The transition of power from the era of Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) to four months of administration of incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagosians are witnessing what they call the challenges of good governance in governing Lagos state TOPE MUSOWU looks at these challenges.
That Lagos State is an important state in Nigeriais a fact that should not be argued. First and foremost it is noticeable by all that notable for its aquatic splendor, the state is rated as the most populous in Africa and the commercial hub of Nigeria. Lagos is considered as a microcosm of Nigeria given the ethnic heterogeneity of its population. So, whoever is the governor of the state ids bound to face most challenges that characterise the Nigerian nation.
For incumbent governor of the state, Mr Akinwunm iAmbode, the last five months has given him the opportunity to either consolidate on the achievements of his predecessor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN), or re-jig the policies and programmes he inherited, with a view to giving them a ‘human face.’ The review would have been in the spirit of the social contract he signed with Lagosians on the day he took oath of office.
He had promised to be fair, just and open in administering the state.
His words: “I pledge to you that I shall devote myself to bringing even greater prosperity, growth and development to every inch of this state; that I shall build on the legacy and progress of the Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola administrations….”
The PDP also kept the administration of Fashola on its toes throughout his eighth years of four years each. The party challenged him on the impact, necessity or otherwise of some policies and programmes of the administration.
The media manager of the administration consistently tried to put most of those issues in proper perspective each time the opposition launched the verbal missiles. At one of those occasions when Fashola had to render the account of the ‘robust achievements’ of his administration, he described the claims and allegations of the PDP against his government as “bold and stark ignorance.“ He labeled the State Budget under his administration as an Article of Faith, thus spanning every sector, just as he faulted insinuations that his administration was building for the elite. On the impact of the budget on security, Governor Fashola noted “Let me be clear that this is not our responsibility.
But when a government and a party choose to export your money in private jets in the search for security equipment, we must respond to support Policemen and women who have shown a great commitment to keeping all of us safe in spite of neglect by their employer, who denied them a merry Christmas by not paying their salaries,” Fashola said.
Like most of the other state governors, Ambode had hit the ground running without constituting a cabinet since May 29, when he assumed office. Relying on the machinery of the civil serve, he had taken a number of steps, which he said were meant to reposition the state.
But, his efforts did not in any way impressed the main opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). It used the opportunity of the traditional 100 days in office of a new government to fire the first salvo at the administration of Ambode.
In the opinion of the PDP, the administration could not make any appreciable impact during the period. According to the PDP state publicity secretary, Taofik Gani, “The examples of lack of cabinet; internally generated revenue and introduction of Treasury Single Account; LASTMA operations; the LASU crisis; Delay in Local Government elections; unclear salaries and wages for civil servants; human rights abuses; etc continue to linger even when they can be resolved within 100 days.”
Miffed by the comment, his counterpart in the governing All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Joe Igbokwe wondered how a party that wrecked Nigeria in 16 years of disastrous leadership could assess performance of a party that had taken Lagos to new heights as one of the few mega cities of the world.
“We see the laughable outings of Lagos PDP in the media after its last disastrous electoral woes as tortuous efforts to stave off its certain death. We see their laughable efforts to critique the government in Lagos as borne out of the near death struggle to survive its own huge liabilities as a failed party that ran a failed government that prodded Nigeria to the precincts of a failed nation,” Igbokwe stressed.
More than five months down the line, Ambode has personally taken the initiative to X-ray his tenure and arrive at a conclusion. To underscore the significance of the exercise, he had brought together a large number of main stakeholders in Lagos to the Abesan Mini Stadium, Lagos, Abesan Housing Estate, Ipaja,. The roll call include Dr Idiat Adebule; Senator OluremiTinubu, representing Lagos Central District; Senator Solomon Olamilekan, representing Lagos West;
All Progressives Congress APC) Chairman, Lagos Chapter, Chief Henry Ajomale; members of the state House of Assembly; Oba Rilwanu Akiolu I; Chief Kemi Nelson, APC Women Leader, Lagos Chapter; Permanent Secretaries; traditional chiefs; as well as leaders of market
women and men.
Ambode gave a painstaking analysis of the activities of his administration since May 29 during the town hall meeting. He gave account of stewardship, moving from one sector to the other.
But the most striking feature of the analysis was when he asserted that his efforts to stabilise the finances of the state had helped to save about N3 billion monthly.
Specifically, he said his administration reviewed the revenue and expenditure framework of the state, saying the efforts, coupled with the realignment of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, culminating in the government saving almost N3 billion every month.
“This has provided us with more funds to inject into capital projects and the initial funds to establish the Employment Trust Fund which we promised our youths,” he said. Reiterating his vision to make Lagos globally competitive in all sectors, Ambode said he had mapped out long-term programmes that would lead the state on the path to becoming a truly competitive city-state.
He explained that his government used the period under review to set up an institutional framework to fast track the programmes and policies of his administration, as well as initiated remarkable interventions and reforms in very critical sectors like road rehabilitation, health care, security, service delivery, transportation and education.
There is a fresh concern among Lagosians that some of those issues that constituted a cog in the wheel of progress in the state are beginning to resurface.
They range from security matters to infrastructural challenges, which many residents contend a strong political will by the authorities to tackle. While some have blamed the problems to the delay in the government forming a cabinet, others said the situation was based on leadership style, following the change of guard in Alausa, the seat of power in Ikeja.
