He told inquisitive news men at the Presidential Villa Abuja after an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari today, June 7, that the experience he has got so far is real, adding that it shows that the challenges are real.
“It is not a tea party. You don’t sleep and wake up and the traffic has gone down; you don’t sleep and wake up and there is no rain and that you have resolved Apapa gridlock. It is real. So, it is something that one has to be psychologically prepared for. So the best thing to do is to ensure that you are not about looking for what the other person did but it is for Lagosians to see you do what you said you are going to do for them.
“You don’t do it from the office; you have to do it from the road. You have to do it so that people will see and truly know that you mean business.
“I dare say that I have lost weight and probably I will lose a little bit more but I think it’s what the job entails (which) is to also ensure that you have the right team of people that would support you. So when as a leader, you show that leadership support, then the message itself will trickle down and trickle down very well and that is why we have to take that very bold idea and you are going to see a lot.”
On the level of progress on the notorious Apapa gridlock, the new governor said that it is a work in progress.
“If you go to Lagos now, you will see that they have started clearing it.
“So for us, it’s not just to do it but to ensure that we sustain it. So sustainability is critical.
“It is to build a model where it’s sustainable and we are not also involving the big players we are also discussing with them – the shippers council, the shipping lines, NPA, NIMASA and all of them that are stakeholders in the conversations around port utility, we are settling it. We will continue to engage ourselves and come up with a sustained resolution not just a one off.”
On the issue of security, the Lagos governor said that since security is everybody’s business, he as governor has a major responsibility to ensure that security of lives and properties is paramount as the chief executive officer of a state.
“But beyond the fact that everybody has some responsibilities or the other, just as a father has his kids, a wife is to her children as Managing Director to his staff and so also the state Governor to the entire state.
“So It is a work in progress for us as a state and for me in particular. It is something that I take very seriously. We are not just to be mouthing it but we will make sure that we put resources in place and strategies. We have been talking about domesticating and pushing part of the initiatives around security trust fund that we have done. We will continue to engage, and continue to identify what are the sources: what are the underlining issues that is bringing about it: are they economic? Is it more than that? So that we will also attack the root cause.
“It is something for us as a government that is looking for investors. We certainly must continue to be in a position where we can give confidence to all our investors that it is a safe haven to come and invest.
“So for me it is important; it is paramount and I thank Mr. President for calling us to have this conversation.”
The governor lamented the rising cases of kidnapping and banditry in the south west, and said that he and his colleagues will work hard with regional cooperation to find practical solution.
“It is still work in progress and we have a south west leaders who I am sure have also addressed the press on the matter. I don’t want to be at the risk of pre-empting what that body will do. Let us wait for them to come up with a proper action plan at the regional level and let’s see what solution it will come with.”
