By Femi Salako
Recently, the Director General of the Progressive Network for Tinubu, Pastor Olumide Obadele, dismissed speculations of a rift between the Ondo State Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, and the Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, over the 2028 governorship election. Obadele was reacting to rumors that Tunji-Ojo is eyeing the governorship seat, and thus at odds with the governor, who naturally wants a second term of office.
Speaking with journalists in Akure at the unveiling of the support group, Obadele maintained: “Ondo APC is one family. No issue between the two of them, to the best of my knowledge. The governor is our governor, the minister is our own, and the party is our party. Engr. Ade Adetimehin is the chairman of our party.” He then sounded a note of warning: “This is not a campaign effort as INEC has yet to open the window for electioneering campaigns. Our conviction stems from President Tinubu’s ability to bring Nigeria to a turning point in just 27 months.”
In the arena of politics, different factors and forces come into play. That is perhaps natural. But not all the forces are for good: some are perennially driven by self-interest. Others simply by the tide, hanging on to political power and patronage.
For Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Minister of Interior, the situation is remarkably different. He is a patriot and his mission is to crystallise development by actualising the Renewed Hope Agenda of his principal and Commander-in-Chief. Resolutely anchored on the Agenda and giving no quarter to the men, systems and ways of yesteryears, Tunji-Ojo has shown more than fidelity to President Tinubu’s agenda: he has shown faith, passion and consistency.
He has shown total commitment to the President’s objective of using public office as a tool of empowerment, as a mechanism for driving the development narrative, opening up new frontiers. He is committed to charting new pathways and making the business of governance more transparent, less encumbered, and fit for purpose. The massive changes in the passport application and renewal process, in the management of Nigeria’s borders and airports, and in the workings of the various agencies and departments under the ministry, including the NSCDC, Nigeria Immigration Service, Nigeria Customs Service, the Fire Service and others point to this fact poignantly.
Tunji-Ojo is indeed above board. Naturally, he wants the President to have another term of office, but he has operated strictly within the bounds of the law in actualising this legitimate ambition. He has various groups galvanised to hit the campaign trail for the President’s cause once INEC gives the go-ahead for the 2027 campaigns to begin, and has given no one the impression that his loyalty to the President is for personal gain.
He was already a prodigiously distinguished federal lawmaker when the President nominated him for a cabinet position, and has pursued the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda with vigour ever since, firm in his conviction that the best way to sell a government to the populace is to record a spectacular performance in office.
Approaching his job as Interior Minister with absolute dedication to the President’s cause, Tunji-Ojo knows, as the Good Book says, that “The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity. (Proverbs 11:3). In Act 1, Scene 1 of William Shakespeare’s Richard II, we read these enchanting words about loyalty: “Mine honour is my life; both grow in one: Take honour from me, and my life is done.” That, quite simply, is the minister’s mindset.
Pray, just how is a cabinet minister loyal to his principal and assiduously pursuing the presidential agenda a self-serving politician as some despicable characters within the Ondo APC fold have been claiming in their distorted and jaundiced mindset? The voice, as they say, is that of Jacob while the hand is that of Esau.
Finding no black record with which to nail the minister, these agents of subversion have been desperately angling to craft a non-existent push for a power grab. Should the Interior Minister nurse a governorship ambition, he would, in his characteristic forthrightness, never have made secret of his desire. He did not lobby to be made a minister: he was simply doing what his people in the Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency of Ondo State elected him to do when the presidential nod for a cabinet position came calling. And now that he is minister, he is similarly focused on his assignment and on advancing the cause of his principal, not engaging in sybaritic struggle for gubernatorial power with anyone.
In just two years, President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope leadership has made significant strides in strengthening internal security organs. Key achievements include improved border management and immigration processes through digital systems, clearance of 204,332 passport backlog within three weeks, introduction of home and office delivery of passports, streamlined application process and championing of Nigerian applicants’ rights abroad, creation of a state-of-the-art Data Centre and Command and Control Centre; setting up of E-Gates at airports to enhance security and efficiency; and rehabilitation of correctional centers.
An Immigration Service Reform Committee established to enhance efficiency and reduce corruption, the Digital Case Management System implemented to streamline case handling, while correctional services reform focused on rehabilitation and reintegration of inmates. Today Nigerians are familiar with notable initiatives such as Electronic Visa (e-Visa), Landing and Exit Cards (LEC), Advance Passenger Information (API), Migrant Information Management System (MIMS) and thr Centralised Interior Management and Administration System (CIMAS).
The impact has been massive: improved security and efficiency in border management and immigration processes, enhanced morale and productivity among paramilitary officers, increased transparency and accountability in governance, and support for educational programs, healthcare initiatives, and empowerment projects in communities.
President Tinubu’s leadership has demonstrated a commitment to transforming institutions and uplifting Nigerian society through effective leadership and innovation. That is the message that the Minister of Interior has been propagating. He will not be distracted.
Salako is Media Consultant to the Minister of Interior.
