He said the steps are indications that the president has foreseen great potential in those ministries that will move Nigeria forward.
He made this call at the 74th posthumous birthday of the late former governor of the state, Abiola Ajimobi, held at the Abiola Ajimobi Resource Centre, Faculty of Multidisciplinary Studies, University of Ibadan, in Ibadan, the state capital.
The event was held with the theme, “Re-engineering Nigeria for Sustainable Development: Options, Costs, and Prospects.”
The PUNCH reports that Ajimobi, who died in 2020, ruled the state between 2011 and 2019, respectively.
Albert said, “The President has created some new ministries, and one of the most interesting of them is the Blue Economy. The blue economy in Nigeria is rich.
“With oil not properly exploited, divesting into the sea suggested to me that the man saw several things, and we should allow him to come up with all that he is looking at that will take this country forward.
“Criticising the President might prevent him from telling us all that he saw or that he is seeing, and therefore, we should encourage him. The next one is also the Ministry of Creative Industry.
“Anywhere I go in the world, people talk more about Nollywood than any other thing, so we should encourage him.”
The don stressed that the foreigners were disappointed when he corrected them that he was a teacher and not an actor or movie star from Nigeria, as speculated.
He added, “Now if we have that type of reputation outside as a result of Nollywood, I was asking myself, Why is it that the government cannot see it, invest in it, and use it to the advantage of the country?”
In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, appealed to the leadership of the All Progressives Congress to put mechanisms in place to address the grievances of members of the party in the state.
Adelabu explained that Ajimobi encouraged him to resign as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to contest the governorship election in 2019.
Dignitaries at the event include the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun; Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacheus Adedeji; former Minister of Trade, Onikepo Akande; former Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; the deceased’s wife, Florence Ajimobi; and Vice-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Kayode Adebowale.
Others include: former Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Adeolu Akande; former APC Chairman, Akin Oke; Prof. Tunji Olaopa; Prof. Tajudeen Akanji; former Assistant Inspector General of Police, Leye Oyebade; former state chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye; and a host of others.
