APC faults The Economist’s opinion on Ambode

MIFFED by the recent assessment of The Economist’s opinion on the performance of the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwumi Ambode, the Lagos State chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) said the opinion was based on wrong assumptions that have no linkage with the reality on ground.

The party posited that The Economist merely passed a judgment on a governor that has a four year renewable mandate by flashes of incidents that are not only correctable but are being corrected.

APC’s reaction is coming on the backdrop of the report by The Economist, a London based magazine, which described Ambode’s administration as grossly lacking the solution to confront and resolve the traffic congestion and robberies plaguing the state.

The Spokesman of the party, Mr. Joe Igbokwe posited that the conclusions the magazine drew about the capacity of Governor Ambode was pedestrian and is clearly in sync with the street lingo of the opposition in Lagos.

APC said the governor is rather displaying a deep commitment to governance in Lagos that will ensure he will emerge one of the best governors in this dispensation.

The party wonders how a reputable institution like The Economist “could rush into quick judgment on the capacity of a governor elected for four years on traffic and security hitches that have traceable origins and are therefore solvable.”

According to the party, “The traffic and security glitches have endured for few weeks and the governor has openly identified the causes and had gone cracking while, as at today, results have come in as the traffic hitches have gone down while security has greatly improved.

“We did state last week that the traffic snarls were as a result of the governor’s directive to traffic managers to be more humane and considerate in dealing with motorists. The abuse of this directive and the sabotage of the traffic officers led to increased traffic snarls, which has made the governor to wield the big stick and effect changes at the echelon of the traffic management agency. We can report today that the traffic situation has significantly improved and promises to get better in the coming days.

“We did also report that the momentary upsurge in crimes was an attempt to dare the good natured face of Ambode’s regime. The governor has not only beefed the security manpower in the state but has procured numerous security gadgets, including helicopters and raided numerous black spots in the state to deal with the issue.”