The governorship candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has predicted the end of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan next month, saying the presidential election on Saturday, 14th February 2015 points to a new dawn for Nigeria under the leadership of General Muhammadu Buhari, the APC presidential candidate.
Ambode spoke at the star-studded presidential rally of his party which held at the Teslim Balogun stadium, Surulere, on Friday, 30th January, 2015.
In a statement signed by his Director of Media and Communications, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, the APC governorship candidate said the message from Nigerians who are tired of Jonathan’s rudderless policies is to vote in a new government at the federal level, while maintaining the continuity of excellence that Lagos State has witnessed in the past decade.
Ambode’s speech at the occasion where he was formally presented with the party flag reads thus:
“Ever since Nigeria’s independence in 1960, there has never been any time that Nigerians and democracy been so united than this moment. I am, on behalf of all ordinary Nigerians and well-meaning stakeholders, predicting and announcing the end of Jonathan’s administration come February 14, 2015.
“This is the message from all Nigerians who are tired of transformation without motion. But we want continuity in Lagos. The last 16 years have witnessed an irreversible growth and development of Lagos State. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu commenced the giant strides in 1999, laying a solid foundation for Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), which he has actualized till date.
“In our party’s tradition of excellence, I assure all Lagosians that I will continue in that tradition of excellence that we are known for. Lagos will work for all of us. We must keep Lagos working. It is all about cognate experience. We do not want trial and error in Lagos. There is no room for experiment.
“We must vote General Buhari come February 14th. Do not be scared by their magical mathematics. They say 16 is greater than 19 as we saw during the election of the Governors’ Forum. They also say seven is greater than 19 as they have done at the Ekiti State House of Assembly. We will not allow this type of arithmetics come February 14. We assure General Buhari of 85 per cent of the votes in Lagos State.”
Speaking further on the sideline of the rally, Ambode, who is a University of Lagos-trained former Accountant General of Lagos State, hinged his economic developmental plans for the state on four pillars. According to him, the blueprint of his economic agenda will be anchored on Economic Development, Infrastructural Development; Social Development and Security as well as Sustainable Development and Environment.
The APC candidate said under his Economic Development pillar, “We will create jobs, provide skill-based trainings, pursue investment relentlessly, embark on innovations and new technologies, broaden the economy, and pursue the Project T.H.ESE.” Project THESE is Ambode’s innovative approach to harnessing the potential in Tourism, Hospitality, Entertainment/Arts and Sports to achieve Excellence in job creation and social development.
Under his Infrastructural Development pillar, Ambode, a Fulbright Scholar with specialty in Public Finance Management, said: “We will seek to provide reliable power and energy, integrated transportation system, including tapping into the potentials inherent in our waterways.”
He added that his Social Development and Security Pillar would ensure the provision of good and quality education as well as to improve on provision of technical and vocational skills to shore up the labour gaps in the market. “We shall deliver a first-class health system, as well as secure the lives and property of all Lagosians,” he stated.
On his Sustainability and Environment pillar, Ambode said he plans to combat erosion and flooding and undertake effective and efficient solid waste management across the State.
Ambode who got his first degree in Accounting at 21, and became a Chartered Accountant at 24, with a Masters degree in Financial Management, as well as being an alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Wharton Business School said his quiet achievements over the past 30 years were all designed to prepare him for greater leadership roles and responsibilities.
“If Lagos is a project, I dare say that I have served as a plumber, a builder, a carpenter and a foreman. I am now seeking the support of Lagosians to put me in charge as the Project Manager.
“I seek a clean, secure and a more prosperous Lagos, driven by a robust economy and grounded on equity, fairness and justice,” adding that in the collective determination to make Lagos rank not just as one of the fastest growing economies in Africa, but to make the state become one of the most livable and business-friendly cities in the world, “Lagos cannot afford to baby-sit a governor without cognate experience at this point in its development, but should elect a governor who will hit the ground running by continuing with the good works of the incumbent governor,” he said.