Politicians and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains who thronged the Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos residence of President Bola Tinubu yesterday, to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir with him and continue their lobby for political appointments, were extremely disappointed.
Reason: The President has relocated to his recently refurbished ‘White House’ located on No. 4, Queens Drive in Ikoyi. Although some members of his family and personal aides attended to some party members and feted some Lagosians at Bourdillon, many politicians that attempted to see him at his Queens Drive residence were turned back by security agencies.
Sources said the President cancelled many appointments “to attend to some pressing national demands, and also needed more time to rest following his trip to France and the United Kingdom.”
People believed to be politicians in vehicles with tinted-glass were also turned back. Also, some clergymen dressed in cassock were not allowed to enter the palatial building, just as many reporters, including Television Continental (TVC) news crew were denied entrance.
The Guardian also sighted a man with a sick child on a wheelchair pleading with the security agencies to allow him to see the President. He left after several entreaties to security agents fell on deaf ears despite hours of staying at the ‘White House’ gate.
One of the guests, who was denied entrance, told The Guardian that he came from the mainland to present a gift to the First Lady, Oluremi Tinubu.
He said: “The level of security here is expected. This is the residence of the President and it has to be heavily fortified. We don’t know who is who. I only came to drop a gift for the First Lady, but I wasn’t allowed. Maybe I will have to take it back.”
It was gathered in Lagos yesterday that members of the President’s kitchen cabinet were still debating on the percentage of professionals and politicians that will constitute the cabinet.
Sources said while the national secretariat of the ruling party is working to prune down a list of ministerial nominees from different states, special attention is said to be given to state chapters of APC with factions.
The source said: “There are plans to ensure that the appointment is used to bring together factions in some states and ensure peace in the party.”
Meanwhile, Vice President Kashim Shettima has assured that prompt attention would be given by the Tinubu administration towards addressing infrastructural deficits in the country.
Shettima gave the assurance yesterday, when he paid Sallah homage to the Shehu of Borno, Abubakar Ibn Garbai El-Kanemi in Maiduguri. He specifically mentioned Gamboru Ngala, Dikwa as well as Damboa roads in Borno State among others, facing infrastructural challenges, which require government attention.
In his remarks, the governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Zulum, extolled the virtues of the Vice President as a man of the people, a grassroots politician, adding that it was the first visit of Shettima to the state.
Also in his welcome remarks, the Shehu of Borno, who spoke in Kanuri, praised the Vice President as a worthy son of Borno, stressing that the love the Vice President enjoyed reflected in the massive support they gave to him.
The Shehu solicited the support of the Tinubu administration to address the issue of bad roads and security challenges in the state and the country.
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