27th January, 2015
With a robust list of accomplishments in the area, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, on Monday led the Governorship Campaign train of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to Mushin Local Government Area, saying if voted into power, the APC Gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, would take Mushin and other parts of the state to the next level.
Addressing a huge gathering of party supporters at the Amu Junction of Agege Motor Road, Governor Fashola expressed joy that the issue of perennial flooding in areas like Idi Araba in Mushin Local Government Area which, according to him, earned the area the sobriquet of River LUTH, has been tackled and has now become a thing of the past.
The Governor also recalled that his administration handed over a number of roads while others were still on-going adding, “at the last count, 16 new roads were handed over to the people in the Mushin Local Government Area and the State Government is also constructing the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS) housing Scheme in Mushin”.
Noting that the traders at the Amu Market could testify to the positive effect of the ongoing construction of the new housing estate in Mushin in terms of increased patronage for wood and timber, the Governor added, “transporters and motorists have also been given a new lease of life through the cleaning up of Oshodi that has brought about reduced travel time and savings on fuel purchases.”
He urged all residents of the state to reject the Peoples Democratic Party and all its candidates at all levels at the forthcoming general elections “because for the past 16 years, the party has mismanaged the resources of Nigeria and failed to provide steady power supply despite committing huge resources to that effect.”.
Governor Fashola also urged the people of Mushin to eschew violence during campaign rallies and elections pointing out that opposing party candidates were never enemies but remained friendly with their opponents before, during and after the elections.
According to the Governor, there is no basis for supporters of such candidates to unleash violence on themselves or members of the public when the people they are supporting are always in conviviality with their opponents.
Citing the warm embrace and display of affection at the rally between the APC gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and the Senator representing Lagos West, Senator Ganiyu Solomon, who both once jostled for the APC Governorship ticket, as an example of why political supporters should eschew violence, the Governor also urged the people to take a cue from his election in 2007 and his re-election in 2011which were devoid of violence.
According to him, “at the end of every electoral contest a winner must emerge. What is instructive, however, is that when two teams are preparing for a match it is only the team that probably smells defeat that calls for a shift or postponement.
“The opponents of our party, the All Progressives Congress, will try to provoke the party and its supporters to violence but we must remain focused and resist the provocation”, Governor Fashola urged the people, insisting that Nigerians must be ready to fight only with their ballots on February 14 by voting massively for General Muhammadu Buhari and also ensuring that on February 28, the residents of Lagos vote for continuity of good governance through the election of Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode as the next Governor of the State.
Earlier while addressing the party supporters, the gubernatorial candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, who described the Mushin rally as a homecoming for him, said his administration would engage the youths of the area through gainful employment.
Ambode also gave a commitment that he would not neglect the residents of the area but would ensure that all the streets were provided with street lights while all the road projects that are still ongoing would be completed.
According to Ambode, the incoming administration would create a 24-hour, seven days a week economy which would be hinged on adequate security while also ensuring that the area benefits from a round-the-clock transport system that would also run seven days a week.
Ambode, who also pledged that he would ensure “a safer, cleaner and more prosperous Lagos for all if voted into power”, again charged Lagosians not to hand over Lagos to the inexperienced hands of the PDP.