Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has accused past military and civilian administrations in the country of frustrating the blueprint put in place by the administration of late Head of State, General Murtala Mohammed for the development of Lagos.
Fashola, who stated this during a live interactive session with some select journalists from print and broadcast media disclosed that he had written to late President Musa Yar ‘Adua and President Goodluck Jonathan, but they failed to honour it.
He, however, expressed hopes that the incoming President, Muhammadu Buhari will redeem it.
According to the governor, “What late Mohammed meant was that all the assets built by the central government should not be left for Lagos to manage. The state will need support to maintain the facilities. It was a promise made by him but has not been redeemed by any of his successors”.
While faulting the idea of establishing Ministry of Lagos Affairs, as a means of giving special status to the state, Fashola said, “Legally, it is not right, politically it isn’t advisable. The attention nations give to their former capital is a necessity and this can be defined under special status.
“For me, the real support is not creating bureaucracy but funding support for the state. You can do it as constitutional provision or include it in the budget of the country.
“In the 70s, the central government under the military regime gave special funds to Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson (rtd). It was on environment, sanitation, water supply and others. It isn’t about ministry but practical support.
“Land issue is a residual matter and not in concurrent or exclusive list. Some of these things were anomalies from the military regime. The federal government should only have ministry in areas where it has constitutional responsibilities,” he said.
Speaking about calls for the removal of fuel subsidy, he said, “I think that is not an individual stand but a national stand. It is a related discussion. What do we want as a people? Fuel again is not a gift but a service. The more one consumes it, the more he pays. Government must recover its cost. Whether subsidy or not, the real debate is who should pay for the cost of fuel”.
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