Shun sectional, narrow interest, Vice- President’s spokesman, Akande tells Nigeria leaders

Nigerian leaders have been urged to stay focused on promoting the right values and pursue the common good of the society, and not sectional interests, Mr  Laolu Akande has said.

Akande, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, in the Office of the Vice- President, said the leaders must also ensure that those values also align more with national goals and aspirations.

“When a leader is entrusted with the destiny of a nation, what matters most in his/her circle of associates is alignment of values and shared public spirit.

“Otherwise, people in high offices can be very loyal to each other and among themselves for the bastardization of the common good,” Akande, who is also the spokesperson to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, wrote on his official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

Recall that the Vice-President was an aspirant of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) at the party’s special convention and primaries held in June which saw former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerge as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 poll.

As the VP’s spokesman, Akande also embodies the strong values of hard work, integrity, honesty, patriotism, dedication, loyalty and excellence that Osinbajo represents.

Recently, in August, while playing host to a group of Harvard Business School students at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, Osinbajo again emphasized on his personal commitment to those values that are also significant for national development.

“For me, spirituality connotes values. I came into government with values about what I think is important, especially around transparency, social justice and justice, among others.

“You are almost always a product of the values you believe in. Fortunately, a lot of these values cut across the different faiths, they are not necessarily restricted to a religion or one faith,” the VP told the group.

Among many laudable descriptions, Osinbajo is regarded by many as the most hard-working Vice-President in Nigeria’s history.