Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Thursday listed his many accomplishments while celebrating 2,900 days in office.
The Governor also begged for forgiveness from those he had wronged.
The Lagos government, since inception, has always reviewed its
activities every 100 days and the 29th edition, which held on Thursday,
is the last of such under Fashola, whose tenure will end in the next 21
days.
Fashola said that he was called upon to take decisions in the morning,
afternoon and sometimes late in the night and he took the decisions
based on the information made available to him. He said that his
decisions were always made in the best interest of the state, though
some people might have felt hurt in the process.
Fashola urged those who might have been offended in the process to
forgive him since he was human and could also have made some mistakes as culled from nigerianbulletin.
According to him, piloting the affairs of the state has been very
challenging, but the cooperation of his team and residents has seen him
through.
He said in the last eight years, his administration had recorded strides that had impacted positively on the lives of residents.
The governor said he had promised Lagosians during his inauguration in
2007 that he would revolutionise the critical sectors like health,
education, infrastructure, agriculture and transportation.
He said looking at some of the achievements recorded in those sectors
few days to the expiration of his tenure, he was almost sure the
assessment of his government would be in the positive.
While saying that he would not pretend to say he had done all the work,
Fashola said he trusted in the ability of the Gov-elect, Mr Akinwunmi
Ambode to continue from where he stopped.
“I made a contract with Lagosians eight years ago. The summary of the
contract is contained in my inaugural speech on May 29, 2007 and I crave
your indulgence to repeat what I said on that day.
''I said `Fellow citizens, in seeking to meet your aspirations within
the shortest possible time, my administration would pay attention to the
core areas of education, public transportation, infrastructural
development, job creation, healthcare, crime fighting and the
environment’.
''That was the promise I made. Ladies and gentlemen, my task as your
governor is almost done. In the next 21days, our governor-elect,
Akinwunmi Ambode will take over from where I stopped as I would have
reached my destination," he said.
Reeling out some of the achievements of his administration in the last
eight years, Fashola said his government had built no fewer than 362 new
roads within the period.
The governor said his administration had built Okota Link Bridge,
Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge and other bridges within the period to ease
traffic in the affected areas.
He said government had employed no fewer than 20,000 people into the
civil service even as many jobs had been created through new projects.
Fashola said the government had installed no fewer than 28,456 street
signs to enhance easy navigation and give clearer directions on the
roads.
According to him, the Bus Rapid Transit System has helped revolutionised
public transportation, while millions were now being moved by ferries.
Fashola said the creation of no fewer than 196 parks and gardens by his administration had also beautified the environment.
He said the massive investment in schools had raised standards and improved the pass rate.
The governor said the construction of new health institutions, including
Primary Health Centres and specialised Maternal and Child Care Centres
had also shrunk mortality rate and promoted health.
He asked the people if these projects had impacted on them positively
and said if the answer was in the affirmative, then he had been able to
achieve his objectives.
Fashola thanked all residents for making his development agenda for the
state a reality through their understanding and compliance with laws.
The governor urged Lagosians to give more support to the incoming administration to enable it to achieve more.
He said even with the few days to the end of his administration, he
would continue to take steps that would further the state's development.
Speaking on the failure to re-open the Lagos State University after it
was closed for the general elections, the governor urged aggrieved
unions in the institution to sheathe their swords to enable it happen.
The governor appealed to the lecturers to take the step in the interest of the school's stability.
Former governors of the state, Sir Mobolaji Johnson and Alhaji Lateef
Jakande were some prominent people who attended the programme.
Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos and some other traditional rulers were also present.