Chatham House: Delegating questions one of Tinubu’s innovations, says Dele Alake

Director of Strategic Communications of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Dele Alake has defended the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for asking some of his team members to answer questions during an interaction with the audience at Chatham House on Monday.

Tinubu’s decision to allocate some of the questions to Alake, Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai and his Cross River State counterpart, Ben Ayade generated controversy on the social media.

But speaking in an interview with Channels Television, Alake said delegating questions to team members is “one of the innovations” of Tinubu.

He noted that it showed a team player who knows “leadership is not a one man show”.

“This is one of the innovations of Asiwaju Tinubu. Don’t forget that one of his main solid strengths has been identifying talents.

“Anybody who has his head properly screwed on his head would know that Asiwaju is the primus inter pares in team building; that is what he sought to display.

“Everybody acknowledges his talents in showcasing professional and technocratic experts in various fields. Those who are saying what you have just said are ignorant of the nuances and dynamics of leadership. Leadership is not a one-man show.

“Successful leadership is one based on a team that is professional and highly skilled. Asiwaju has been noted to be an advocate of that and that is what he displayed.

“Apart from delegating, he also answered questions personally and directly. He wanted to show the calibre of his team and that is what he equally did at the Eko Hotel town hall meeting.

“That style is being copied by some of his opponents but they can’t get the traction because they don’t have the solid team like he has,” Alake said.