How Sanwo-Olu can succeed

Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) member Chief Lanre Razak, in this interview with EMMANUEL OLADESU urges stakeholders to support Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu in his bid to deliver the dividends of democracy to Lagosians.

 

How will you rate the performance of Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu since he assumed office in the past six months?

I have said severally that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu is not only the right man for the job, but really prepared for it. And when he got the job, he took some time to study the situation on the ground and what caused the initial delay for him to hit the ground running was the incessant heavy rainfall experienced in the state, which we all alluded to climate change.

The rain has stopped and there is no more excuse and the governor is not going to give any further excuse. If you observe lately, many roads that were in deplorable condition across the state are either being repaired or re-constructed.

Such roads include the Funsho Williams Avenue formerly Western Avenue which was in terrible condition but has been rehabilitated; today you can drive through the road and be a very happy person.

Some roads at Abule Egba have similarly been constructed and the governor has proven that truly he is a workaholic. I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that he regularly embarks on night inspection of these roads to see for himself first hand on what the contractors are doing and the quality of job done.

Lagosians should be rest assured that Sanwo-Olu will meet their needs and satisfy their yearnings and aspirations. Again, I am appealing to the people to bear with the governor and cooperate with him fully as he is implementing his laudable programmes.

They should appreciate the fact that human beings are the ones working on the projects and in no distant future most of the bad roads will be fixed.

The state administration is also rehabilitating Lagos schools that are in deplorable condition, upgrading health facilities and working round the clock on the three modes of transportation namely road, rail and water with a view to synchronizing them and improving the traffic situation across the state so that Lagosians are better for it.

All these projects require the cooperation of the people and that is why it is imperative for the people to fully support the administration to do a good job.

Are residents of sub urban areas also feeling the impact of the ongoing massive road repair and construction?

Yes, no part of the state is left out and based on my investigation, the contractors are currently working in most parts of the state while the roads are spread over the old five divisions of Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu Lagos and Epe.

There is no part of the state that the governor will neglect be it in the area of roads, healthcare, education because he was very well prepared to give good governance so I urge all Lagosians to give the desired cooperation and support to this administration.

Do you see the government completing the construction of more roads before the next rainy season sets in?

I believe that many roads would have been completed before then, I foresee a situation whereby over 80 percent of these deplorable roads would have been repaired.

So be rest assured that the governor will not rest on his oars until the job is done, his hands are on the plough and he is moving at a fast pace to deliver the dividends of democracy to Lagosians.

The traffic gridlock in Apapa remains a nightmare to motorists, port users and the people six months after Sanwo-Olu promised a reprieve.

What is the way out of the problem which seems to have defied all solution?

A solution is coming I want to assure you. Already the federal and Lagos State governments are collaborating to address the problem permanently especially the deplorable Apapa expressway.

We all know that Tin Can Island and Apapa Ports are major revenue earners to the federal government and government realises the need to quickly facilitate the ease of doing business in the area so that revenue that should accrue to Nigeria is not lost to neighbouring countries like Benin Republic and Ghana which have become destination ports for some unscrupulous Nigerians who import their goods under the guise that they want to avoid the traffic gridlock in Apapa and Tin Can Island.

As a matter of fact the road to Apapa is under construction and I believe substantial progress would have been made on it in the next six months.

The Lagos state government is also working seriously on the tanker park at Iganmu to accommodate as many tankers as possible as part of the solution to the gridlock.

The government has realized that the gridlock is having a very negative impact on the nation’s economy especially against the backdrop that Lagos is the commercial and industrial hub of Nigeria.

For instance transporters’ turn around has been drastically reduced and once that happens, they don’t earn money and traders can’t buy goods in the markets and return home early. It has a lot of ripple effects on the people, their businesses and the government is quite aware.

All the stakeholders are very committed to addressing the problem because they know that the more money that the citizens make, the more taxes they pay and the more revenue that accrue to government coffers, the more amenities and services it will be able to provide for the people.

So be rest assured that the government is committed to providing a befitting trailer park in the Iganmu axis in order to reduce the number of trailers on our roads between Ijora Olopa, Ijora 7Up and Funsho Williams Avenue.

What is your view on the recent move by the state government to partner with the organised private sector to making the proposed 4th Mainland Bridge a reality?

There is no better time than now in making the project a reality. If you consider the people’s fears on the 3rd Mainland Bridge, you will be convinced that this is appropriate time to embark on the 4th Mainland Bridge so that if any thing untoward happens and they discover that the former is no longer suitable or not strong enough for the public use, they have an alternative in the latter and that is what planning is all about.

Like I have said before the Sanwo-Olu administration is forward looking, very futuristic so that government is not caught unaware; the governor has demonstrated in practical term that he is very committed to the welfare of the people. So, we should all pray and support him to make the 4th Mainland Bridge a reality.

Will it not be complementary if genuine attempts are made by the state to repair local government roads?

I am aware that there will be special arrangement for the state to construct council roads, it has been done in the past and I know that the current administration will come up with a better road development programme in all the 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas in the state to take on at least three roads in each of the 57 areas.

Read Also: Lagos committed to youth development, says Gov Sanwo-Olu 

 

Already the governor has invited all the councilors for a meeting and asked them to pick projects worth N25million each for execution by the state so don’t be surprise to know that 80 percent of their needs is roads.

 

Recently, both arms of the National Assembly passed the 2020 federal budget, a feat adjudged historic because of its timely passage, making it possible for the country to return to January to December budget cycle. How do you see this?

Our great party the APC has made one fact abundantly clear to Nigerians that you need a cooperative, patriotic, and focused National Assembly leadership for the executive arm of government to get it right in terms of delivering good governance to the people.

The timely budget passage means there are twelve months, January to December for the federal government to implement the appropriation bill and that will place the Muhammadu Buhari administration in a better stead to diligently implement its programmes for 2020 fully.

Unlike the situation in the past when the federal budgets were passed in June, July or even September thereby muddling up the documents and made implementation very difficult and very low performance of such budgets.

Therefore, it is heartwarming that for the first time in recent years, the federal government has 12 months to implement the budget.

As a party and Nigerians we are satisfied that members of the National Assembly have made us proud and executive arm of government will equally make us proud by diligently, effectively implement the budget 100 percent to the benefits of all Nigerians.

I want to commend both the Dr, Hamad Lawan led Senate and Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila the speaker of the House of Representatives and his colleagues for a job well done.

What is your stand on the continued closure of Nigeria’s land borders by the federal government?

It is a welcome development and it is a good omen for the country.

It is unfortunate that Nigeria despite her tremendous support to other countries within the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, our neighbours don’t show any respect or appreciate us as their big brother. It is better we close our borders, in fact the borders should remain closed till further notice.

I believe if that continues, business activities at our ports will improve tremendously and more revenue will accrue to the country’s coffers.

It also means that more roads will be repaired or constructed and with the improved revenue generated, more educational facilities will be provided and healthcare will receive more attention.

May God bless President Muhammadu Buhari for closing the borders which in my opinion should remain shut permanently.