Politics
ADP Candidate Gbadamosi Steals Show As Lagos Governorship Candidates Debate
The candidate of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), Babatunde Gbadamosi, was the dark horse that wowed members of the audience in Saturday’s Lagos gubernatorial election debate, as he spoke confidently of his plans if elected governor of the country’s commercial capital.
Mr Gbadamosi, who was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) before defecting to the ADP, received rave reviews of his performance in the debate, which was organised by The Platform, a civic discussion initiative of the Covenant Christian Centre.
The interview which was moderated by British-Nigerian Christian broadcaster, Victor Oladokun, had in attendance alongside Mr Gbadamosi, the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the PDP candidate, Jimi Agbaje, and the candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), Owolabi Salis.
Mr Gbadamosi started off on a somewhat shaky note when he was asked about what he would do in his first hundred days in office if elected. He explained that he would try increasing the salaries of civil servants in the state, but he did not explain how he would raise the additional fund needed to do this.
He, however, bounced back from the initial flutter, arguing that his priority will be to boost the infrastructural shortfall of the state by building rail lines to all the exit points of the state, opening up water transportation and the movement of container by barges instead of through the roads to cut the infamous Lagos traffic.
The ADP candidate, who berated the ruling party in the state for lack of prudence in running the state finances, said he would bring his experience from the private sector in handling the spending of state funds.
According to him, he would be able to do this because he “does not have a godfather”, which was a snide remark on the candidate of the ruling APC, Mr Sanwo-Olu, who enjoys the backing of a former governor of the state, Bola Tinubu, generally believed to be the de facto political leader of the state.
Mr Gbadamosi also correctly fact-checked the APC candidate after he falsely stated that the state government was transparent and publishes its budgets. Mr Gbadamosi pointed out that the state budget website no longer existed stating that the government is known for being opaque rather than open. He said if elected into office he would operate an open government.
He berated the current government for being unable to complete its light rail project in 10 years and wondered why the state was paying for it from its purse when it could have welcomed the private sector to finance the project. He also said at a cost of almost $1 billion, the light rail project was too expensive.
He said he would open up the state waterways and improve tourism as a means of growing the state tax revenue if elected into office.
In all, he was the most eloquent of the candidate on display. The figures and data he quoted were mostly correct. He also cited examples of what was being done in other places with similar demographics like Lagos such as Singapore and Ethiopia.
Score 8/10
Sanwo-Olu
Mr Sanwo-Olu, as the candidate of the ruling party, which has been in power for 20 years in the state, unsurprisingly was put on the defensive throughout the debate. But he did a fairly good job of shaking off the attacks from other candidates and in fact, on a couple of occasions, was on the offensive.
He spoke about his experience as a banker and public officer. He said he would bring the experience garnered from being a three-time commissioner in the state in running the state effectively.
He promised to tackle the traffic gridlock in the city and especially promised to solve the perennial gridlock in the Apapa area of the state.
The APC candidate said he would be a listening governor and regularly hold town hall meetings across the state to discuss some of the pressing problems of the state.
Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Photo Credit: Twitter handle)
He said the problems with funds in the state would be solved if more people pay taxes. According to him, out of the possible 16 million taxable people in the state, only 800,000 actually pay taxes. He said he would work towards capturing more people into the tax bracket.
Mr Sanwo-Olu promised to double the state’s health budget from its present 9 per cent to 18-20 per cent. He said he would focus on health insurance for all inhabitants of the states and his priority will be improving primary healthcare.
Mr Sanwo-Olu, however, spent a lot of time talking about his educational qualifications and his experience as a commissioner. Though he put a spirited fight especially when other candidates suggested he was a stooge of Mr Tinubu; but like flies feeding off the wounded ears of a dog, hard as he tried, he was unable to shake off the attack.
He lied that Lagos was transparent and received several rebuttals from other debaters over the claim. Also, some of his responses sounded like he was berating the manner his party has run the state.
Score 6/10
Agbaje
Perhaps the most disappointing candidate of the night was the PDP candidate. His disappointment may not have come from the weakness of his responses as it did from the fact that they were usually below par from what was expected of him. He stammered several times and his responses cross the time given each candidate to respond.
Also, the unexpected brilliance of Mr Gbadamosi appeared to have stolen Mr Agbaje’s thunder. The candidate who was running for the third time may have been hurt by the familiarity of his responses.
On solving the traffic problems of the state, he said he would fix potholes, and innovate the traffic control by installing radar-controlled traffic lights in the state. He said he would strengthen the state traffic control agency, LASTMA, to be more efficient.
Mr Agbaje said he would provide leadership as he is not a stooge. He said rather than ask people to pay more taxes he would open up the state for more businesses in order to capture new taxpayers.
Jimi Agbaje (Centre) is a during the Lagos Governorship debate (Photo Credit: Twitter handle)
He promised to improve the school system with technology and more internet broadband in the state would encourage more students to learn to code and become tech savvy.
He said he would make local governments more efficient by making them independent of the state government. He also promised to expand the road and extend the railway system to other parts of the state to reduce vehicular traffic on the road.
Score 5/10
Salis
The AD candidate, who is no stranger to running for the position of governor, having run three previous times, promised to cut the state from the control of Mr Tinubu. He said he would work to eradicate violence by purging the pockets of gangs across the state.
He, no doubt, provided comic relief during the debate with his somewhat awkward mannerism. And he welcomed a lot of jeers from the audience and criticism from those commenting on social media when he said he was going to build a subway in the city. His said he would appoint 50 special assistants that will help him see to the development of local governments in the state. His response here left many people wondering what would happen to the appointed local government officials.
He promised to take back the wealth of the people of Lagos from those he said have hijacked it and use it to develop the state.
Score: 4/10
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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