The immediate past Executive Chairman of Ikorodu Local Government, Hon Adeola Adebisi Banjo has described Rep Babajimi Benson, Chairman House Committee on Defense as an exemplary leader and representative whose effective representation has remained a model in Ikorodu Division and beyond.
Banjo stated this on Thursday when he led a delegation made up of members of his administration to pay a courtesy visit to Benson at his Constituency Office in Ikorodu.
The private visit and presentation later turned into a moving display of gratitude and respect as community leaders and political associates of the immediate past Ikorodu North LCDA Chairman gathered to celebrate Benson’s exemplary leadership and service to the Ikorodu Division.
In his opening remarks, Banjo commended Hon. Benson for his consistent impact across the Ikorodu division describing him as a son Ikorodu is proud of.
‘And if Ikorodu were to write a letter to her children today, to all her sons and daughters who will one day rise to lead, she would surely speak of you. She would say: There was a son among you who walked my streets not with haste, but with the hush of stewardship. He did not wear me like a cloak; he bore me like a calling. He lit lamps where my paths had forgotten light. He gave my elders bread and dignity. He answered the broken tar of my roads with smoothness and purpose. He brought governance down from the clouds and made it sit among the people, at their tables, in their markets, and in their weary sighs’, he stated.
Continuing, he said, ‘I heard his name, Jimi, whispered in Isiwu, spoken in the news from Imota, echoed through the winds of Ijede, and carried in the rain over Baiyeku, not as a politician’s chant, but as a prayer that had found a face. He showed me that governance can descend from abstraction to affection, that leadership can kneel beside the people, and that a name can become a movement — Just Beacon, Judicious Bastion, Justice Bringer’.
‘And so today, while that letter is yet unwritten, we speak it aloud in your presence, JB, that you may know how deeply this city thanks you and how proudly she calls you her son’, he concluded.
He noted that Benson’s numerous achievements reflect the strength of his home support system, adding that “for him to have done and achieved such milestones, it means the home is right.”
Banjo equally highlighted and appreciated Benson’s immense support for the success of his eight year administration as Executive Chairman of Ikorodu North LCDA, a collaboration he said was responsible for the success recorded within his reign.
As an expression of gratitude, a portrait bearing words of tribute was presented to Benson, along with a book written in honour of Hon. Babajimi Benson’s contributions to community development across Ikorodu Division.
Similarly, Banjo also presented another frame to the wife of the Rep Member, Mrs. Jumoke Benson, in recognition of her contributions and support for her husband’s numerous strides as Ikorodu Federal Representative.
Mr. Babatunde Olowu, who was also on the delegation, spoke on the Spirit of ER and the Forthcoming Unveiling of JB as the Face of ER Nigeria.
‘Today, we gather not only to speak of ER as an idea but to celebrate it embodied in a man whose service has redefined representation in our time. We honour Representative Babajimi Adegoke Benson, not for titles but for truth and transformation. Through his legislative work, his projects, and his compassion for people, he has shown that leadership can still be noble and service can still be sacred. In his conduct, ER has found meaning, and in his service, it has found a story’, he said.
He equally stated that Benson will be officially announced and unveiled as the Face of ER in Nigeria at a grand celebration where the book titled We Know He Cares: How JB Proved It in Law, Projects, and People will be publicly presented, and the newly revised Asiwaju’s Anthem will be performed by a full orchestra in his honour.
In his response, a visibly touched Hon. Babajimi Benson expressed deep appreciation to Banjo and his team, describing the visit and gift presentations both a gesture and pleasant surprise that beautifully sets the tone for the day.
Some of those on Builder Banjo’s delegation were former members of his immediate past administration in Ikorodu North LCDA.
They were, Hon. Balikis Aderoju Ibrahim, former Majority Leader; SLG Niyi Odugbese; Hon. Basirat Babatunde; Comrade Adekoya Tunde; Babatunde Amataye Olowu; and women leaders from Ikorodu North.
