Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Tuesday restated his administration’s commitment to running a transparent and all-inclusive government driven by the wish of the people.
He also said the government is committed to implementing the Lagos Development Plan saying his administration has fashioned out a framework to commence the implementation.
The Governor, who spoke when a delegation of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) led by the Country Representative, Mr. Ben Mellor, paid a courtesy visit to him in his office, said his administration is setting up a framework which the Permanent Secretaries are already working on.
“I would like our development plan and issues that DFID will be assisting us in we should be able to put together issues that are germane to our people and the bottom line has always been that we should do things and carry out programmes that would be of tremendous benefit to the people of Lagos State and that’s what DFID also stands for. We would like you to also know that whatever it is that we are doing, will open up areas that we believe will be of benefit to Nigerians in general,” he said.
He said the Development Plan is geared towards achieving the vision of the government in all sectors on the long-term.
Ambode said he remains a firm believer in the basic principle of good governance, which according to him, thrives on accountability and all inclusive governance, just as he restated his commitment to run a transparent and all inclusive government that would not only be accountable, but also be people-driven.
“Lagosians must be able to speak about the kind of government they want, we must also be accountable to them, we should be able to explain to them in every facet of our administration what we are doing and then government should also be participatory,” he said.
Ambode said he has concluded plans to embark on a tour of the 57 local governments in the state, saying it would afford him the opportunity to listen to the challenges of the people first hand and address them accordingly.
“We believe strongly that we should scale up community governance in this state. It is more about communities, its more about our people and what they want”.
He commended the partnership of the State Government and the DFID over the years, saying it has not only being a success, but has impacted on the people in no small way.
Earlier, Mellor in his remarks commended Governor Ambode for his strides since he assumed office, just as he noted that his decision to run an all-inclusive government was one that conforms to the ideology of the DFID.
