Ambode: Talking with his works

By Yemi Olaniyonu

At the outset  of the present dispensation, not many had believed that Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode had the capacity to pilot the affairs of the State.

In the public space, there were arguments for and against. For those who shared the sentiment, they seemed to have been proved right in the first few weeks Governor Ambode took over the saddle.

An announcement by the Governor urging the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to adopt new strategies rather than impound vehicles was misconstrued by some motorists to mean that they could get away with any offence.

This development seemed to have done more harm than good to the already chaotic traffic situation that was fast becoming a trend at that time in major areas of the state.

Coupled with the bad roads that littered the state especially inner roads in the local governments, traffic found a new home in Lagos. On a daily basis, Lagosians groaned as they were condemned to several hours of lockdown.

As if that was not enough, traffic robbers took advantage of the situation to perpetrate evil. The social media was buzzing; pictures and stories of encounters of residents in the hands of men of the underworld became a daily trend. To make matters worse, less than a month into the new administration, precisely in the morning of June 24, a group of heavily armed robbers stormed two new generation banks at Ipakodo Ebute, near Ogolonto in Ikorodu area of the state. The bulk of the blame for the sudden spell of bad omen stopped at table of Governor Ambode, the former Accountant General of the State who had gotten the majority of votes at the April 11, 2015 governorship election.

Despite the wave of criticism and backlash, Governor Ambode was unfazed. Less than 24 hours after he was sworn-in as the 14th Governor of the State, he set out to work.

For him, the task of governing Lagos was not a 100-metres dash that required hasty decision making, but a four-year journey that would require careful, thorough and coordinated policy and decision making.

He had also made it obvious in his inaugural speech that his administration would be committed to the State Development Plan (2012 – 2025) built on four pillars namely; Social Development and Security; Infrastructural Development; Economic Development and Sustainable Environment, which he narrowed down to a tripod of Security, Job Opportunities and Infrastructure.

Thus, he wasted no time in setting the ball rolling, matching words with action and the last one year has seen interventions carefully tailored to achieve this plan.

On Saturday, May 30, a meeting convened by the Governor with the body of Permanent Secretaries in the State Civil Service was a step in the right direction to share his vision with them of his vision to reposition the Civil Service as a more efficient and service oriented organisation which will involve streamlining some ministries, departments and agencies to cut cost of governance, as well as creation of new offices to cater for the emerging needs of the people in the next four years.

To achieve this, the Governor, realigned the Ministry of Rural Development, Parastatals Monitoring Office as well as Political and Legislative Powers Bureau, while he had earlier announced the establishment of the Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment (Lagos Global), Office of Civic Engagement as well Ministry of Wealth Creation.

He also scrapped the Office of the Special Adviser on Taxation and Revenue, Debt Management Office while he merged the office of Works and Office of Infrastructure; Office of Drainage Services and Office of Environmental Service. This aside from improving the process and procedure of service delivery has also created opportunities for global competitiveness.

Same day, Governor Ambode also received President of Namibia, Dr Hage Geingob, whom he had fruitful discussions with about the desirability of Lagos State as investors’ destination.

 

*Olaniyonu is resident in Lagos

 

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