeria with a target of five years in line with the theme of this year’s UNGA, which is rebuilding trust and igniting global solidarity, accelerating action on the 2030 agenda and the sustainable development goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all”, the minister said.

Uzoka-Anite further informed the large gathering comprising of world leaders and other giant tech companies across the globe like; Amazon, World Economic Forum, Microsoft group, Flour Mills Nigeria, Meta, Google and a host of others, that the global talent sourcing industry is valued at $620 billion as at 2020 and industry pundit have forecasted it will be valued at about $904 billion by 2027.

“Nigeria can supply top talents for the global service export and outsourcing business. With over 1.7 million graduates from higher education institutions entering the workforce annually, this will reduce the burden of unemployment and over-dependence on the government for jobs”, she explained.

The Minister further noted that NATEP was specially created to arrest the bottleneck facing the talent and service sector export industry, which will enhance competitiveness, and innovation, and drive sustainable development growth, empowerment and training through trade and value chain exchange.

She added: “Nigeria is ready to become a global hub for talent export, as the government is ready to take full advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACfTA) to penetrate the huge continental market and target job opportunities.

“As a country, we have a significant value proposition for regional and global markets for the export of services. We will actively target Greenfield and brownfield job opportunities in the United Kingdom, Europe, China, Canada, the United States of America and a host of other countries”.

The Minister For Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, while addressing participants at the launch disclosed that launching NATEP was timely, adding that to drive the mandate for Nigeria to be positioned as one of the global talent export hubs in Africa and the world will see Nigeria benefit more in terms of generating huge revenue, digitalization of the economy, more robust data protection opportunities and also avert the massive brain drain within the youth demography.

According to him, Nigerians in the diaspora are doing great things in the tech world, adding that it’s time for Nigeria to benefit by making more money and develop other youths to maximize their potentials.

“With a youthful population and over 1.7 million graduates from higher educational institutions joining the workforce each year, Nigeria has the potential to provide high-quality talent for the Global Service export and outsourcing industry. We must first identify them, train them and make the world see the stuff they are made of. We will not only create jobs but also empower them with the basic skills of survival and pass them on to the next generation” Dr Tijani said.

Business

The Disappointing State of Customer Relations Among Instagram Merchants

Published

4 days ago

September 21, 2023

CelebrityPlus

By Otunba Deoye Otukoya

Introduction:

In today’s digital age Instagram has become an indispensable platform for businesses to connect with customers and promote their products or services. With the increasing popularity of Instagram stores it is essential for merchants to prioritize good customer relations. However a prevalent issue that deserves attention is the lack of professionalism and poor communication exhibited by some Instagram merchants. Many customers have reported incidents where the merchants provide their phone numbers on their timelines but fail to respond adequately or display unpleasant attitudes when contacted. This article aims to shed light on this concerning trend and the implications it has on customers and businesses alike.

1. Accessibility Matters:

One of the fundamental aspects of ensuring good customer relations is the accessibility of the merchant. By voluntarily providing their phone numbers merchants convey the impression of being available and open to customer inquiries. However the reality often falls short of this expectation. Too frequently customers are left frustrated and inconvenienced when their attempts to contact merchants go unanswered for days or are met with dismissive responses. This lack of availability undermines trust and damages the overall customer experience.

2. Unprofessional Attitudes:

Another significant concern is the unprofessional conduct and negative attitudes displayed by certain Instagram merchants when interacting with customers. The success of any business hinges on creating a positive relationship with consumers. However some merchants who put their phone numbers out for public use have been observed to have a lackadaisical approach towards customer engagements. Instances of rude behavior impatience and unhelpfulness have been reported leaving customers feeling disrespected and discouraged from engaging with that particular merchant or even shopping on Instagram altogether.

3. The Ripple Effect:

The ramifications of poor customer relations go beyond individual experiences. When customers have negative encounters with Instagram merchants they are likely to share their frustrations with friends family and online communities. Word-of-mouth plays a crucial role in shaping a merchant’s reputation and negative reviews can quickly spread damaging the business’s credibility. Consequently merchants who fail to prioritize customer relations may find themselves losing potential customers and hindering their long-term growth prospects.

4. A Call for Improvement:

To address this issue it is imperative for Instagram merchants to recognize the significance of good customer relations and take proactive steps to improve their interactions with customers. Some crucial measures include:

a. Prompt Responses: Merchants should aim to respond to customer inquiries in a timely manner ideally within 24 hours. This showcases attentiveness and professionalism fostering positive customer relationships.

b. Polite and Respectful Communication: Merchants need to maintain a respectful tone even when faced with challenging or repetitive customer inquiries. Good customer relations require patience and understanding.

c. Training and Empathy: Merchants should invest time in training their customer support staff emphasizing the importance of empathy and effective problem-solving. Understanding the customer’s perspective can go a long way in providing satisfactory resolutions.

d. Feedback and Improvements: Merchants should actively seek feedback from customers to identify areas for improvement. This feedback loop can assist in refining their customer relations strategies and forging stronger connections with their target audience.

Conclusion:

The alarming lack of good customer relations displayed by some Instagram merchants is a disheartening trend that affects both customers and businesses. By prioritizing accessibility professionalism and respect in their interactions merchants can foster an environment of trust and loyalty. Overlooking the importance of good customer relations may lead to a decline in sales and reputation. Ultimately developing strong customer relations on Instagram will not only boost customer satisfaction but also drive growth and success for merchants in the long run.