Tunji-Ojo As Latest Focus of Calumny Campaign In Ondo State
The present era of social media has evidently made it a lot easy to hire willing persons; albeit cheaply and for the purpose of launching unconscionable vitriolic attacks on perceived opponents. This is sadly what has been playing out in Ondo State in the last three weeks.
The highly performing Nigerian Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has been the new target of certain individuals in the corridors of power in Ondo State. The Akoko born former federal parliamentarian has in the last one month been subjected to all manners of media maligning over his perceived preferred aspirants for Ondo 2024 governorship and Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency bye elections.
The truism that no one can quote silence is sadly being attempted to get rubbished in Ondo State because the assumed mindset of Bunmi Tunji-Ojo is already being quoted with the air of accuracy by some individuals. It is a fact however, that the man has not come to the open to declare support for any governorship or House of Representatives aspirant ; yet, every of his step has been deliberately given political meanings as if he is not constitutionally empowered to support preferred aspirants for elective positions.
The campaign of calumny against Tunji-Ojo began shortly after his seat as member representing Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency became vacant for obvious reason of ministerial appointment. It should also be noted that until BTO was appointed a minister, the relationship between him and the individual spearheading the campaign of calumny was pretty cordial. On several occasions, the individual had publicly addressed Tunji-Ojo as a son.,
Meanwhile, unpatriotic effort and disservice of fishing for trouble in a very peaceful water was the very reason for the strained relationship between BTO and this individual. It is a general belief that every election is local and the local people of Akoko North East/North West ought to have been left alone to sort out the issue of their House of Representatives bye election. Also, the total departure from the clear cut roles as well as the desperate quest to extend political powers led this individual to meddle into the affairs of Akoko bye election. This individual went ahead to adopted a preferred female candidate and began making desperate efforts to forcibly impose this choice on leaders of APC in Ondo State as well as the concerned federal constituency.
Even as Tunjj-Ojo has chosen not to join issues with anyone, but reality promptly dawned on the concerned individual that the preferred aspirant is far from being popular and even lacks the capacity to deliver victory for APC in the Akoko bye election. Not ready to give up, this powerful individual again attempted to fly the kite of gender preference by making the APC National Women Leader to make case for a female candidate in the forthcoming Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency bye election. Alas, this kite again failed to fly because the Akoko people know exactly who they want as the successor of Tunji-Ojo in the Federal House of Representatives.
Expectedly, successive failed efforts of this individual to impose preferred candidates paved way for frustration. This in turn led to assemblage of faceless groups and individuals to launch media attack on Dr. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo, Of a fact, he is perceived as a major stumbling block to the actualization of the plan to impose preferred person as the next governor of Ondo State. He is also seen as the reason why all efforts to have a preferred person as APC candidate for Akoko North East /North West Federal Constituency bye election had failed thus far.
More importantly, all the efforts so far
deployed to malign BTO in the media space has failed to yield any ounce of desired result. The reason for this is not far fetched as the people of Ondo State and Nigerians at large can read between lines . The people can also see that an innocent man is only being wrongly accused.
Funnily, the individual in question recently deployed the power of clairvoyance to come to the assumed conclusion that the Interior Minister would support a different person to become the next governor of Ondo State. This again made the person to personally launch a direct social media attack on the persons of Dr. Tunji-Ojo, Hon. Timehin Adelegbe and Hon. Mayowa Akinfolarin, who is perceived as the preferred governorship aspirant of the Interior Minister. However, while some persons were busy fabricating lies as material for media attacks on Tunji-Ojo, the minister has equally been busy transforming and repositioning the Interior ministry.
No one can in good conscience deny the fact that Dr. Bunmi Tunji-Ojo has not cleared the backlog of over 204,986 international passports in less than two months of assuming office. While the calumny campaign against him is still ongoing in Ondo State, the Interior Minister has equally been working tirelessly to ensure that Nigerians applying for passports in Nigeria and across the globe get their passports issued in record time. Nigerians have been testifying on a daily basis to the laudable achievements Tunji-Ojo in the Interior Ministry.
Also, the minister has been working seriously on how to make Nigerian Correctional Centers to be truly correctional in the real sense of it. He is equally working on how to decongest Correctional Centers by paying the court fines of more than 4000 inmates. BTO has equally put machinery in place for reciprocity visa policies with other countries that have consular relationship with Nigeria. He is likewise doing the needful to ensure that all the hitherto porous Nigerian borders are well manned going forward, with the deployment of technology and improved manpower.
It is uncontestable that Tunji-Ojo, as a Nigerian is constitutionally empowered to either vie for elections or to support any candidate of his choice. As a leader in his own right in the politics of Ondo State, BTO also has the right to give his support to any candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC). When then does it suddenly become unbecoming for the Interior Minister to show preference for his preferred successor in the Federal House of Representatives ; if he so desires.
Why then is the need to bicker over who Tunji -Ojo is likely to support or may not support for the next Ondo governorship election ?
