The Governor who spoke at the 2015/2016 Legal Year Dinner held at the Nigeria Law School, Victoria Island, reiterated the important role the judiciary plays as the last hope of the common man, stressing that the reforms carried out by the previous administration will be sustained.

He said the Lagos State Judiciary has been the pioneer of judicial sector reforms in the country, from 1999, when Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

He said his predecessor, Babatunde Fashola also followed suit by initiating and implementing far reaching reforms which went a long way to improve the justice delivery system.

“It was these reforms that gave birth to the Office of Public Defender, Citizens Mediation Centre, Public Advisory Centre, the Multi Door Court House System, which offers an alternative and effective dispute resolution mechanism, the construction of more Courts as well as the appointment of more Magistrates and Judges.

“These initiatives have expanded the frontier of justice delivery which has deepened its relevance as the last hope of the common man.

“I am committed to ensuring that this administration continues with these reforms. We will work with the judiciary to move our justice sector to a higher level. The reforms process is not a finished business, it is a work in progress”, he said.

He alluded to the fact that a recent World Bank ranking of countries on the basis of ease of doing business rated Nigeria low, noting that one of the parameters considered was the ease with which disputes arising from business transactions are resolved.

Governor Ambode said that the report was an indication that the nation’s desire to build a globally competitive economy that will attract foreign investors cannot be achieved without a vibrant judiciary.

“It is therefore imperative that as we address the issue of infrastructural deficiency to ease the process and reduce cost of doing business, the issues of rule of law and timely dispensation of justice must also be given priority”, he said.

Responding to an appeal made by the Chief Judge of Lagos, Justice Funmilayo Atilade in her welcome address, Governor Ambode promised to address the issues raised accordingly.

He also used the occasion to assure that his administration will continue to work towards the common goal of improving the living conditions of the people of Lagos while also protecting their rights and dignity.

Earlier, Justice Atilade expressed concerns that the Lagos State Judiciary is still financially subservient to the Ministry of Justice, saying it was most undesirable as it clearly negates relevant laws and Constitutional provisions.

She appealed to Governor Ambode to assist in effecting the return of Judiciary Capital Vote as required by Law and in the spirit of Separation of Powers as applied to the other arms of government.

“To a very large extent, as we demonstrate our implicit confidence in our able G to right the wrongs of the past, help reposition and propel the State Judiciary to desired heights, we must sincerely express our gratitude to His Excellency for al the support and kind understanding.

“Truly, he has within the short period of his administration demonstrated strong interest and concern in the growth of the Judiciary and in the welfare of Judicial Officers, Magistrates and all personnel the Lagos State Judiciary”, Justice Atilade said.

One of the highlights of the event was the presentation of awards to Governor Ambode as well as former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola for their contributions towards uplifting the course of the State Judiciary.

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Tinubu said he has the right to be the President of Nigeria regardless of his religion and state of origin, urging those mounting opposition against his political aspiration to find something else to do.

“We must choose the right person to lead the battle. And nobody, no one under the sun, under the United Nations Human Rights Charter can stop a Bola Tinubu’s ambition.

“If I want to be the President, I have that right, regardless of which zone, religion and which state,” said the APC leader who spoke amidst heightened rumour that the opposition party was planning a Muslim-Muslim ticket, which will feature Muhammadu Buhari and Tinubu in the 2015 presidential election.

Speaking yesterday at the APC secretariat in Lagos, the former governor said APC will feature the best candidate in 2015 election, whether the person is a Christian or Muslim. Tinubu later told the party members, who asked him about his decision on the 2015 presidency, “I will let you know my decision.”

Tinubu also took a swipe at the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the state of the nation, saying that President Goodluck Jonathan-led PDP government has failed Nigerians in terms of security of lives and properties, youth employment and delivering dividends of democracy to Nigerians.

“The solution to the suffering of the masses is not about the prayer of a pastor or about the Islamic cleric. What we are talking about is not an election of a vicar or bishop not of a Muslim Imam or cleric; it is about individual with the character and the brain and the capacity to govern. “If you are a Christian and you are good, you will win our support.

“If you are a Muslim and you are good, you will win our support. At the time of need, we must choose right leaders to face the battle and confront the challenge facing the country,” Tinubu said.

On Governor Babatunde Fashola’s successor, Tinubu urged the party’s faithful to shun those promoting Muslim or Christian agenda in Lagos, advising Lagosians to use their votes wisely.

“We are not going to listen to them; we are going to do our best. If a Christian is competent and qualified in Lagos, we would vote massively for him or her. Don’t listen to their campaign; listen to your leaders. We will give you the best support,” the APC national leader disclosed.

Ahead of the April 23 state congress in Lagos State, Tinubu advised the party members to vote for credible people as the state party executives and disclosed that the party has decided to zone 30 per cent position to women and 30 per cent to youths, while the remaining 40 per cent is allocated for elders in the party.

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In a strongly-worded statement last night, the All Progressives Congress (APC) leader, said the “brutal disruption” of the rally by Commissioner of Police Mbu Joseph Mbu on the directive of the Goodluck Jonathan administration adds “another dimension to the dangerous course this government has charted.”

Tinubu said: “The People of Rivers State and of the Save Rivers Movement did nothing wrong. What the police did was criminal. The violent and direct attack on Senator Magnus Abe is a frontal assault against democracy.

“The Jonathan government, which is supposed to protect the public order, now constitutes threats against the very thing they have pledged to uphold. The police have been unleashed on the people.”

The former governor also wondered why the police felt compelled to shoot and beat “unarmed fellow citizens” whose only offence was the difference of their political affiliation to the Federal Government. He said the events in Rivers showed a disdain for the law and its rule.

He condemned the Police for the role it played in the event saying it had become a tool of political oppression. “The police no longer arrest, they are primed to shoot first and ask questions later.

“We are supposed to live in a constitutional democracy, but we are burdened with a Police Force that has now become an agent provocateur and a tool of political oppression. They are the partisan, strong-arm division of the Jonathan Presidency.”

Giving the Jonathan administration more flaks, Tinubu said the Federal Government wanted to break down democratic institutions in the country. He said the presidency cannot take away the “alienable rights” of Nigerians to associate with any political party of their choice.

“Sadly, a Presidency that was a major beneficiary of constitutional democracy conspires in Abuja to desecrate our political rights and mortgages our democracy.

“This government doles out money from the public treasury, not the private pockets of the Abuja despots to service hired mercenaries and political thugs. It is a deep tragedy that the public’s money is being used to employ people and weapons to shoot at the public. This is the depth of political immorality.”

He accuses Jonathan of lording it over Nigerians, saying that the Jonathan Presidency is willing to sacrifice the lives of countless Nigerians so that it can continue to lord it over Nigerians.

“If they could shoot a current Senator in broad daylight on a Sunday, imagine the mayhem they will set upon the average citizen seeking to advance his political rights. Their purpose is not to govern Nigeria but to break down the rule of law and our democratic institutions so that they may own Nigeria.

“The illegal conduct of the Police in Rivers should be called what it is; it is uniformed gangsters, a coup against democracy. The rights and the protection guaranteed to the Nigerian people should never be a function of the party they are affiliated with. Under the current Jonathan government, we move towards fascism.”

Tinubu called on the National Assembly to stop the impunity before it is too late. “The National Assembly must rise to its statutory responsibility in defence of the people’s rights and to exercise legislative oversight of an executive branch through the police and a Presidency that has lost all sense of democratic balance and fair play.

“If the Assembly does not rise at this junction, things will only worsen and at some point, they will be forced to confront the violent misbehaviour of a government intent on perpetuating itself.”

He called on Nigerians to set themselves in “vocal and sure opposition” to the authoritarian evolution of the Jonathan administration, while urging the international community to prevail on the Jonathan administration not to push the people to the wall.

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The APC leadership, comprising some national leaders and governors visited him Obasanjo in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Saturday to solicit the former president’s support for the party in the forthcoming elections.

The party leaders, which started converging on Obasanjo’s Hilltop Mansion around 5:22pm, included former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the party’s Interim National Chairman, Bisi Akande; former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari; former speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Masari; former Borno State governor, Senator Ali Modu-Sheriff; Senator Osita Isunazor; Senator Bukola Saraki and Lai Mohammed.

Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State came to the former president’s house in company with the former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commissioin, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; the former minister of aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode and others in a convoy of three black jeeps.

Other APC governors at the meeting included Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Abdulfattah Ahmed (Kwara), Rotimi Amaechi (Rivers), Rabiu Kwankwaso (Kano) and Senator Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo).

The Chairman of the New PDP, Kawu Baraje led some of his members and the former Kaduna State Chairman,  Yero Makama, to the meeting.

Presenting the party chieftains and the APC governors to Obasanjo during the opening of the meeting, Akande said the party was in support of the former president’s 18-page letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.

The APC National Leader, Tinubu who alluded to Obasanjo’s contribution to the building of the Nigerian nation, lamented that the country was divided more than ever.

Apparently referring to Obasanjo’s recent letter to Jonathan, he enjoined the former president not to shy away from speaking the truth.

Tinubu added that the APC had resolved to rescue Nigeria, appealing to Obasanjo to lead the mission.

“You’ve come out of tribulation and held the highest position in this country. We are here because of your courage. Nobody can say he has information more than you. You have surmounted a number of crises. Nigeria is divided more than before; to realise stable Nigeria, we want to encourage you to continue to speak the truth. We’re resolved and determined to rescue Nigeria. We want you as navigator,” he said.

Responding, Obasanjo, who said he remained a card-carrying member of the ruling PDP, described himself as an “incurable optimist” totally committed to Nigeria’s well-being and vowed that nothing would distract him from his commitment to the Nigerian nation.

Obasanjo also enjoined the opposition party to play a constructive politics “without bitterness.” “I am a card carrying member of the PDP but the politics I play traverses Nigeria, Africa and world in that order. I am a democrat and one of the essential ingredients of democracy is opposition. A democracy that has no opposition built into it is not democracy.

“As an opposition, you are enhancing democracy.  You are at home,  you are welcome. I will just appeal that the politics you play is politics without rancour, without bitterness, with decency, that has Nigeria at heart. I am an incurable optimist about Nigeria, I am totally committed to Nigeria and nothing  will divert me from that commitment,”he said.

Tinubu, in a chat with newsmen after the meeting, denied that the APC had come to woo the former president, adding that it was meant to tap from his wealth of political experience.”

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