Special Adviser (SA) to the Lagos State Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Gboyega Akosile, said Lagos state, in its quest for growth and development, as well as making life more comfortable for residents, is now competing with countries in Africa and not states in Nigeria.
Akosile said this while speaking on Sunday during a live interview on the Breakfast Xtra programme on News Central Television, noting that was due to the remarkable achievements of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration in many sectors in line with the THEMES+ developmental agenda.
According to him, Lagos is now being compared with countries like Ethiopia, Morocco, South Africa and others by many people in the areas of infrastructural development, social contract with the citizens and other dividends of democracy, saying that the Sanwo-Olu administration had delivered laudable infrastructural projects and dividends of democracy to improve the standard of living of millions of Lagos residents in the last five years.
Akosile said that Governor Sanwo-Olu had records of key achievements in the areas of Traffic Management and Transportation; Health and Environment; Education and Technology; Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy; Entertainment and Tourism, and Security and Governance, as well as ensuring inclusion in government, which were integral parts of his administration’s THEMES+ developmental agenda.
“Everything he (Governor Sanwo-Olu) has done is key and paramount to the living standard of Lagosians. All the areas that we have touched on in the last five years are key. Do you remember what COVID did to us in the world? Do you want to talk about how Mr Governor tackled COVID head-on, how he rescued Nigeria and not just Lagos? In fact, he helped some neighbouring countries around us, like Ghana, Benin, and the rest of them, curtailed the spread of COVID-19 in the region. That is a monumental and huge achievement, and it shot us up in the global rankings.
“With other health initiatives of the governor and the current administration, Lagos State is occupying an enviable space within the African rankings of the 10 best health facilities in Africa. What that tells us is that we are not competing with states in Nigeria; we are competing with countries in Africa,” Akosile said.
“This is what a lot of people don’t take note of when they are comparing. They don’t compare Lagos with states; they compare Lagos with countries. They compare us with South Africa, Morocco, and Egypt, and those are countries. When people compare our rail projects, they compare us with Ethiopia, whereas Ethiopia is a sovereign country and Lagos is a state among 36 states. That shows that Lagos is not here to joke,” he added.
Speaking further, Akosile said the Red and Blue rail lines inaugurated by Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration were a game changer, noting that the administration inherited the Blue Line Rail project, completed the first phase, and is currently working on the second phase.
He said the Red Line Rail was also started and completed during the incumbent administration, making Lagos State the only sub-national to embark on a rail project in the African continent.
Besides, he said Governor Sanwo-Olu had also tackled the Apapa gridlock in fulfilment of his campaign promises to address the traffic problem, which had affected businesses for many years in the Apapa corridors, where the two busiest wharves in Nigeria were located.
On the housing sector and environmental issues, Akosile said the incumbent administration had injected more housing units than any previous administrations in the state and also ensured sanity in the environmental sector.
“The Ministry of Environment is doing a lot. I was shocked to discover that people were living under the bridge like a residential apartment. We are doing a lot, and it is work in progress.
“The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, has been doing a good job in the area of the environment. He has a background in law; he is a lawyer, and that is why nobody has been able to hold him by the jugular because he ensures that he follows due process.
“We don’t make people homeless. We are here to serve the people of the state. We have done a lot in the area of housing. In fact, without sounding immodest, the current administration has injected more housing units than any previous administration in Lagos State,” the governor’s aide stated.
This was just as he pointed out that the Sanwo-Olu administration was also working towards addressing the issue of streetlights and security challenges in the state.
Akosile, however, said Lagos had also been adjudged the safest state in the country due to the huge investments of the incumbent administration in ensuring that the lives of Lagos residents and their properties were secured, adding that the Lagos State Neighbourhood Watch was also doing a lot in terms of gathering intelligence to address insecurity in the state.
READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
