LAGOS: I will work with others in NASS on special status for Lagos – Abiru

By Ifechukwude Kainebi

THE All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in the October 31 Lagos East senatorial district bye-election, Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru, has said that he would work with other legislators from the state both in the Senate and the House of Representatives to demand special status for the state, which is long overdue.

Popularly known as ‘Tokunbo Abiru,’ the legislator disclosed this in Somolu during a meeting with members of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) in the area.

Abiru stated that his goal is to reach out to all voters – decided and undecided – in Lagos East and convince them to cast their ballots in favour of the APC and its candidate for this bye-election.

He said: “If and when elected, I will join hands with my senior distinguished colleagues in the Senate –  Senator Oluremi Tinubu and Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, as well as all members of the House of Representatives from the state led by my dear brother, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila to demand special status for Lagos State. It is indeed long overdue.”

The APC flagbearer implored all members of the LOCs, who have been carefully selected across the district to know the huge task at hand, which is to take the party’s plans and programmes to rejuvenate representation in Lagos East Senatorial District to the people because it is the people who are empowered to determine who represents them in the senate.

He stated that to position Lagos East senatorial district as the epicentre of economic activities in Africa, “we must improve our ease of doing business. This is an aspect of our economic environment that often determines investment flows into this country and indeed our state. Much improvement has been recorded since 2015.

“Compared with what it was before now, our ease of doing business rating has improved. In 2019, we were ranked 131 out of 190 countries. We can do better than this rating. If and when elected, I will be preoccupied with promoting bills and sponsoring motions that can improve our ease of doing business rating,” Abiru stated.

He explained that the rate of poverty in the country is very disturbing, and as a result, he has decided to set up a foundation to address this challenge in the senatorial district.

 “As a corporate person, I have briefed my team to work out mechanisms and modalities that make the foundation sustainable. The programme will focus on the less privileged and the vulnerable – indigent students, orphans, widows or the fatherless, among others. Individuals, who have means, are required to initiate personal interventions to support the initiatives of the APC governments nationwide to fight poverty,” he added.

On his agenda for the youths, Abiru explained that Lagos East is noted for its teeming population of vibrant youths but sadly enough, majority of these youths in the senatorial district are not economically empowered.

His words: “There are a lot of programmes the federal government set up to empower our youths across the federation. I will work with the agencies implementing these programmes so that our youths in Lagos East get their fair shares.”

While assuring the people of his ‘People-focused Representation,’ the APC candidate promise to represent the district and indeed the party with commitment, integrity and passion for the people, leveraging all the experience, competences, knowledge and relationships  he had acquired over three decades as an economist, chartered accountant, banker, commissioner for finance, senior banker and CEO.

 “My total focus will be on the welfare of my constituents in Lagos East and Lagos State at large. If and when elected, I will use my good office, my energy and resources to promote the well-being and welfare of all my constituents within my capacity.

“I will be counting on your individual supports and collective votes to be able to achieve these set plans. With you, we can redefine legislative representation in Lagos East. Vote Tokunbo Abiru, Vote APC on October 31, 2020,” he enthused.

The APC standard bearer further stated that new era, where COVID-19 has redefined how people relate and how conduct public affairs are conducted has necessitated the need to organise the election campaigns in small groups that will reach out to the electorate from community to community, house to house and street to street.

 “To avoid undue viral contagion, bringing together large number of supporters, setting up LOCs is perhaps the best approach we can adopt to take our plans and programmes to the people. As you reach out to the electorate, we must clearly roll out and consciously defend what our party; the All Progressives Congress (APC) stands for.

 “Let us remind the electorate what we have done at different levels to bring good governance to the grassroots, especially in Lagos State. Let us also tell them of the resolve of the party to do more for the people; let us tell them the quality of our candidate, most importantly, my passion for public service, populist programmes and my social intervention programme before I joined partisan politics,” Abiru stated. 

He continued: “We have consciously defined our priorities without ambiguity and in line with the manifesto of our party. Our goal is to reach out to all voters – decided and undecided – in Lagos East and convince them to cast their ballots in favour of the APC and its candidate for this bye-election. With this in mind, let us now approach this bye-election differently, telling what our party represents from house to house.”