By Emmanuel Mogbede
Mr Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, has assured Nigerians that the reform agenda of President Bola Tinubu was genuine and in the interest of the nation.
Fagbemi gave the assurance on Saturday in Abuja at a reception organised in his honour by his friends and associates.
The AGF craved the support of Nigerians to ease the deliverance of President Tinubu’s goals.
He described the President as a true democrat ready to work in the interest of Nigerians and return the country to the path of progress.
“If you look at his antecedents when he governed Lagos State, you will know that he should be a man to work with.
“A minister or worker is as strong, as powerful as his appointor wants him to be; that is a factor that has put me in a very comfortable position.
“It is not that I am expecting that there won’t be quarrel or misunderstanding. No, there will be, no doubt.
“It cannot be a bed of roses, but I pray that the light will come on brightly, strongly and ceaselessly,” Fagbemi said.
The AGF, while thanking his colleagues for their support since his nomination as Minister of Justice, promised not to disappoint them.
“I have heard all that you said, the admonitions and the pledges, I hold unto them. So, if I fail, it is all of us, and I am not going there to fail.
“I want to succeed and I am enamoured by your pledge and I know you are not men or women of frivolities. I know what you stand for, I know what you can do,” he said.
Fagbemi, while applauding the virtues of Tinubu, said it would not be difficult for him to impress on his principal to show fidelity to the rule of law because he is a true democrat.
In his remark, Wale Olanipekun, chairman of the occasion, described Tinubu as a leader with listening ears and enormous respect for members of the Bar.
Olanipekum expressed confidence that, given the delligence and brilliance of the AGF, it would not be difficult for him to “survive the banana peel and intrigues of politicians that would surround him”
According to him, to balance the delicate situation, his new office required the AGF to be sober.
“You have to be reflective, you have to be retrospective, you have to be prayerful and I know your boss, I know the president, I have been his lawyer for the past 25 years.
“He is a man who appreciates the legal profession, he is a man who will give you his ears, he is a man you can always whisper to.
“He is not like others who will say no, I don’t want it; he is not aggressive, but you also know how to woo him and how to woo your colleagues in the cabinet,” he said.
Olanipekun wished Fagbemi well and prayed for his success in office, urging him to work so as to be remembered for doing well in office long after his tenure.
Also speaking, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo enjoined the minister to crave for total trust in his principal and be wary of the antics of civil servants in the Ministry of Justice.
In his remark, a former AGF, Akin Olujinmi, tasked the justice minister to seek for divine wisdom in managing the relationship between other ministers in the Federal Executive Council and lawyers deployed to Ministries, Department and Agencies, (MDAs). (NAN)
