The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, is the “most competent” to govern the state among the candidates jostling for the Lagos top seat, the Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has said.
Fashola described Sanwo-Olu as “a leader with a national outlook”, vouching for the fitness of the APC candidate to lead the state.
The minister spoke at an event where a coalition of 53 political parties adopted the candidacy of President Muhammadu Buhari and Sanwo-Olu as their presidential and governorship candidates. The event was held in Surulere.
The coalition, under the banner of Coalition of Political Parties in Lagos State (COPPILS), said the endorsement of the APC candidates was based on the achievements of the party in the last three years.
“I am in a vantage position to tell Lagosians about the readiness of Babajide Sanwo-Olu to govern our state. He served under me as a commissioner and I can attest to his competence. He is a man with a Midas touch and has national outlook. He delivered on task given to him and I have no doubt he will deliver if he is charge. He is positioned to lead and he is ever ready to lead. I know he is prepared for this job and he will deliver.”
Hailing the decision of the parties to support President Buhari’s re-election bid, Fashola said Lagos residents had no choice than to return APC to power. He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in its 16 years dominance at the centre, left infrastructure in the state to rot, pointing out that the opposition party’s candidate, Atiku Abubakar, had no plan for the country.
Fashola described the PDP presidential candidate’s policy paper as “strategy of lies”, saying Atiku’s plan is impracticable. He said Buhari’s investment in infrastructural renewal was unprecedented, adding that the “Next Level” slogan of the APC was strategically coined in preparation for the projected job creation and economic upswing that would come as dividends of Buhari’s investment in infrastructure.
Sanwo-Olu said Buhari’s achievements in four years could not be compared to PDP’s 16 years in power, saying the APC-led Federal Government had initiated and completed 143 road projects across the nation since 2015. He said Buhari’s victory at the general election must be collective responsibility.
Director of Publicity of the coalition, Mallam Shakirudeen Olofin, said the 53 parties had directed their members to work with the APC to deliver Lagos to Buhari, noting that they took the decision to support the APC presidential candidate because of the infrastructure projects of Buhari administration in the Southwest.
According to a communiqué issued by the coalition and signed by its convener, Hon. Akinola Obadia, the APC-led Federal Government had sited more projects in Lagos to consolidate the status of the state as the fastest growing economy in Africa. The coalition said the strides must be sustained for sustainable development.
The communiqué read: “Based on the numerous achievements of President Buhari in the last three and half years, which include reduction in $5 million importation spending, infrastructure projects on Lagos-Ibadan axis and the flag of Apapa-Oshodi-Oworonsoki-Ojota Expressway, the coalition hereby endorses the candidacy of President Buhari.”
The event was witnessed by the Minister for Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, SAN, APC’s National Legal Adviser, Babatunde Ogala, and lawmaker representing Lagos East in the Senate, Gbenga Ashafa, among others.
