Agbaje: Lagos has not witnessed real governance in 20 years

Jimi Agbaje, Lagos governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), says the state has not witnessed real governance in the last 20 years.

Agbaje made the remark when meeting with members of the Committee of Indigenous Associations of Lagos State (CIALS).

The PDP candidate said the last time residents felt the real impact of governance was during the administration of Lateef Jakande from 1979 to 1983.

He said although Jakande spent only four years as governor, he recorded many strides in all sectors of the state.

Agbaje said the All Progressives Congress (APC) has only taken care of personal interests, not the people, in the last 20 years.

He said: “All the time, I have contested. I have compared our governance today with governance some 37 years ago, and I say we have not had a civilian administration like that of Alhaji Lateef Jakande.

“I am not talking of military administrations that came after him because it is good to compare oranges with oranges. We know the military governments do what they like and you cannot question them.

“We know the civilian dispensation of Alhaji Lateef Jakande and we know the achievements that administration recorded in just four years.

“Just to remind us, Jakande addressed education frontally, he addressed health, he addressed housing, he gave us water. He went ahead to say there was the need for the state to have a metroline and we can go on and on.

“I’m comparing his four years to the nearly 20 years we have had in the fifth republic and my message has been consistent each time I have contested.

“In 2007 when I contested, my campaign theme was new thinking, new Lagos, basically to say we need to think differently in the way we govern Lagos.

“In 2015, I talked about bold ideas, new opportunities, what I said was that we needed to change the way we carry out the business of governance.

“This time we are talking about re-anchoring Lagos. I think you understand what I mean when I say, re-anchor. Yes, there was an anchor under Jakande and we lost that anchor in the last 20 years.

“It is time to re-anchor and that is what we are going to do. That is our mission, that is our agenda.”