After eight years in the saddle as governor of Lagos State, Nigeria’s biggest economy, Babatunde Fashola will today hand over the rein of political power to Akinwunmi Ambode, the governor-elect.
Expectation is high as the residents will want the new governor to hit the ground running, especially in the delivery of infrastructural projects for which his predecessor is rated to have performed above average. He will be expected to get his hands dirty with such projects as Lagos-Badagry road expansion, the rail project, construction of jetties, Adiyan Water Works Phase II, and very importantly, address the crisis that continues to rock the Lagos State University (LASU).
The new governor will also need to work further to raise the internally generated revenue (IGR) in the face of dwindling federal allocation.
The state monthly income, according to Ayo Gbeleyi, outgoing commissioner for finance, currently stands at N33.95 billion from N27.82 billion. Of this figure, the IGR accounts for 65 percent with statutory allocation and Value Added Tax (VAT) making up 35 percent. A further increase in the IGR will strengthen the state’s capacity under Ambode to service its debts put at about N418.2 billion.
Expected to administer the oath of office on Ambode is Oluwafunmilayo Olajumoke Atilade, chief judge of Lagos State. He will be ruling the state for four years, terminating in 2019, in the first instance. He is, however, constitutionally entitled to seek re-election for another four-year term, but this will depend on how the electorate will view his performance in the first four years.
Although the Tafawa Balewa Square venue has been decorated to fit the occasion, and will host thousands of spectators who will include party faithfuls, politicians, traditional rulers, associates, friends and family members of both Fashola and Ambode, as their party had agreed to a low-key transition and handing over.
Both belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC), which has ruled Lagos in the last 16 years, but with different names. Following the military decision to exit power, the Alliance for Democracy (AD) secured victory in Lagos in the 1999 general elections that saw Bola Tinubu emerged governor. Tinubu got re-elected in 2003, and subsequently, the name of the party was changed to from AD to Action Congress (AC).
With AC, the outgoing governor, Fashola got into power in 2007, and was re-elected in 2011, after the party had again changed its name from AC to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). ACN subsequently merged with two other political parties – All Nigeria People Party (ANPP) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2014, to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In the run down to today’s swearing ceremony, Fashola had seized every opportunity of meeting with different stakeholders to canvass support for Ambode who he believed would surpass his achievements and create massive employment.
