Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Friday
expressed total commitment to the actualization of the various initiatives put
in place by his administration towards making life better, simpler and more
prosperous for the people, just as he assured that the State would witness
massive transformation in critical sectors in the next six months.
Speaking in Badagry at the opening session of a two-day
retreat organised by the State Government for members of the State Executive
Council and Body of Permanent Secretaries, Governor Ambode said creating value
for the people remained top priority for him, and that government was ready to
partner with any individual, corporate organization and indeed the private
sector towards achieving the set goals.
The retreat tagged: “Reflect, Reappraise, Restrategise:
Raising The Bar Of Governance,” is the second in the series, and was held at
the VIP Chalets, Badagry.
Governor Ambode, in his remarks, said the everyday challenge
for him and his team in the last thirteen months was all about adding positive
value and taking decisions only in the best interest of the people.
He said: “This government is about creating value for our
people. That is the whole essence of our coming together as a team. It is all
about seeing to what extent can we create value for Lagosians.
“That is our everyday challenge that the people have seen in
the last thirteen months. I believe strongly that creating value is the central
focus of everyday decision we have taken at the Exco level and even the Body of
Permanent Secretaries level.
“We are all out to give positive value to Lagosians. We
don’t want to make life difficult for people and we also want to ensure that in
every decision that we make, the overall interest of the larger populace is
actually affected positively.
“In the next six months, a totally different Lagos you will
see because the kind of initiatives that we have set up that are actually work
in progress now, we will release and unleash them and the people will obviously
see that we are very focused on making life easier for them,” the Governor
said.
Going into specifics, Governor Ambode said government would
focus on changing for good the transport system in the State and equally
partner with the private sector in maintaining a clean environment.
“We do not think Lagos deserves the kind of transport system
that it has now. We also think we need to intervene with the private sector to
deal with the issues that relate to environmental sanitation,” he said.
The Governor, who commended the members of the State
Executive Council and Body of Permanent Secretaries for partnering with him
since assuming office, however urged them to continue to stay focused on the
journey to transform the State.
He said a lot had been done, but that more still needed to
be done, and that all hands must be on deck to move the State forward, one of
the reasons he said necessitated the retreat to appraise what had been done and
chart way forward.
Speaking on the retreat, the State’s Commissioner for
Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade said the main purpose of the
retreat was to raise the bar of governance with the view to ensuring that the
manifestos of the present administration are fulfilled in a seamless manner and
to refine the implementation plan for the next three years.
He said aside the fact that the holding of the retreat in
Badagry goes a long way to show that all the part of the State is secured and
that government has remained focused to its commitment of all inclusive
governance, the retreat was also about focusing more on critical sectors such
as transportation, environment, job creation, among others.
On his part, Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr.
Folorunso Folarin-Coker said the State Government would soon role out massive
programmes on tourism and that Badagry would feature prominently in that
regard. He said the Black Heritage Festival in the ancient town, among others
would be celebrated.
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