BY: Chukwudi OHIRI
Contrary to the expectations of many Lagosians, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola who spoke at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos on May 29, 2011 shortly after he was sworn in with his deputy, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire bluntly told Lagosians not to expect too much from his new administration as the cost of running government has escalated. “The cost of running government has escalated as a result of many upward reviews of wages of staff across sectors and also as a result of the new minimum wage prescription. While we will do our best to run an inclusive government, we must remain mindful of, and balance the enormous cost associated with running a large government” Fashola said.
At exactly 10:57 a.m., the oath of office was administered to Governor Fashola by the Chief Judge of the state, Hon. Justice Inumidun Akande to commence his second tenure. In the inaugural speech that followed, he said: “Today, I stand before you, extremely humbled by your support, your sacrifice and your unwavering commitment for four years, but equally very proud to assert that we have delivered on our promises to you and exceeded them in many instances”, as if to imply ‘mission accomplished’ already. He however pledged to consolidate on the already established gains of his first four years in office such as completion of many road projects his administration had embarked upon. He also promised to complete the on-going mega city project in the state.
During the campaign tour of the state, Fashola promised to decongest the metropolitan centre by creating new towns using six communities as pilot areas for the new town project, including; Onigbongbo Village in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area, Olowo-Ira Village in Kosofe Local Government Area, Agbenaje Village in Mosan-Agbado Local Council Development Area, Shasha/Oguntade Village around Ikeja and Alimosho local government areas, Isheri Village in Kosofe Local Government Area and Ologolo Village in Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
Governor Fashola restated his commitment to providing the people with good governance as he hinged his overwhelming success at the election to the victory of good governance. He called on Lagosians to cooperate with his administration so that more can be achieved saying: “If we must equal and exceed the standards of those societies by whose performance we assess ourselves, and I am certain that we can, then we must all reach a consensus from today to play by the rules, such as paying our taxes, driving in the proper way and on the proper lanes, trading in the proper and designated places, building only in proper and designated places and doing everything in accordance with the rules. As a Government, our task in meeting your expectations will certainly be made more easy if we all submit ourselves equally to the rules and regulations of our daily interactions and businesses, because not only will voluntary compliance reduce our cost of enforcement and citizens’ contact with law enforcement agents, it will leave your Government with more time and resources to focus on developmental issues that improves our lives collectively; a lawful and orderly society will certainly benefit more people”.
Fashola gave the hint that the revenues of the state has “unfortunately not grown in such proportions” as to meet up with all the expectations of the people and so his new administration “will have less to spend on capital projects until we find other sources of revenue…while [our] government will not relent in its effort, we cannot solve all the problems at once”. He attributed the reason why all the expectations of the people may not be met, not to deliberate complacency on the part of the government, but on financial circumstances of the state. In his words, “let me advise that in all these expectations, we will be limited only by resources, especially those of a financial nature that are available to us, and certainly not by our own complacency, passion or desire to work hard to serve you”. He further noted that some of the policies and actions of the government may not go down well with people but that whenever these policies occasion discomfort, Lagosians should see them as sincere efforts to make things better. “Please, bring your complaints for possible redress to us, without taking the laws into your hands or interpreting those policies as being specifically targeted at any group” he admonished. “Let me assure you all that as leader of the government team, I cherish the mandate (given to him by the people); I am fully conscious of the import for your hopes and aspirations and I remain as committed as I was in 2007 to fulfill those aspirations”, the Governor added.
Finally, the Lagos state governor acknowledged that his success story was not a product of his solitary effort and so he pledged to do his best for Lagosians in addition to investing more on security of lives and property in the state. “As I make this solemn pledge before you all and before God, let me remind all of us that the progress we have made was not made by me alone. Every law abiding Lagosian was a contributor. We achieved this progress by building a Government whose commitment to law and order was unmistakable and unequivocal. We will require an even greater commitment to law and order, not only to sustain what we have achieved, but also to progress upon it”, Fashola remarked at the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment