By EMMANUEL AZIKEN, Political Editor
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has rejected criticisms of turning the services of the state administration from the poor and flayed insinuations that his predecessor, Bola Tinubu was a sponsor of the Lekki Concession Company, LCC.

Speaking against the background of criticisms following the hike in fees at the Lagos State University, LASU and the tolling of the Lekki –Epe highway, Governor Fashola said yesterday that even as he would have loved to reduce the tolls his hands were tied by the contracts with LCC.

The governor particularly expressed his personal hurt over misleading news reports that a man was killed in the course of the protest against the tolling of the Lekki-Epe road saying that as a defender of human rights, that he could not turn to brutal tactics to silence opposition to his policies.

The criticisms against the administration followed the recent hike in school fees at LASU from N25,000 to N200,000 and the violent protests that accompanied the collection of tolls on the Lagos – Epe expressway.

He said that as a succour to the poor, the administration had proposed more than N700 million in scholarships next year to enable children of the poor compete favourably with the rich in LASU.

“What I owe the children of the poor is to give them an opportunity to as much as possible compete with my own children,” the governor said yesterday in the course of an interactive session.

“How many of the elite of the society who are championing the cause of the poor have their own children in that school? It might be popular to leave it at N25,000 but is it right?” he asked.

“I believe that we would do a major damage if we end up having a university where only the children of the poor want to go there. It will break up the society one day. It will limit the chances of the children one day,” adding that the products of the school would not compete favaourably with the children of the elite schooled in private and foreign universities.