By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos, last Wednesday, marked 2,500 Days in office  as well as rendering account of stewardship in the last 100 days at the LTV Auditorium, Agidingbi, Ikeja,where he responded to various questions from the audience.

A Housing Estates in Lagos

As usual, the governor responded to various  issues where he indicted Federal Government officials for interfering in the on-going state projects.

Fashola also faulted the choice of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga as a Federal Minister representing Lagos, saying he cannot represent the interest of Lagos as he is not an indigene as stipulated by Nigerian Constitution. Excerpts:

On illegal structures built under powerline

No state government has responsibility for transmission lines. Till today, the Federal government still holds the absolute control over it and I believe it has entered into agreement with Manitoba to manage them.

I have written to the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN. The reality is that all the buildings that exist under the powerline must either move or the power lines are realigned. One thing must happen. It is dangerous to live under it. The radiations are dangerous to health. For those living under it, they should begin to plan to move.

We will continue to engage with the operators of the power sector to see if it is possible to realign them away from the residents and I know that no one in our government has given approval for the erection of such buildings under power line. They are illegal and we should stop erecting structures under them, even as we commence effort to relocate those who are living there.

On choice of Federal Minister from Lagos

Lagos doesn’t have two ministers under this administration. Lagos just had its fair share of the ministerial appointment two weeks ago. Mr. Olusegun Aganga does not represent Lagos.

I think it is section 147 of the 1999 constitution that provides that every state should be represented by a minister and the person should be an indigene of that state. For me, Aganga is from Edo state.

To his credit, he has supported Lagos state initiative especially the Lagos Free Zone, LFZ. At the last election, the president won election in Lagos state with 1.2 million votes. All the other states got ministerial slots except Lagos state until two weeks ago when they realized that 2015 is close by. That is the reward for the vote the President got from Lagos state.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, we were given a Junior Minister.

That is the reality. But some states that had the population of less than the number of votes cast for the President in Lagos got full Minister. Perhaps, another important point is that my understanding of that provision is that it isn’t different from  the idea of sending representatives to the National Assembly.

Also in the appointment of judges of Court of Appeal and Supreme Court,  justices are picked from across the country so that there will be a sense of representation on national basis in those courts. And with their presence, they are able to provide local knowledge of cases that come from their local areas in order to assist the Court of Appeal.

That is exactly what it should be. That is how it should be at the federal level. At the federal executive, the constitution has said that the President should pick someone from each state to represent the state not to represent the Federal Government.

That is the point and you will see in our previous experiences, some ministers have forgotten that they are representing their states. What they have often gone there to do is to levy war with federal might against their own state.

The legislature and judges have never done that. It is only in the executive arm that we have experienced this type of behaviour and it is simply because they don’t understand that they are there to represent the state and not to levy war against their state.

Stoppage of housing scheme

The contractor at Oyingbo has stopped work. And it is because some agents of the Federal Government have moved soldiers there. They are claiming that they own that land.

The land is the land next to Mainland Hotel. That was part of the land that Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson acquired during his tenure as governor of Lagos state, when Alhaji Femi Okunnu was Federal Commissioner for works. And in documents handed over to the Lagos state government, Okunnu clearly indicated that the land belongs to Lagos state government.

The land has been unused for many years. It was until we started the Lagos HOMS (Housing Scheme) initiative, when we decided to build 48 flats there. We started building, then people came with soldiers and said that the land belongs to the Federal Government. So that is the reason why the contractor isn’t working any more. They used soldiers to stop the contractor from working.

Also, this morning (last Wednesday) on my way to work, I observed at  Ilubirin,where we have started the construction of 1, 188 flats that somebody has gone ahead to put the sign of the Federal Government at the site, claiming that the central government owns the land. That land has been there for the last five years.

That land was issued by |Lagos State Government to Julius Berger Plc during Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s administration. In January, we awarded contract for the construction but suddenly the federal government realized that and began to claim the ownership of the land.

I was told that Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, the new minister, was there last Saturday with soldiers. That is what the residents of Lagos get for 1.2 million votes cast in favour of President Goodluck Jonathan in the last election.

This is a threat to the Lagos state housing initiative. It is a threat to the downtrodden in the state that are looking up to the state government to provide home for them.

On Apapa oil tankers

The problem in Apapa emanates mainly from the operation of the two ports, the Apapa and the Tin-Can Island Ports.

These two ports are under the control of the central government. As for Apapa Ports, the problem has escalated after it was concessioned and what we found out was that the parking area in the port was taken away from tanker drivers by the concessionaires.

They have thrown out tankers and the containerized vehicles. This morning on my way, I was informed that a container had fallen and LASTMA is battling to remove it from the road.

And this is what happens everyday. And I have explained that I don’t know any country that aspires to be great that continues to haul containers and oil products on the road.

There is an old rail line built by the British. The tracks are still there. What will it really cost the central government if truly it is serious and understand what it is doing to fix that rail and move containers and petrol wagons on rail.

That is where the problem is. Unfortunately, because of the way we transport petrol products, it was further revealed during our engagement with NUPENG that the rail track is the only place in the tank farms that there is fuel. It is a difficult issue really.

The tankers have to go there and lift fuel that will be used by you and I daily. And this is nothing but clear evidence of the Federal Government inability to manage the most important sector today of our economy.

That is where over 90 percent of the country’s economy is earned. It is characterized by mismanagement, loss or stealing of money. Over the last few weeks, residents of Lagos have been subjected to unending traffic and pain; sleeping in petrol stations to buy resources that God gave to this great nation. It showed where the country’s problem came from. It is from the ruling party.

Certificate  of Ownership

On the backlog of Certificate of Ownership, C of O, yes there are backlog. But the state has started the issuance of Electronic C of O and very soon, we will clear the backlog. That is in our control and I can assure the residents of Lagos that we will deal with that.

Debt profile of the state

If anyone doesn’t believe us, let them believe the international agencies that have rated us. And they have kept our global rating at BB minus stable.They have withdrawn the rating of the states and not Lagos. That showed how good the economy of the state is. That is why investors are coming into the state.

On whether we borrowed or not, we borrowed but this was done sensibly and sustainably. If our critics claim that we are borrowing without the central government’s consent, it showed why Nigeria has economic problem. We cannot raise bonds without Federal Government’s consent. If they say that we are raising bonds without the state government’s approval, it showed that they have lost control of the economy.