Governor Akinwunmi Ambode on Thursday described his predecessor and Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, as a synergy between Lagos State and the Federal Government that will accelerate and actualise his administration’s plans for infrastructural development in the state.
Ambode who said this while delivering a keynote address at the Lagos Business School Alumni Conference noted that the state is privileged to have Fashola in charge of key federal ministries at this critical moment in the history of the state.
“We are privileged to have my predecessor in office at the centre in charge of works, power and housing. This effectively means we have a synergy between Lagos and the Federal Government to accelerate and actualise our current plans for infrastructural development,” Ambode said.
He added that though building infrastructure to improve the quality of life is a top priority in Lagos, traffic and security remain the two key priority focus areas that need urgent attention.
He said: “Dealing with the terrible traffic problems that afflict so many Lagosians on a day to day basis is my key area of focus in relation to infrastructure. Our problems with traffic have to be improved. It is harmful to the quality of life of too many people in our city.
“Lagos will continue to grow and as we are more successful, the population will of course grow more quickly, generating more demand for traffic. We are looking at the potential of rail and water-based systems, repair the roads and work with the private sector to deliver the projects.
We are putting in place the finances we need to enable us make our plans a reality.”
He also informed the gathering that there would be a traffic summit in Lagos next week to address the issues by combining the perspectives of international best practice and local knowledge and experience.
Speaking at another function, Ambode said he has nothing else to give to humanity than to uphold the tenets of good governance.
He said this while speaking as guest lecturer at the Annual Lecture and Award ceremony of The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Alumni Association in Nigeria.
The governor, who spoke on the theme: “Deepening the Democratic Culture in Nigeria”, said as part of efforts to deepen democracy and make Lagos work for all, he has since set up the Office of Civic Engagement and Ministry of Wealth Creation.
He added that as part of efforts to carry people along in his programmes and policies and to run an all-inclusive government, he has since embarked on a quarterly town hall meeting where he can hear from the people directly.
