Jandor unveils vision for Lagos

The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Dr. Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran (Jandor), said his journey into the governorship race started seven years ago, after a detailed appraisal of the performance of successive governments in the state from 1999.

In a statement issued yesterday, titled: ‘My Vision for Lagos,’ Jandor expressed optimism that the state would fare better when well-meaning stakeholders graduate from armchair criticism of the systemic decadence to becoming active players by throwing their hats into the ring to salvage the state.

He stated that the experience of an average resident of the state across the five IBILE divisions in the 20 local councils since the beginning of democracy left much to be desired.

Jandor said the state could have it better and lives of people much easier when transparency, honesty, accountability and empathy govern the conduct of public officeholders.

He said: “We are set to make Lagos work better in the interest of all residents by decentralising development to all parts of the state and ensuring that the flow of the wealth of the state is redirected from the pockets of an individual to the benefit of all.

“We are very intentional about our vision of birthing a true Mega City led by a servant leader who is truly independent and will not need a second level of approval before taking decisions. The power will truly reside with the people and not an individual pretending to be a demi-god.”

Jandor said when elected his administration would make Lagos truly wealthy by giving a breath of fresh air in the area of works and infrastructure; education and environment; aquaculture and ease of doing business; law and order; transportation and traffic management; health and housing; youth and women empowerment; and other critical areas of governance.

He said endemic corruption is one of the biggest problems stagnating the development of the state, adding that his administration will bring on financial re-engineering through critical reforms that would fast-track operational processes and plug financial leakages in the public service.

“We are bewildered that over two million of our children are out of school. We are pained to see our people suffer so much to access very basic healthcare services. We are ashamed of the poor state of infrastructure and the widening gap in infrastructure deficit. We are not comfortable that our State’s wealth is only on paper, nothing significant is on the ground to justify the humongous revenue generation, including our local and foreign borrowings to fund budget deficit, year on year.

“Every time we think we have seen the worst, somehow, the ones we handed our dear state will always find a way to outdo themselves in how bad things can get. For 23 years, they have rewarded the love of the people with so little. We are the wealthiest state in Nigeria, yet 66 per cent of Lagos residents still live in slums. It is better to imagine and never experience another four years of no real solution to waking up at 4:00am everyday because of the awful traffic across Lagos metropolis. Or four more years of being scared to stop at traffic lights for fear of traffic robbers? I don’t think we can continue with another four years of 2 million of our children still out of school.”

Jandor stated that the solution to the problem of the state is to make real change, noting that for too long the people have paid lip service to seeking “progress” and the time to “fight for our lives, our rights and our future, is now. Another four years is too long to waste!”

He said his focus is to change the face of governance in Lagos and make it a wealthy state in truth as against its current status of being a wealthy state only on paper.

Jandor outlined the agenda of his administration as W.E.A.L.T.H. He stated that W stands for, works, housing and road infrastructure; E-education; A – Aquaculture and ease of doing business; L – Law, Order and Security; T – Tourism, transport and traffic management, H – Health and environment and Y – Youth, women and social development.

The PDP governorship candidate stated that as part of plans to ensure that his administration delivers on the promise of a WEALTHY Lagos, it would be guided by, Tech-driven approach to governance; Rule of Law; Equity and Inclusiveness; Accountable Representation and Transparency (TREAT).

“The key to resolving the perennial traffic on our roads is to identify flash points, get root causes and be deliberate about resolving them, either by providing the necessary infrastructure such as expanding the roads or constructing bridges to free up intersections and more importantly, by instilling discipline on our roads. We will also lead by example and provide real leadership.”

“We will ensure that the acclaimed huge Lagos revenue that we only hear is no longer ‘audio.’ It will now reflect in our daily lives by using it to aggressively repair all existing state roads, building iconic bridges that will give Lagos the face-lift as a mega city of repute. We will involve private sectors in project financing via Public-Private Partnership such as build operate and transfer (BOT) and other concessions, but with the interest of Lagosians at the centre of it all.

“Our administration will provide free school uniforms and learning aids to all pupils in our primary and secondary schools. Majority of these children are out of school because their parents are unable to afford ancillary school requirements such as uniforms and learning aids that are presently not part of the free education scheme of this current administration.

“These uniforms will be produced by local tailors in all local governments. This means local tailors within Ikeja local government will sew uniforms for all pupils and students schooling within the confines of Ikeja local government. This way, we would also have succeeded in boosting the economy, especially the earning power of the locals all at a cost no more than N24b in a fiscal year.”

On flooding, Jandor said his administration would declare a state of emergency on the environment, with regular de-silting, clearing of collectors and primary channels in preparation for the rainy season and we will be bold to take tough decisions in the interest of the generality of Lagosians by enforcing environmental sanitation laws. We will work closely with the Meteorological agency to plan ahead by giving utmost attention to areas that are prone to flood.

“We will be deliberate about the ease of doing business in Lagos by providing an enabling environment to players in our economy both in the formal and informal sectors. We will restore hope to our market men and women to make sure no one harasses or extorts them in the name of “Mama loja” (Market Leader) and we won’t take away their means of livelihood for a day, by closing any market in Lagos under whatever guise.

“We know that you, the good people of Lagos, are just enduring the remaining days of the incumbent government. We are signing a social contract with you to serve you with the skillfulness of our hands and the integrity of our hearts. We will reach out to every Lagosian, and walk through each of the 245 political wards and 13,325 polling units across the 20 Local Government areas of the state to seek your vote and your support for Funke Akindele (his deputy) and I on March 11, 2023 date for the governorship election and all other candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party for the legislative offices.

He added that his administration would create technovation hubs across the five divisions of Lagos state, namely, Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Epe where youths will be trained to acquire digital skills while facilitating tech start-up support to leverage opportunities.

Jandor added, “Currently in our health facilities, especially at the general hospitals, we are confronted by the unpalatable experience of patients littering the premises in the name of no hospital beds to accommodate them. Pending when we will provide adequate infrastructure, we will embark on the automation of all health care facilities in Lagos, both public and private to ensure that no hospital transfers any patient to the general hospital until such facility has successfully secured a bed space for such patient and we will also eradicate reception areas at all Emergency Units.

“This way, we would have succeeded in ridding the premises of our general hospitals of littering patients and saving more lives. In addition to this, health insurance will be made compulsory and available to the less privileged and vulnerable for free, to improve access and affordability.”