Fighting Fashola is Ambode’s only achievement– PDP

 

 Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic

  Party in Lagos State, Mr. Taofik Gani 

The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party says Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s only achievement in the last 100 days is fighting his predecessor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.

The Publicity Secretary of the Lagos PDP, Mr. Taofik Gani, said this during an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday.

Gani said Ambode was attacking Fashola so as to distract the people of Lagos from seeing his own deficiencies.

The PDP spokesman, who noted that Ambode had revoked several of Fashola’s policies and contracts, said the governor was not sincere.

He said rather than rubbish Fashola in the media, Ambode should launch a sincere and thorough probe of the Fashola administration with a view to exposing all shady deals that took place under Fashola and then forward a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

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Gani said it is only after doing this that the people of Lagos would take Ambode seriously.

He said, “Ambode’s performance has been dismal. I will score him 20 per cent and the 20 per cent is the achievement of the civil servants who have continued to work. The 20 per cent is not because of Ambode’s personal input.

“He has failed to appoint commissioners despite the fact that his predecessor is a fellow APC member like himself. His government should have hit the ground running.

“I advise him to first and foremost apologise to Lagosians for misleading them during the elections. Obviously, he was not prepared for governance.

“Ambode’s only achievement is fighting Fashola and he has not even done that properly. The people of Lagos want a complete probe of Fashola’s administration after which Ambode would forward a petition to the relevant anti-corruption agencies. After doing that, Ambode should face governance. What he is doing now is diversionary and it is inimical to the development of the state.”

The PDP spokesman said the All Progressives Congress had done nothing but impoverish the people of Lagos.

He maintained that despite the high Internally Generated Revenue, the people of Lagos had continued to suffer while social infrastructure like the BRT had become moribund.

However, a group, Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate, has congratulated Ambode for exemplifying excellence in governance in 100 days since assuming office.

In a statement by its Executive Chairman, Mr. Nelson Ekujumi, the group said Ambode had been able to reposition the civil service, block financial leakages and reorder the finances of the state.

Ekujumi said the governor had recruited over 1,000 primary schoolteachers. He noted that the governor was running a compassionate government as evidenced by the compensations paid to families involved in a tanker fire in Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos.

The statement read, “We are quite aware of how the governor puts smiles on the faces of state and local government retirees from ministries, parastatals and agencies earlier in August when he approved N11bn to offset arrears owed since 2010.

“This is a commendable development by a responsible government and this is a radical departure from our history of shabby treatment of retirees in the public service.”

“The prompt responsiveness of the Ambode government to disasters and emergencies is worthy of commendation if we recollect his empathy visits to the scenes of petroleum tanker fire disasters in Idimu and Iyana Ipaja where he not only commiserated with the victims, but also promised them government succour which has since been fulfilled.”