The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, said Afenifere leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, never had any blemish in his public service career.
Tinubu noted that the elder statesman also shunned covetousness and counseled against “primitive accumulation and decried indiscipline in high places.”
He described him as a man of great principle and a die-hard Awoist, adding that his life was worthy of emulation.
The former Lagos governor said this in a statement by his media aide, Mr Tunde Rahman, to felicitate Fasoranti on his 94th birthday.
“What we celebrate is the success story of leadership by example, political consistency, total loyalty to the progressive cause, devotion to principle, integrity, courage of conviction and uncommon contentment.
“Chief Fasoranti filled the vacuum left behind by our illustrious pathfinders and cherished leaders, and in post-Chief Abraham Adesanya era, papa laboured tirelessly to build bridges of unity, accommodation, understanding, reconciliation and harmony in Yorubaland,” he added.
The former Lagos governor lauded Fasoranti’s contribution to human capacity development, saying he moulded the lives of many youths who now occupied important positions in the socio-economic and political life of the country.
Tinubu said, “In the Second Republic, Papa served meritoriously as a founding stalwart of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria, led by the indomitable Chief Obafemi Awolowo, joining party leaders in planting party structures across the nooks and crannies of old Ondo State.
“It is also noteworthy that Papa performed excellently as a two-time Commissioner for Finance under Governor Adekunle Ajasin, whose administration effectively implemented the five cardinal programmes of free education, free health services, full employment and rural development.
“Throughout his public service career, Papa served without blemish and scandal, but made his mark as a shining example to people who aspired to selfless leadership. Having embraced a Spartan lifestyle, Papa has shunned covetousness, counseled against primitive accumulation and decried indiscipline in high places.
“As Afenifere leader, Pa Fasoranti effectively contributed to and enriched the discourse on regional integration, nation-building and good governance, and with a benefit of hindsight, advocated a pure federal principle as the basis for peaceful co-existence in an indivisible and united one Nigeria.
“As a public figure and private person, Papa has borne personal and political vicissitudes with sober reflection and philosophical calmness in a world that is full of ups and downs.”
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