By Vivian Onyebukwa
Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) Foundation has donated a 18 passengers bus to the The Nigeria Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Lagos Council.
The handing-over of the bus took place in Lagos by Hon. Ahmed Omisore, the Director-General of Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) Foundation.
Speaking at the occasion, Omisore said that the former Governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is concerned about the well-being of Nigerians.
According to him, the foundation seeks to project the former governor for what he is and has been over the years, and said that BAT Foundation remains the greatest friend of the media in Nigeria. “Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a media owner and a lover of the press, which accounts for why the media is Tinubu’s immediate constituency”.
The Director-General acknowledged that the greatest men in the world were made by the media, hence, nobody could toil with the media as it is a veritable tool.
“This bus is given to NUJ Lagos Council in order to continue to take its rightful position as the most vibrant Council in Nigeria and to help the council in discharging its day-to-day activities,” he added.
Omisore urged NUJ Lagos Council members as well as the Executive members to support the Chairman, Mr. Adeleye Ajayi in order to attain greater heights.
The Chairman of Lagos NUJ, Adeleye Ajayi, applauded Tinubu and BAT Foundation for the kind gesture.
He described him as a philanthropist, and father, who is always willing to help people within a short time frame.
Adeleye further noted that Tinubu, the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is a man with the largest political follower-ship in the last two decades in Nigeria.
“Bola Ahmed Tinubu who led the the party to victory twice in the last seven years is a force to be reckoned with in Nigeria’s political space,” Ajayi said’
The NUJ chairman therefore, called on more Nigerians to follow the footsteps of Tinubu by way of supporting the needy in the country at all times.
On the issue of fake news, he emphatically mentioned that the days of individuals who engage in fake news were numbered as this led his administration to set up the Ethics & Disciplinary Committee to sanction erring members.
“The wanton destruction of lives and property suffered at all levels of government as a result of fake news during the #EndSARS protests is still fresh in our minds. I pray that Nigeria will never witness such calamity again”.
Ajayi also sought the support of BAT Foundation towards the completion of the Council’s two-storey Secretariat on Iyalla Street, Alausa, Ikeja, amongst other things.
He expressed his gratitude to the Honourable Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. (Hon.) Dr. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa who facilitated the bus, following a courtesy visit to his office by Lagos Council Executive members on January 5, 2021.
The occasion was attended by stakeholders in the media industry.