Lagos state governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said that allowing the Southern part of Nigeria to produce a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari is only the fair deal.
The governor also specifically zeroed down on the South-west as the “top-notch” in the South.
Speaking with newsmen after submitting his nomination forms at the International Conference Centre (ICC), Tuesday in Abuja, Sanwo-Olu said his government has delivered real dividends of democracy in all facets of life in Lagos, hence his second term.
When asked on whether the Southern presidency is visible in 2023, Sanwo-Olu said: “I think we believe so (Southern Presidency) and I think that’s is what is fair, that is what is just. But it is really about Nigeria. There are aspirations everywhere and there are so many qualified people but for equity and fairness we have in our country, I think is just morally fair that it goes to that part and South-west is top-notch in that. We believe that our positions from those meetings are still very valid and everybody must consider.”
On the the recent meeting with South-west APC presidential aspirants, the Lagos governor said it was unfair for anyone to call it a failure.
“You should have asked what was the objective? Did we achieve the objective of that meeting? The answer is yes. We needed to have ourselves in the room, lock up ourselves and have frank conversation which was exactly what we did. Are we going to have further conversation with the leadership? Yes, I believe so. So we are not fed up, we were sincere with ourselves and we hope that in future engagement all the aspirations we have in our region will come to pass.”
Asked whether he was confidence of getting a second term mandate, Sanwo-Olu said: “So, our confidence is premised on the fact that we’ve received tremendous support from the citizens of Lagos and we have been opportuned to put in place a robust economy agenda that has propelled all of the various interventions we have in Lagos.
“In fact, if I start rolling them here we will be here till tomorrow but in all phases of life, we have touched our citizens; in transportation, in education, in health, in housing, in good governance, in provision of basic amenities but more importantly, in security for our people.
“You know what we have a nation but Lagos continue to remain in our view the safest city. And we have grown the city from what it used to be three to four years ago before we took over. Now it receive the highest foreign direct investments because the environment is safe and secured. We have provided the platform for the organised private sector to thrive.
“Mind you, Lagos also during this period was the epicenter for Covid-19 for about a year and a half we were slowed down but did not slow down economy. It gives us the opportunity to redoule our efforts in all the areas that we have talked about. In fact Covid-19 propelled us to even have better health facilities as we speak today. It is point people have seen our sincerity and real dividends of democracy in all facets of life.”
