The stage is almost set for Nigerians to vote in their next set of leaders across all the levels of government. The county’s 2023 general elections would be the seventh democratic election since 1999. To ensure the successful conduct of elections, the federal government is putting in place all the parameters.
President Muhammadu Buhari, in February, signed the Electoral Act 2022 into law, after which the various political parties conducted primaries for electable positions. Next on the electoral schedule released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is the publishing of the final list of nominated candidates. The list comprises all the candidates that can be voted for across all the levels of governments.
One of the nominated candidates who is contesting for the presidential elections is Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The National Leader and presidential candidate of the APC is a two-term governor of Lagos State. Brief list some notable achievements of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu during his time as the former governor of Lagos State.
Summarized Achievements of Bola Tinubu
Finance
In Tinubu’s two-term tenure (1999 – 2007) as governor of Nigeria’s commercial city, Lagos, he took the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N600 million to N7 billion. The National leader of Nigeria’s ruling party did this through many initiatives, including the Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS).
Also, under the former governor’s administration, the Lekki Free Trade Zone became more open to collaboration with international organizations.
Infrastructure
Bola Tinubu, as a governor, fought hard against the pollution that plagued Lagos State. The former Lagos State governor separated the Ministry of Environment from the Ministry of Physical planning in order to combat pollution and institute a proper waste management system. Bola Tinubu also restructured the Ministry of Works and Housing and tasked it with providing 500 housing units per year. He also established infrastructural systems that opened Lagos State to real estate investment options.
Power
The Tinubu led administration in collaboration with US company, AES, built an independent power producer (IPP) to generate 270 megawatts of electricity for about 200 communities in the state.
Politics
The presidential candidate of the APC created an extra 36 Local Council Development Area (LCDAs) to create a bond with “Lagosians”. The former governor also founded LAWMA, LASEPA, LWC, PUMAU, LASECA to tackle several managerial issues in the state. The formulation of agencies created jobs for residents of the state.
Health
Bola Tinubu created a free health policy for children younger than 18 years and adults above 65 years old. To improve the health of Lagosians, he created Blindness Prevention Programmes, HIV/AIDS enlightenment campaigns, and the Roll Back Malaria scheme. The former governor also launched the LASAMBUS scheme, which commissioned ambulances to improve response time to emergencies.
Bola Tinubu also restructured the primary health sector of the state and institutionalised agencies and commissions to promote partnership between the state government and private sectors.
Security
The former governor founded RRR in 1999 to improve state security. He also converted the Ita Oko Prisoners Camp to a Youth Skill Acquisition Centre to curb criminal activities. Tinubu also founded the Lagos security trust fund to establish a partnership with investors to boost the state’s security.
Education
Bola Tinubu paid examination fees for students from all walks of life as long as they were residents of Lagos. He also commissioned school projects and invented the One-Day governor spelling bee competition.
This list does not enlist all the achievements of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu