Tunji-Ojo: The Trail Blazer
By Femi SALAKO
Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, BTO, as being fondly addressed by his fans and asdociates, is a man with different dimentions to his trades, including politics. The federal lawmaker who doubles as Chairman, House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commision, NDDC, is a man of distinctions.
Representing Akoko North East/ North west, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has scored a number of great goals since his election into the legislated house. From the moment he had emerged as the candidate of his party, he has since been working with all ranks, forming teams and networking both at local and national politics.
He is always untiring in his resolve to strategize on ways to improve on the fortunes of his constituences, hitting the ground running and deciding that he would do whatever it takes to be proactive in National politics using network of friends to gain strategic first mover advantage. Small wonder he was at the fore front on the formation of the APC New members forum which he Tunji-Ojo led to great success, one of the outcomes of his strategic plan.
Even after picking his certificate of return from INEC, he swung into action, met with friends and acquaintances in agencies of interest so as to position his constituencies to take advantage of his strategic networkd. One of the agencies he did interact with was NDDC where he sought for the inclusion of certain projects in his constituencies in the 2019 NDDC budget which was being drawn then (NDDC’s budget is separate from National budget).
As the activities of the ninth assembly began to gain momentus and attention, it wasn’t so hard for the leadership of some of the consequential agencies to notice Hon. Tunji-Ojo who was bound to become a major player in the politics of National Assembly, which explains the speedy consideration that was given to the request for intervention he had made to interventionist agencies.
Great enough, the case of roads in Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency, the contractors only agreed to move to site upon the assurance of the influence and goodwill of Hon. Tunji-Ojo. In banking parlance, it means that Hon. Tunji-Ojo has guaranteed that the contractors would be paid even if it means he would do so with personal funds.
It is therefore more reassuring in Akoko that Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo would always continue to do well for his people. He should deservedly be applauded, celebrated and commended rather than being maligned for doing good by certain illl meaning dissidents. It is not unusual that others in his position would have collected kick backs rather than striving this early to slice the problems of the constituents.
He is not resting on his oars. Among other things, BTO is taking steps in bringing the attention of the federal government to the challenge being faced by the riverine communities in the Ondo State. No doubt, the challenges and problems confronting the communities arise from the neglect and the nonchalant attitude of the government over the years, but the God-given BTO is already working on bringing succor.