The Senator representing Lagos Central in the National Assembly, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, has denied nursing an ambition to become the governor of Lagos State in 2015.
Tinubu, who spoke on Saturday at a press briefing on her ‘Two years of representation at the Senate’, said governing Lagos State was not for the “tender-hearted”.
The senator is the wife of former governor of the state, Bola Tinubu.
She said, “Truly, it is never my ambition to run for the governor of Lagos State. My husband did it for eight years and I was not an outsider to it. It is not a job for the tender hearted. It is a lot of work to govern Lagos. I don’t think I have the strength to govern the present state of Lagos.
“There is still a lot of work to be done for Lagos; it’s not a child’s play. I don’t have such ambition. Maybe, I can be the Vice-President, not the governor.”
She said her primary concern was to ensure that the poverty in society and the rot in the system was reduced.
She said, “My concern is for the young and the old. What kind of Nigeria do we want to leave for the younger ones? A good parent will always want leave an inheritance for the children. What kind of inheritance or legacy do we want to leave for our children?”
This, she said, was the motivation behind the two bills she sponsored, with one of them seeking social security for the elderly and the other seeking to expunge part of the Labour Act that prevents women from taking certain jobs.
Tinubu said both bills had passed through second reading at the Senate, adding that she was working with other Lagos State senators to achieve a special status for the state.
She added, “On my part, I have sponsored two bills aimed at providing social security for Nigeria’s elderly citizens and amending sections of the Labour Act, which restricts employment opportunities for women all of which have passed the second reading.
“I am currently working with other senators on a third bill aimed at providing special economic assistance to Lagos.”