*Sanwo-Olu urges Lagosians to maintain continuity
Segun James and Wale Igbintade
The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governorship candidate in Lagos State, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, yesterday unveiled a 100-point growth agenda for the State, pledging that his administration, if elected, could be judged by measurable achievements reasonably than political rhetoric.
Hamzat gave the peace of mind in the course of the presentation of his governorship manifesto and marketing campaign track on the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts (previously the National Theatre, Iganmu), Lagos, the place he outlined proposals overlaying transportation, inexpensive housing, safety, potable water, infrastructure, environmental administration and youth empowerment.
He urged residents to scrutinise the manifesto, establish commitments that instantly have an effect on their households and communities, doc them and demand explanations for any that stay unfulfilled.
“Take the promise, read it, question it. Find the commitment that matters most to you, to your family, your street, your community. Write it down,” he stated.
He added: “Then, bring it back to me. Show me what I delivered. Show me what is left to do. Hold me accountable for both. That is my promise.”
The APC candidate stated his ambition was to construct a Lagos that works for all residents, with an administration centered on growth, inclusion and improved dwelling circumstances.
“This is the mandate I ask of you. The opportunity to serve you as your governor. The responsibility to deliver and the duty to answer to you,” he declared.
On transportation, Hamzat promised to increase the state’s public bus fleet from the present 1,000 to greater than 4,000, with a goal of transporting a million passengers every day.
He additionally pledged to increase the rail community, promising to increase the Blue Line to Ojo and set up an interchange connecting the Blue and Red strains on the National Theatre station.
He additional pledged to advance the proposed Green Line from Marina to the Lekki Free Zone in collaboration with the Federal Government.
According to him, the Blue Line, upon reaching Trade Fair station early subsequent 12 months, is projected to hold 250,000 passengers every day.
Hamzat stated his administration would combine highway, rail and water transportation right into a coordinated system supported by unified ticketing preparations and timetables to make commuting simpler for residents.
Under the water transportation element, he pledged to dredge an extra 140 kilometres of waterways, optimise 15 ferry routes, rehabilitate 27 of the present 47 terminals and procure 75 electrical ferry boats.
Describing Lagos as a water state, he stated the lagoon ought to turn into the state’s third main transportation hall.
On highway infrastructure, the candidate promised an aggressive rehabilitation of internal roads throughout communities in partnership with native governments, native council growth areas and the Lagos State Public Works Corporation.
He additionally pledged to reconstruct strategic traffic-bearing roads, activate the Fourth Mainland Bridge by way of partnerships, speed up the regional highway alongside the Lake Yembe axis and begin the second part of the Ogbebe-Mindene Link Bridge to attach with the Third Axial Road.
On housing, Hamzat promised to make house possession extra accessible by way of a mortgage association requiring an preliminary deposit of 10 per cent, decrease rates of interest and longer reimbursement durations.
On safety, he promised to strengthen the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Agency and prolong its operations to each ward throughout the state’s 20 native authorities areas and 37 native council growth areas.
He additionally proposed establishing a state intelligence centre to strengthen the battle towards cybercrime, monetary crimes and organised felony actions.
“Lagos has given me a lifetime of work. Today, I give Lagos my promise,” he declared.
He recalled his father’s recommendation on public service, saying he had been taught that management was basically about serving the folks.
“A promise is a loan. I have lifted it onto my head before you. I’m asking you to watch me carry it,” he stated.
Earlier, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who attended the occasion as Special Guest of Honour, urged residents to maintain the APC-led administration within the state, saying ongoing growth tasks required continuity reasonably than experimentation.
He described Hamzat, his deputy for seven years, as an skilled public administrator who had been a part of the state’s governance and growth course of for greater than 20 years.
Sanwo-Olu stated Hamzat had served as commissioner beneath former governors Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola earlier than turning into deputy governor in 2019.
He recalled that Hamzat had stepped down from the 2018 governorship contest following the intervention of APC leaders and subsequently agreed to function his working mate.
The Governor described the choice as an illustration of Hamzat’s loyalty and dedication to the celebration and the event of Lagos.
He additionally credited his deputy with taking part in important roles in main tasks and coverage choices, together with the event of the Blue and Red rail strains and the Lekki Deep Sea Port.
Sanwo-Olu argued that Hamzat’s expertise in successive administrations positioned him able to maintain ongoing tasks and advance the state’s growth agenda.
Using a relay race analogy, he described the transition of management in Lagos as a course of during which successive governors should construct on the foundations laid by their predecessors reasonably than begin afresh.
He recognized ongoing tasks, together with the Fourth Mainland Bridge, the proposed Lekki-Epe International Airport, the Omu Creek undertaking, meals hubs and logistics parks, as initiatives requiring continuity past the current administration.
“This is not the time to experiment with Lagos. This is the time to consolidate,” he stated.
Sanwo-Olu, who stated he had seven months left in workplace, described a peaceable transition of energy to his deputy as one in every of his administration’s most vital legacies.
He urged Hamzat to maintain public engagement, full ongoing tasks and protect the institutional framework that had supported successive administrations.
Also talking, former Lagos Deputy Governor and consultant of the Governance Advisory Council (GAC), Princess Sarah Adebisi Sosan, confused the significance of continuity whereas acknowledging the necessity to tackle rising growth challenges.
She stated the state’s progress beneath successive administrations had resulted from deliberate planning, sacrifice and purposeful management.
According to her, the following administration ought to protect insurance policies and programmes that had delivered outcomes whereas correcting recognized shortcomings and introducing enhancements the place essential.
She famous that Lagos’ rising inhabitants, increasing enterprise actions and rising expectations required strategic planning and skilled management.
Sosan additionally urged the federal government to prioritise points affecting residents, together with transportation, highway infrastructure, training, inexpensive healthcare, safety, employment, housing and environmental sanitation.
Director-General of the PBAT-KOH Campaign Council, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, pledged that the marketing campaign could be peaceable, disciplined and issue-based.
He stated the organisation would deal with Hamzat’s expertise, competence and coverage proposals reasonably than personalities or political constructions.
Obanikoro stated the marketing campaign would take its message to each native authorities, ward and group throughout the state, emphasising the necessity for unity amongst APC leaders, members and supporters.
He defined that the marketing campaign’s guiding ideas, ‘Forward and Together’, represented the dedication to sustaining growth whereas guaranteeing that each resident, irrespective of faith, ethnicity, occupation or social standing, had a stake in Lagos’ progress.
He stated the following administration should consolidate current achievements, tackle growth gaps and create extra alternatives for residents.
