Why I Had Issues With Tinubu – Ojikutu Breaks Silence

Former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, has disclosed the reason for the frosty relationship between her and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

The Publisher Nigeria recalls that Ojikutu recently raised an alarm over the threat to her life following Tinubu’s victory in the February 25 presidential election and vowed to renounce her Nigerian citizenship if Tinubu is sworn in as president.

Addressing a press conference in her residence in Ikoyi, Lagos, the former Lagos deputy governor said she has been receiving death threats since Tinubu was elected as president.

Speaking with ThisDay, Ojikutu said she fell out with Tinubu in 2002 during her time as the Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission, representing Lagos State.

She said her issues with Tinubu started when she presented data received by the Commission that showed that Lagos indigenes were being marginalised in the state.

Ojikutu said the former Lagos governor was visibly angry with her, saying that she came to play politics because she was a governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The former deputy governor said she approached the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, to help settle the misunderstanding, but realized that the issue had escalated.

She said: “When I was in the PDP in 2002, I was one of the gubernatorial aspirants under the PDP but at the same time, I was Commissioner of the Federal Character Commission, representing Lagos State, and the data we were receiving in the Federal Character Commission, showed that Lagos indigenes were being displayed for one reason or the other. So I have to pay a courtesy call to the Governor as the Commissioner representing Lagos State; that was the norm then.

“In my letter requesting the courtesy call, I stated that I am coming to discuss indigeneship affairs with him and we have data that showed that they have been marginalised in Lagos.

“Bola Tinubu, the then-governor granted the appointment and we went there. When I stood up to present my address, he was very visibly angry, saying I have come to play politics because I am a PDP governorship aspirant. I told him, I am not there to play politics but to present data to him. He said he didn’t see any data. I told him I have already sent ahead what I came to present.

“He said he didn’t get anything and I am only playing politics. It was so bad that day and I was shaking. Then one of the commissioners sitting in front sent him a note; I don’t know what was on that note.

“After reading the note, he calmed down and told me to present what I came to discuss with him. I said we will send it Sir. The courtesy call finished and when I got to the office, we packaged everything again and sent it to them. I wasn’t playing politics; it was the fact and figures then. I did not know that it had a fallout.”

She added: “A few years later something happened. I had land allocated to me on Victoria Island by Raji Rasaki. My governor, Michael Otedola took over that land and gave me another land. It was when I got the C of O that I realised that Governor Otedola has changed the land that was given to me.

“I sent him a note that this is not the land on my allocation letter. He was on his way out of the country and told me that when he comes back, we will talk about it. That was in 1993. He never came back as governor.

“So I was stalked with land that was not my original allocation. And that land had a problem because there was a squatter on it; a Lebanese squatter, who was making building blocks on it. He said the local government allocated the land to him. Local government has no business and allocating land to anybody according to the law of Lagos State. So, I had to take him to court to recover the land from him. That case went through for about a couple of years and I got judgment.

“Shortly after I got judgment to take over the land from him, some people came to me as developers; actually, it was my husband that they approached. They paid some money and went to do the search.

“After doing the search, they came back to say the land C of O has been revoked. I told them I am not aware. When we looked at the date of revocation, it was shortly after the issue between me and Governor Tinubu. So that means he dealt with me after the event by revoking the C of O of my land.

“I told them to approach him since I have already given them the document to the land to see what can be done. They went to him and he said I must have known that he took the land. He said I did something and I didn’t approach him to apologise. I asked what did I do wrong and why should I apologise to him.

“I contacted Oba Akiolu and he stepped in. He said he doesn’t know what we can do because he doesn’t know what is between me and Governor Tinubu and that he doesn’t want to hear anything about me. I said there is nothing between us except the issue of me saying Lagos indigenes have been marginalised.“