APC governorship candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi
Ambode
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola,
Tuesday said the state governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is the right person to govern the state, citing
his experience in public service.
The governor made the remark while unveiling the
Lagos State Development Plan (2012-2025) at the Banquet Hall in Lagos House,
Alausa, noting that the state could not be left in the hands of beginners to
experiment with.
Fashola, who handed over the development plan to
Ambode, explained that the plan “is to ensure that the state becomes Africa’s
model megacity, where lives and property would be secured and there would be
reduction in unemployment.”
He told the APC governorship candidate to keep
the development plan very safe, while acknowledging Ambode as his successor,
though would contest the governorship election on February 28, 2015.
He shared what helped him when he assumed office
in 2007 with Ambode, revealing that one of the things that “helped me the first
day I resumed office was that I knew the Head of Service and Permanent
Secretaries by name and face.
“I knew how the government worked because I was
part of the team that made it work. This state is too important to be left in
the hand of those who want to experiment with it. Keep it in very safe hand.
“The plan shows we were already thinking ahead in
our state. Ambode was part of this development plan in the state. He helped to
commence the plan because the plan commenced in his office when he was the
state’s Accountant-General.
“Who will be implementing that plan? The
residents of Lagos will decide who will implement the plan after the expiration
of this administration. I must acknowledge the presence in our midst and
hopefully my successor, Mr. Akin Ambode.”
He explained that the mega city status of Lagos
“indicates the reality of today that we are a large population. But what did we
do with it? The huge population could be asset or burden. We have turned the
burden to asset.
“That is why we can say that whatever happens to
oil today, we will survive. This is because the state has been built not on mineral
resources but on very strong immigrant capital that makeup the human resources
of the state. Our development partners feel at home because they bring value to
our table.
“The investment pillars upon which this plan will
be implemented is the people for whom it is also all about. Everybody has a
role to play, everybody has a part to play. The challenge will be implementing
the plan. Now who implements that plan? You have to decide as you vote next
year,” the governor explained.
Also speaking at the unveiling, the state
Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said the plan
was borne out of the need to harness the various documents articulating the
vision of Lagos as Africa’s megacity.
He stated that the plan provided the framework
“to guide private and public investments in government programmes. The purpose
of the plan is to provide overall direction for the growth and development of
the state.
“It will provide a framework by which all sectors
of the economy can direct their energies and contribute to the improvement of
the quality of life of people in the state. It will set the overarching long
term framework for government’s planning and budget system,” he said.
Akabueze added that the plan would focus on
developing the key areas of the economy, environment, infrastructure and
security, adding that successful implementation would make the state a model
city by 2025.
