“I mean this is a
hands-on micromanager who is antsy when he’s not working. He needs to be
working, his hands need to be working, he sleeps late, and he wakes up
extremely early. This is who Nigerians have elected.”
Ngelale also described Tinubu as a “good listener” who is
always willing to hear people out during interactions.
“I think one of the things that maybe most Nigerians would
not know about him, having had the opportunity of working closely with him, is
that he’s probably the best listener I’ve ever seen in terms of my interactions
with leaders,” he said.
“This man would
listen to you speak, even if it is 30 minutes, and would read out what you’ve
said, but as he’s doing so he will be cross-checking the weaknesses and
strengths of your presentation.
“He will tell you ‘this is what I think should be, it can be
done better, I like this idea’. I mean this is the detail orientation of the
man. He’s very brilliant, he listens, he works hard and ultimately I believe
that with the political will that he’s always demonstrated, he is the president
that I think will take Nigeria to the destiny all of us have sought for our
country.”
Speaking on efforts by the president to get the nation
working, the presidential spokesperson said Tinubu is ensuring that there is
infrastructure in all sectors.
“Let me start by saying that the administration of President
Muhammadu Buhari before now had obviously kind of kick-started the process of
infrastructural renewal with five new international airports, three new
high-speed rail lines in different regions of the country, and of course, the
new Lekki Deep seaport. The first new seaport in over 40 years, many roads and
bridges, et cetera,” Ngelale said.
“Now, that was a good
start, but we recognise that in view of 50 years’ worth of infrastructural
deficit, there is so much more that needs to be done, which is why President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not just continuing but is picking up the pace with
acceleration and a widened scope of infrastructure projects to ensure that we
have an infrastructural backbone effectively to support the development of this
aggressive push for foreign direct investment that he’s been making around the
world since assuming office.
“To be very specific, we are going to be fixated on multiple
sectors of the economy with new infrastructure projects.
“You’re going to be looking at new power plants. You’re
going to be looking at several new dams across the country.
“You’re going to be looking at new irrigation systems so
that we can have our farmers producing high yields and high quality of high
yields, you know, across all seasons of the year, which had not been obtainable
for many, many decades now in many arid parts of the country.
“In addition to that,
the president is leveraging the new Renewed Hope Infrastructure Development
Fund to also Egypt or South Africa or Kenya or any other competitive country in
the African continent.
“We’re going to ensure that we position Nigeria through this
fund to deal with, you know, those enabling bits of infrastructure that will
ultimately make life easier for our business people, make life easier for our
citizens, and facilitate the movement of goods, services and people in such a
way that we can unlock the economy for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
