By Seye Oladejo
As the euphoria generated by the peaceful conduct and the unassailable victory of the ruling All Progressives Congress,APC, in the recent by-elections in the Lagos East Senatorial District and Kosofe 2 of the Lagos State House of Assembly, continues to reverberate throughout the nation, the eloquent message therein should not be lost on all and sundry.
Since the inception of the Sanwo-olu administration, the Lagos state government has hit the ground running in a dogged determination to fulfill its part of the social contract.
It came up up with the ingenious THEMES agenda which encapsulate the essence of the desires and expectations of Lagosians. The THEMES agenda which is an acronym for Transportation and traffic management, Health and Enviroment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st century economy, Entertainment and Tourism, Security and good governance, remain the guiding principles of the Sanwo-olu government.
The commitment to complete all inherited projects has been upheld in the successful completion of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport road and the near completion of the Agege Pen cinema fly-over.
The commissioning of 37 newly constructed roads and 500 others rehabilitated by the Public Works bureau are also note-worthy.
The procurement of 8 boats for water transportation and the recruitment , training and deployment of 1000 officers were geared towards the improvement of public transportation.
The commitment to construct the 4th mainland bridge which is making remarkable progress with the shortlisting of 8 of the 30 firms that expressed interest, will no doubt be the legacy project of the present administration. As characteristic of the present government, the community engagement to seek support and cooperation has commenced in earnest.
The various interventions by the state government in the health sector by providing various diverse free treatment for thousands of beneficiaries and free surgeries in pediatric, eyes, orthopedic , nose and dental ailments were most impactful.
The construction of the mother and child hospitals at Igando and Eto-osa also boosted the health sector.
Undoubtedly, our environment has improved as a result of the re-organization of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency and the operations of the Private Sector Participation in waste management. The Olusosun landfill site was expanded to 42 acre for ease of waste disposal.
The education sector has received the deserved attention with recruitment and training of 3,000 teachers, construction of new classrooms and the provision of furniture and free meals for pupils.
The signing of agreements with private investors to construct 8272 units of hostel will enhance the status of the Lagos State University as the leading state owned tertiary institution.
The administration also set up the Lagos State Science Research and Innovation Council (LASRIC) with the start-up fund of $687,000 to drive the investment in research and tech-focused solutions across the six pillars of the administration’s THEMES agenda.
The various empowerment and poverty alleviation programs were geared towards addressing the peculiar challenges of the moment.
The Covid-19 pandemic brought out the inherent leadership qualities of Mr Governor who acted as the Incident Commander in words and indeed.
The provision of the requisite medical needs- isolation centers, laboratories and other incentives to set the ideal standard for government response.
The various provisions of far reaching palliatives to cushion the effect of the lock-down occasioned by the pandemic, despite the fruitfulless efforts to politicize it, showed the human face of our government.
The endsars protest , which started as a legitimate demonstration of democratic rights, but ended with orchestrated violence on public and private properties, afforded the governor an opportunity to keep faith with the people.
He identified with the protesters and couriered their demands to Abuja.
The Lagos State government was also the first to set a judicial panel of enquiry to put together the pieces of the unrest for posterity and seek justice for the victims .
The sponsored attacks of the government in the traditional and social media as a result of the protest has called to question the intentions of some faceless activists.
However, the response of the Lagos State government to re-focus by having an inventory of the losses, providing support for the victims and quickly set in motion the machinery to rebuild is a lesson in commitment, passion and never say die spirit.
The Lagos East Senatorial and Kosofe 2 House of Assembly bye-elections presented an opportunity to access the performance of the present administration and most especially its response to the unexpected challenges.
While our opponents focused on unimpressive rhetorics which failed to impress the electorates, we presented candidates with impeccable pedigree who will undoubtedly compliment the progressive governance in the state. The failure of the the campaign of calumny, once again , demonstrated the political sophistication of Lagosians who saw through the facade of deliberate misinformation, deceit and propaganda.
Through their votes, the electorates in the Lagos East Senatorial district acknowledged and appreciated the various developmental projects in their part of the state. The Dangote refinery, the Eleko to Epe round about , the Ikorodu road reconstruction and the Lekki deep sea port etc are projects that provided employment opportunities for the people and will most certainly change their socio-economic landscape when completed.
We appreciate the tremendous support of all the electorates who gave us the unprecedented 89% of the total votes cast.
We wish to assure you of our renewed commitment to good governance that will be impactful on all and sundry.
Perhaps, we should also commend our opponents whose sheer falsehood and desperation served as additional impetus to work diligently for the victory.
Our government is mindful of the need to redouble our efforts to address the various areas of challenge as an appreciation of the renewed confidence.
While we acknowledge the right of the opposition to lament and sulk, it should be noted that consistent reality check is a recipe for political progress.
Seye Oladejo is the Lagos State APC Spokesman
