Ambode reaffirms commitment to Lagos' Development Plan

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Tuesday restated his administration’s commitment to implementing the Lagos Development Plan saying his administration has fashioned out a framework to commence the implementation. The Governor, who spoke when a delegation of the UK Department for International Development (DFID) led by the Country Representative, Mr. Ben Mellor, paid a courtesy visit to him in his office, said his administration is setting up a framework which the Permanent Secretaries are already working on. “I would like our development plan and issues that DFID will be assisting us in we should be able to put together issues that are germane to our people and the bottom line has always been that we should do things and carry out programmes that would be of tremendous benefit to the people of Lagos state and that’s what DFID also stands for. We would like you to also know that whatever it is that we are doing, will open up areas that we believe will be of benefit to Nigerians in general”, he said. He said the Development Plan is geared towards achieving the vision of the government in all sectors on the long-term. The Governor said he remains a firm believer in the basic principles of good governance, which according to him, thrives on accountability and all inclusive governance, just as he restated his commitment to run a transparent and all inclusive government that would not only be accountable, but also be people-driven. “Lagosians must be able to speak about the kind of government they want, we must also be accountable to them, we should be able to explain to them in every facet of our administration what we are doing and then government should also be participatory”, he said. Governor Ambode said he has concluded plans to embark on a tour of the 57 local governments in the state, saying it would afford him the opportunity to listen to the challenges of the people first hand and address them accordingly. “We believe strongly that we should scale up community governance in this state. It is more about communities, its more about our people and what they want”. He commended the partnership of the State Government and the DFID over the years, saying it has not only being a success, but has impacted on the people in no small way. “I want to thank the DFID, you’ve always been a partner in aid, and you have always felt everything good about Lagos. I have been a beneficiary of one of your programmes while working here, so obviously you have a good friend in the governor and in this administration”, he said. He expressed optimism that the synergy between Lagos and the Federal Government for the first time in 16 years, will go a long way to scale up the partnership with the DFID and share the model to other states of the federation. Earlier, Mellor in his remarks commended Governor Ambode for his strides since he assumed office, just as he noted that his decision to run an all inclusive government was one that conforms to the ideology of the DFID. He lauded the steps taken by the Governor so far to achieve his vision saying his decision to align ministries and engender public service reforms will not only increase proactive and performance based strategic administration, but will also improve service delivery to the people. “On economic growth for the private sector, I commend you for the formation of Lagos Global to provide investment promotion and facilitating services for prospective Foreign Direct Investors.