When Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo entered the House of Representatives in 2019, he did so carrying an identity that was rare in Nigeria’s legislature: he was not a conventional politician shaped by party patronage or long-standing political machinery, but a tested technocrat whose professional history spoke of precision, courage, and problem-solving at national scale. Long before taking his seat in the Green Chamber, he had already earned credibility across federal institutions for his clarity on digital governance, his uncompromising commitment to integrity, and his structural approach to national challenges.
His election represented both a generational shift and a constituency awakening. In Akoko North East/North West Federal Constituency, voters saw in him a young man whose character matched his competence, someone who could articulate policy with both technical depth and human empathy. Across Nigeria, particularly among youths, he became the example of what a modern legislator should look like—rigorous, prepared, and accountable.
From the moment he resumed legislative duties, his work ethic reflected the habits of a systems engineer: he documented meticulously, prepared extensively before debates, and approached motions like technical briefs. Senior colleagues took note. During an early committee session, Hon. Yusuf Gagdi later remarked that BTO “studied issues with the thoroughness of someone writing national policy manuals, not political talking points.”
On the House floor, his contributions were structured, data-backed, and delivered with calm authority. In oversight engagements, he refused to be intimidated by senior bureaucrats or evasive contractors—his technocratic background made him exceptionally difficult to mislead.
Constituency-facing roles revealed another part of him: accessibility, humility, and attentiveness to the lived realities of his people. Whether he was discussing road rehabilitation in Okeagbe, electricity issues in Okia-Arigidi, or youth unemployment across Akokoland, he spoke with sincerity and followed through with action.
These qualities elevated him rapidly within the House. Committee chairmen sought him out for technical guidance; younger legislators saw him as a reference point; and Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila soon recognized his capacity and entrusted him with significant national responsibilities. Nowhere was his competence more evident than in the NDDC probe—a watershed moment that demonstrated not only his intellect but also his courage to confront entrenched interests.
This piece by Bishop C. Johnson deepens the account of how his legislative years transformed him from a constituency representative into a national reform figure. It examines his impact on lawmaking, his leadership in oversight activities, the alliances he built among colleagues, and how his signature interventions reshaped public expectations of what a legislator could achieve.
His 2019 election in Akoko North East/Akoko North West Federal Constituency was not merely a contest for a legislative seat; it became a landmark test of whether a new political culture—rooted in competence, transparency, and youthful innovation—could dislodge the deeply entrenched structures that had shaped the constituency’s politics for over two decades. Tunji-Ojo entered the race with a reputation that had grown steadily across Akokoland: he was seen not as a typical politician but as a technocrat who understood systems, a reformist with clear ideas, and a community-rooted son with an unwavering commitment to service.
His campaign style reflected the meticulous planning of a systems engineer. He avoided extravagant rallies and instead engaged communities through focused townhall meetings. In Ikare, he sat with transport union drivers led by Comrade Ayodeji Ogunleye, addressing issues affecting their operations. In Okeagbe, he met with farmers’ cooperatives under the leadership of Mrs. Olujoke Adedeji, discussing agricultural inputs and rural development. In Arigidi, he held a closed-door session with local artisans coordinated by Mr. Olumide Adesida, explaining how legislative intervention could expand training opportunities. Each engagement was tailored, data-informed, and anchored on a clear promise: representation that delivered measurable results.
His campaign headquarters in Ikare operated with the discipline of a project command center. Volunteer teams were assigned specific demographics—youths, artisans, religious bodies, market associations, teachers, and first-time voters. Campaign coordinator Hon. Dapo Arogunyo later recalled how BTO personally reviewed daily field reports, adjusting outreach strategies based on emerging patterns. It was a scientific approach to politics, unprecedented in the constituency.
On election day, the atmosphere across Akoko North East and North West was electric. Turnout was significantly higher among youths, many of whom had long disengaged from politics due to frustration with past leadership. At polling units in Iye, Ese, and Ugbe, observers noted unusually early queues dominated by young voters holding PVCs with renewed conviction. Elder statesmen like Chief Elijah Olowolayemo of Oyin commented that the atmosphere “felt like a community reclaiming its future.”
When collation began at the Ikare Centre under the supervision of INEC Returning Officer, Dr. Julius Adebajo, the numbers quickly revealed a landslide. In ward after ward—Arigidi Iye, Oyinmo, Okia-Oka, Ikare I and II—the margin widened dramatically. Even strongholds previously controlled by rival parties shifted unexpectedly. His closest opponent struggled to meet a fraction of his tally.
At exactly 7:42 p.m., Dr. Adebajo declared him winner. The hall erupted. Outside, supporters poured into the streets of Ikare chanting “BTO! BTO! BTO!” Church bells rang spontaneously in Okeagbe. Mothers danced in Arigidi. Youths lit bonfires along Oyin Road. For many, it was not just a political victory—it was a symbolic breaking of generational limits.
Youth leader Akinsehinwa Wale, popularly known as “Waltinho,” captured the collective sentiment when he told reporters, “We didn’t just vote for a man; we voted for a generation.” His words echoed the mood across Akokoland: the people believed they had elected not only a representative but a reformer capable of bringing dignity, structure, and modern thinking into their national representation.
This election did more than send Tunji-Ojo to the National Assembly—it marked the beginning of a legislative journey that would position him as one of the most influential reform voices of the 9th Assembly. It was the moment that launched him from constituency leader to national figure, setting the stage for the accountability battles, policy interventions, and institutional reforms that would follow.
From the moment he assumed office in June 2019, it became clear that Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo was not going to be an ordinary legislator. His appointment as Chairman of the House Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) was unprecedented for a first-term lawmaker, particularly one in his thirties. It was a position historically reserved for older legislators with multiple terms of political experience. Yet Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila saw in him the rare fusion of discipline, digital competence, and fearless integrity that the committee urgently needed.
The NDDC, long plagued by corruption allegations, abandoned projects, and internal administrative decay, demanded a chairman capable of confronting entrenched interests while rebuilding public trust. Tunji-Ojo embraced the role with meticulous preparation. Before the committee held its first investigative hearing, he convened a closed-door session with committee members and technical staff, insisting that oversight would be evidence-driven rather than politically choreographed. He tasked the committee clerk, Mrs. Dorcas Adeyemi, with creating a new documentation architecture that organized every NDDC contract awarded within the last decade into a digital, cross-referenced database. It was the first time the committee adopted a forensic-style documentation process.
Under his leadership, oversight activities resembled investigative audits. Every director appearing before the committee was required to submit project execution proofs, including geotagged photographs, contractor invoices, financial approvals, and physical verification reports. He introduced a system where community-based audits—conducted by local leaders such as Chief Patrick Akamgba of Ahoada and Mrs. Tonia Ebibote of Okrika—were cross-checked against NDDC project lists to expose ghost projects and budget duplications. Where inconsistencies appeared, he demanded on-the-spot clarifications, refusing vague explanations or political rhetoric.
One particularly revealing moment occurred when a contractor defended an abandoned road project in Abua/Odual, claiming it was “70% completed.” Tunji-Ojo calmly projected drone footage on the committee screen—footage captured two days earlier showing that the supposed project site was nothing more than a bush path. The room fell silent. It was this combination of patience, factual precision, and strategic preparedness that strengthened his reputation.
His monthly transparency review sessions became institutional innovations in their own right. These sessions brought together NDDC directors, civil society watchdog groups such as Partners for Accountability Network, independent quantity surveyors, riverine community representatives, and legislative analysts. Each session reviewed completed, ongoing, and abandoned projects with real-time verification. The sessions were open, fact-based, and devoid of theatrics. They introduced a new culture: oversight as collaborative accountability, not political confrontation.
Legislative aides frequently noted that under Tunji-Ojo, NDDC hearings “felt like forensic investigations, not political ceremonies.” Veteran journalist Anietie Ikpe described the committee as “the first in many years where data replaced drama.” Even long-time civil servants at the NDDC admitted privately that the committee’s scrutiny forced them to abandon previously normalized shortcuts.
His leadership also strengthened the House of Representatives’ overall credibility. For years, Nigerians viewed legislative oversight with skepticism, often seeing it as a mechanism for political bargaining rather than genuine accountability. Tunji-Ojo reversed that narrative. His insistence on structured documentation, his intolerance for evasive answers, and his dogged pursuit of truth—regardless of whose interests were affected—restored public confidence in the oversight function. By the end of his first year, civil society organisations such as BudgIT, SERAP, and the Niger Delta Youth Coalition publicly commended the committee’s approach, calling it “the most structured and impactful oversight body of the 9th Assembly.” The praise was not sentimental—it was earned through a rigorously transparent process that fundamentally redefined the way the NDDC interacted with the legislature.
Through his leadership, Tunji-Ojo demonstrated that oversight could be scientific, transparent, and transformative. He showed that a legislator armed with technical skill, moral clarity, and discipline could reshape one of Nigeria’s most troubled institutions—not through force, but through structured accountability.
While his committee leadership brought him national attention, it was Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s legislative output—his motions, bills, and policy interventions—that cemented his reputation as one of the intellectual pillars of the 9th National Assembly. Unlike many lawmakers whose motions were largely symbolic, his interventions were grounded in data, technical analysis, and deep national relevance.
One of his most consequential motions was the 2020 Motion on Border Security Digitization, a proposal that challenged Nigeria to modernize its border-management systems. In the motion, he outlined the security vulnerabilities that persisted across Nigeria’s 80+ legal border crossing points and the hundreds of unofficial routes exploited by smugglers, traffickers, and transnational criminal networks. Using case studies from his earlier advisory work with the Office of the National Security Adviser, he explained how the lack of biometric surveillance weakened Nigeria’s internal security architecture. He argued for automated border-control gates, intra-agency data sharing, and real-time identity verification—ideas far ahead of the legislative curve.
Security expert Dr. Kabir Adamu, speaking on national television shortly after the motion passed, described it as “one of the most technically informed border-security proposals ever presented in parliament.” He emphasized that such a motion could only have been drafted by a legislator who understood cybersecurity, identity management, and national-security infrastructure at the granular level. The motion prompted the House Committee on National Security and Intelligence to initiate hearings that later influenced Nigeria’s broader conversation on digital borders.
His legislative interest in modernizing public institutions extended beyond security. He sponsored the Bill for the Establishment of the Institute for Electronic Governance, an institution designed to train civil servants in digital administration, workflow automation, and data-based decision-making. Tunji-Ojo argued that Nigeria’s public sector could not function optimally in the 21st century if civil servants lacked digital literacy. The bill was groundbreaking because it proposed a standardized curriculum that merged systems engineering, ICT governance, and public administration—an uncommon combination in existing training institutions.
During a technical retreat on the bill, he invited experts like Prof. Chinyere Okeke, a specialist in public-sector digitization, and Engr. Ganiyu Salami, a systems architect, to provide empirical insights that shaped the bill’s training modules. The draft bill underscored his belief that reforming Nigeria’s institutions required not only political will but also skilled manpower capable of sustaining those reforms.
He also moved several constituency-focused motions, the most notable being the Motion on the Rehabilitation of the Akoko–Ekiti Federal Road. Unlike typical constituency motions framed as emotional pleas, he anchored his argument in engineering diagnostics provided by Ondo-born civil engineer Mr. Bode Owoka, who had surveyed the road and documented its structural failure points. Tunji-Ojo presented detailed assessments of erosion-prone segments, weakened culverts, and the safety risks posed to inter-state travellers. His reliance on technical evidence distinguished him from legislators who approached infrastructure debates without empirical grounding.
His motions consistently followed a clear pattern: a problem defined through data, a solution articulated through systems thinking, and an implementation model aligned with global best practices. Whether addressing national security, digital governance, or constituency infrastructure, he demonstrated a habit of legislative precision that was rare for a first-term lawmaker.
As his motions gained traction, committees increasingly sought his input—even on bills he did not sponsor. Media analysts began to describe him as “one of the brains of the 9th Assembly,” while civic organisations acknowledged him as a legislator who elevated the quality of parliamentary debate. His interventions reached ministries, agencies, and even the private sector, where policymakers referenced his arguments in technical meetings and reform discussions.
By the end of his first legislative year, Tunji-Ojo had moved beyond being merely the representative of a constituency. He had become a national figure—an intellectual force whose legislative voice carried weight because it was rooted in competence, structure, and verifiable knowledge.
To achieve his legislative agenda, Dr Tunji-Ojo knew from the onset that he must build relationship across party lines. So, from the moment he entered the House of Representatives, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo demonstrated a maturity that belied his age. Although he was one of the youngest members of the 9th Assembly, he navigated its complex political landscape with the finesse of a seasoned parliamentarian. His ability to build meaningful alliances across party lines quickly became one of the defining strengths of his legislative career.
He cultivated a strong working relationship with Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, the Minority Leader, who was initially surprised that a first-term lawmaker would sit through budget sessions with a pile of documents rather than rely on aides. During a heated debate on oversight spending in late 2019, Elumelu pulled him aside and said, “Young man, you debate like someone who has worked in this chamber for ten years.” Their relationship was grounded in mutual respect—Elumelu admired his rigor, and Tunji-Ojo valued the institutional memory and political instincts the Minority Leader possessed. They frequently exchanged notes on motions that required bipartisan support, especially those involving national security and anti-corruption.
His rapport with Hon. Benjamin Kalu, then the House Spokesperson and later Deputy Speaker, also became a key element of his coalition-building strategy. Kalu regularly cited the depth of his research during media briefings, often pointing out that lawmakers like Tunji-Ojo strengthened the intellectual backbone of the House. During the intense scrutiny surrounding the NDDC probe, Kalu privately acknowledged that “BTO’s methodical approach is the reason the House stands firm in public confidence.” Their collaboration helped shape legislative messaging that framed oversight not as political warfare but as institutional strengthening.
Across the aisle, he earned the respect of Hon. Rimamnde Shawulu, one of the most respected voices in the opposition. Shawulu was known for his forensic questioning style, and he immediately recognized a kindred spirit in Tunji-Ojo. During a committee retreat in Lagos, Shawulu commented to the group, “He argues with documents, not emotions,” a remark that became a widely quoted testament to Tunji-Ojo’s legislative discipline. Their partnership extended to co-sponsoring amendments on public procurement oversight, where their combined bipartisan presence helped deter attempts by vested interests to dilute reform provisions.
His collaborative approach also extended to legislators championing special causes. With Hon. Miriam Onuoha, he worked tirelessly on disability rights advocacy. When she tabled a motion calling for enhanced accessibility infrastructure within federal institutions, it was Tunji-Ojo who volunteered to liaise with the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) to secure technical input for the proposal. Onuoha frequently credited him publicly for bringing engineering precision to issues often discussed only in moral or emotional terms.
His political bridges were not limited to the House. During one of the landmark NDDC oversight hearings, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu—then Chief Whip of the Senate—attended as an observer. Initially expecting a typical legislative hearing marked by rhetoric and defensiveness, Kalu was taken aback by the structured, near-forensic questioning under Tunji-Ojo’s leadership. After the session, Kalu remarked to reporters that “this young chairman conducts oversight with the discipline of an auditor and the calmness of a judge.” From that point, several senators began consulting him privately on digital governance and oversight principles.
These relationships were not transactional; they were grounded in sincerity, clarity of purpose, and professionalism. Tunji-Ojo treated colleagues across party lines with equal respect, and because his arguments were always anchored in evidence, even those who disagreed with him on political issues trusted his judgment on technical and governance matters.
Behind the scenes, his office became an informal hub for bipartisan consultations. Senior lawmakers often visited late into the evening to seek his interpretation of complex documents or to review the implications of proposed amendments. He welcomed these interactions with openness, never leveraging them for political advantage but for the broader goal of strengthening legislative output.
His ability to navigate ideological differences, personality clashes, and institutional tensions without losing focus on the national interest significantly expanded his political capital. It also reinforced a core belief shared across the legislature: that competence is the strongest unifier in politics. Through these relationships, he demonstrated that effective lawmaking is built not on party divisions but on shared commitment, mutual respect, and collective responsibility.
By earning trust across the political spectrum, Tunji-Ojo solidified his standing as a bridge-builder—one whose influence flowed not from age or seniority, but from ability, credibility, and unwavering professionalism.
In the legislature as in life general, no good deed goes without haters. With achievements and accomplishments came criticism, confrontations, controversies and the growth that followed them. The intensity of the NDDC oversight inevitably provoked powerful resistance. As his committee peeled back layers of systemic malpractice—unexecuted contracts, duplicated projects, inflated budgets, emergency procurements that defied logic—entrenched networks moved swiftly to undermine him. These were networks that had survived countless administrations, accustomed to operating in shadows and resisting scrutiny.
Anonymous petitions began circulating within weeks of the probe gaining national attention. One petition, routed through a little-known civil society organization, accused him of personal bias and attempted to discredit his integrity. Another, published on a fringe blog, alleged fictitious conflicts of interest. These attacks lacked evidence, but their timing was strategic—they were designed to shift public focus from the revelations emerging from the probe and redirect it toward a manufactured controversy targeting the committee chairman.
Certain contractors whose questionable activities were exposed became openly hostile. In one instance, a contractor confronted him directly outside the National Assembly, boasting of his “connections” and warning that “no one touches NDDC and goes scot-free.” Legislators present that day, including Hon. Olubunmi Ogunlola from Ekiti and Hon. Francis Waive from Delta, later attested to his calm response. Rather than react emotionally, he reminded the contractor that “the National Assembly is not your enemy; mismanagement is.”
The coordinated attacks escalated when the probe entered its most sensitive phase. National newspapers received paid advertorials accusing him of witch-hunting, while social media accounts linked to vested interests began releasing misleading narratives to confuse the public. His staff received threatening phone calls, and several committee members reported suspicious surveillance. Yet, through it all, he never shifted focus from documentation, evidence analysis, and fair hearing procedures.
Then came the moment that electrified the nation.
On July 20, 2020, during a televised hearing, Acting Managing Director Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei collapsed while being interrogated under Tunji-Ojo’s watch. The footage spread instantly across social media and international news outlets. For many Nigerians, the event symbolized not merely the drama of a single hearing but the overwhelming weight of decades of unaddressed corruption finally colliding with accountability.
Inside the committee room, chaos erupted. Members rushed to assist the MD, journalists scrambled, and security agents struggled to maintain order. Yet amidst the commotion, Tunji-Ojo remained composed. He stood calmly, giving instructions with quiet authority, ensuring that medical attention was secured and that the hearing was adjourned without sensationalizing the incident. His demeanor earned public respect; it demonstrated that he viewed the probe not as a spectacle but as an obligation.
In private, some lawmakers urged him to soften the committee’s stance. They warned that “the system fights back harder when you hit too close.” But he refused to compromise. Speaking to Hon. Timehin Adelegbe the following day, he clarified his position:
“Oversight is not about fighting individuals; it is about fixing institutions.”
This moment marked a pivotal stage of his personal and political growth. He learned to distinguish between noise and substance, to anticipate backlash as a natural consequence of confronting entrenched interests, and to maintain discipline under immense public pressure. His resilience deepened. He became more deliberate, more strategic, and more emotionally grounded.
The episode also reshaped how colleagues perceived him. Senior lawmakers like Hon. Yusuf Gagdi and Hon. Herman Hembe later observed that his ability to remain unshaken during the storm demonstrated a leadership maturity uncommon for his age. Civil society groups applauded the dignified manner he handled the fallout, emphasizing that it strengthened public trust in parliamentary oversight.
Even critics who previously dismissed him began acknowledging that he had crossed a defining threshold—proving that accountability, when pursued with integrity and precision, could withstand sabotage.
Through confrontation came growth.
Through resistance came clarity.
Through adversity came the sharpening of a reformist resolve that would later define his tenure as Minister of Interior.
From the moment he assumed legislative office, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo introduced a problem-solving doctrine that differed remarkably from the conventional political approach. He treated every motion, bill, and oversight assignment as though it were a technical system requiring diagnosis, analysis, and stepwise remediation. This infusion of engineering logic into parliamentary work became the defining hallmark of his legislative brand.
His first principle was diagnosis before action. During oversight of Niger Delta infrastructure projects, he insisted on independent verification rather than relying solely on agency submissions. Working with data scientist Dr. Rotimi Adebisi, he developed geo-mapping models that aligned project locations with contract numbers and payment histories. This system allowed him to detect anomalies—such as projects listed in communities that did not exist, duplicated entries under different contractors, or contracts that had been fully paid for but never mobilized. For the first time, an NDDC oversight chairman presented data maps instead of verbal summaries, forcing agencies into evidence-based accountability.
He also formed alliances with civic-technology organizations such as BudgIT, SERAP, and OrderPaper NG, integrating their independent reports into legislative inquiries. These collaborations enriched oversight with third-party data and introduced an innovative cross-referencing mechanism that matched government submissions with civil-society audits. When BudgIT’s community trackers reported abandoned shoreline protection works around Aguleri, for example, he directed the committee’s project-verification team to conduct physical assessment—uncovering inconsistencies that became key evidence in later hearings.
Courage was the second pillar of his legislative approach. At multiple points, he confronted institutional rot even when doing so invited political retaliation. One notable instance occurred in 2020 when a senior official attempted to pressure the committee to halt a potentially damaging inquiry into emergency procurement abuses. Tunji-Ojo refused. He convened a special session instead, summoning procurement officers, community representatives, and ministry officials to present clarifying documentation. His refusal to bow to pressure drew admiration from opposition and ruling-party members alike. Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi, known for his own disciplined oversight style, later remarked, “He combines courage with uncommon calmness.”
Integrity formed the third pillar of his method. He insisted that hearings revolve around facts and that conclusions be traceable to documented evidence. He rejected vague testimony. When an official claimed that a shoreline project was “substantially completed,” Tunji-Ojo quietly reached under the committee desk and produced dated drone footage obtained from community witnesses. The footage contradicted the testimony. His composed but firm presentation of evidence transformed the atmosphere of the hearing and reinforced his reputation as a chairman who could not be misled.
To him, legislative work was not theatre but a structured process demanding measurable outcomes. For the Akoko–Ekiti federal road motion he championed, he went beyond rhetorical advocacy. He worked with local engineer Mr. Bode Owoka to prepare a stress-analysis report detailing hotspots of pavement failure and water-flow interference along the route. He submitted these as annexures to his motion, making it one of the few infrastructure motions in the 9th Assembly backed by technical documentation rather than political sentiment.
Media analysts soon took notice. On Arise News, veteran journalist Tundun Abiola described him as “a lawmaker who interrogates systems the way a seasoned technologist interrogates code.” On Channels TV, Chamberlain Usoh referred to him as “the legislature’s digital reformer,” a recognition of his unparalleled ability to merge engineering logic with lawmaking.
Through precision, courage, and results-driven discipline, Tunji-Ojo created a new template for problem-solving in the Nigerian legislature—one rooted in evidence, strengthened by collaboration, and guided by integrity. His legislative work did not simply expose problems; it systematically dismantled them, marking him as one of the most transformative lawmakers of his generation.
Tunji-Ojo’s first meeting with Bishop C. Johnson, the author of this piece was not a coincidence of accident but design. The investigative hearings on the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) were already attracting national attention when one of the most consequential delegations arrived: the Niger Delta Youths Forum (NDYF), a coalition respected for its evidence-driven activism and deep presence across the oil-producing states. The delegation was led by Bishop C. Johnson, a retired U.S. Army Captain, national security and public affairs analyst, and one of the most influential grassroots accountability voices in the Niger Delta.
Their arrival in the hearing room changed the atmosphere. It was immediately clear that this was not a symbolic visit. The NDYF team arrived with tabulated project lists, community-signed affidavits, and a folder containing geotagged images, drone footage, and timestamped videos of abandoned or non-existent projects in Okerenkoko, Gbaramatu, Ogbia, Egbema Imo and Rivers, Oguta, Esit Eket, Udu, Ikom, and communities along Akoko coastal lines. Their evidence was far more structured than what most civil society groups typically presented.
When Bishop Johnson introduced himself, committee members expected the usual formality. Instead, Tunji-Ojo leaned forward, smiled, and responded instantly:
“I know you very well. I follow your interventions on television. You speak boldly and with courage on national security and Niger Delta issues.”
The acknowledgment surprised the room. It signaled respect—not for influence, but for credibility. It also demonstrated how deeply Tunji-Ojo monitored public commentary, reform advocacy, and grassroots intelligence even before formal engagement. His familiarity with Bishop Johnson’s security analyses, including Johnson’s widely circulated 2017 and 2018 essays on pipeline protection and coastal community development, showed that he regarded civic actors not as outsiders but as partners in reform.
As the delegation began its presentation, Tunji-Ojo shifted from cordiality to precise scrutiny. He asked for procurement codes, contract numbers, disbursement timelines, GPS coordinates, contractor identities, supervising officers, and documentary proof of community claims.
When NDYF member Mrs. Helena Liam presented evidence of a shoreline protection contract in Gbarain awarded three times under different headings, Tunji-Ojo requested the BOQ (Bill of Quantities) and cross-checked it against the commission’s internal procurement records in real time. The accuracy of NDYF’s findings impressed him. He asked:
“Who conducted your verification exercise? Was it a single-state team or a harmonized regional taskforce?”
Bishop Johnson explained the methodology: a joint NDYF verification taskforce operating across nine states, integrating local scouts, drone operators, and community monitors. Hearing this, Tunji-Ojo nodded and said:
“This is the kind of structured evidence the Commission has feared for years.”
Observers later noted that it was one of the few moments in the hearings when the Chairman openly expressed admiration for external investigators.
Throughout the interaction, he exhibited the same precision that defined his oversight philosophy. He asked the NDYF team technical questions usually reserved for internal auditors—questions about contract clustering, procurement inflation indicators, mileage gaps, and inconsistencies between project timelines and payment disbursements. Each answer from the NDYF delegation strengthened the credibility of their submission.
Committee members such as Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante and Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu watched as two reform-minded forces—a legislative technocrat and a grassroots security strategist—aligned naturally around evidence-based accountability.
The exchange became one of the most widely referenced aspects of the probe. Journalists covering the hearing described it as a “rare convergence of expertise and civic courage.” In post-session interviews, analysts noted that the synergy between Tunji-Ojo and Bishop Johnson represented what public accountability in Nigeria could look like when institutional reformers engage citizens who bring competence rather than noise.
After the session, Bishop Johnson told colleagues:
“This young man is different. He is disciplined, organized, and genuinely committed to fixing the Niger Delta.”
His remark encapsulated what many already felt: Tunji-Ojo’s leadership was not performance—it was purpose. And the meeting marked the beginning of a quiet but significant alignment between two actors whose work would continue to intersect across national conversations on reform, security, and governance.
The moment became one of the enduring symbols of the NDDC probe—proof that when credible civic voices meet a disciplined reformist inside the system, institutional accountability becomes not only possible but inevitable.
Capt. Bishop C. Johnson, US Army (rtd), is a national defense and military strategist and political commentator.
Gatekeepers News is not liable for opinions expressed in this article; they’re strictly the writer’s
