Kazeem Ugbodaga

Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola says Lagos is too important to be handed over to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to experiment on the job.

The governor spoke at the public presentation of the Lagos State Development Plan (LSDP) at the Banquet Hall, State House, Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria on Tuesday. The plan is expected to run from 2012-2025.

Fashola said only the All Progressive Congress, APC, Governorship candidate, Akinwunmi Ambode could steer Lagos to greater heights and implement the development as he has been in government for a very long time.

Akabueze, Fashola, ambode, Mrs Adebule at the launching of the plan

He was of the opinion that Ambode will build on the strides of his administration, especially as it relates to infrastructural development, saying success of the development plan would depend largely on the ability of the successive governments to implement the policies diligently.

According to him, some of the components of the plan had already been implemented, but noted that other components would be implemented by the next administration, expressing the hope that Ambode’s contribution during his stint as Accountant General of the state from 2007 to 2012, puts him in a better position to carry on when his tenure ends on May 29 next year.

“Lagos State is too important to be left in the hands of those who intend to experiment on the job,” he said, adding that he was able to accomplish what he did because he had been in the government of Bola Tinubu, which qualified him to have detailed knowledge of governance.

“I can reveal to you today, one of the things that helped me most from the first day I took this job was that from the day I arrived office, I knew the Head of Service by name and by face, I knew all of the permanent secretaries who were going to work with me by name and by face, and I knew almost all the directors who were going to work with me by name and by face and I knew how this government works, because I was part of the team that made it work,” he said.

He stated that Ambode was also part of the brains behind the LSDP development at the birth of the plan in 2009, while commending Ambode for finding time to grace the presentation of the plan, saying that the APC gubernatorial hopeful, with his presence despite the electioneering demands had shown “where his mind is about planning and developing Lagos.”

He said the drafting of the new economic plan for the state was to promote the state’s development and make it African model megacity by 2025, while enjoining residents to buy into the plan as their own and work with the government to ensure the successful implementation of the plan.

Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Ben Akabueze stated that the LSDP was borne out of the need to harness the various documents articulating the vision of Lagos as Africa`s megacity, saying that the plan provided the framework to guide private and public investments in government programmes.

Akabueze said the purpose of the LSDP was to provide overall direction for the growth and development of the State as well as provide a framework by which all sectors of the economy-public, private and civil society, could direct their energies and contribute to the improvement of the quality of life of people in the state.