For Nigeria to continue to enjoy a stable democratic system and good governance, the citizens must ensure that only credible and trusted flagbearers with visible track records of achievements are elected into office during the forthcoming Y2023 general elections.
The Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Education, Tokunbo Wahab, who stated this while responding to questions from newsmen on the state of the nation and the 2023 polls, added that Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must also ensure that the elections are free, fair and credible.
Wahab noted that the hallmark of democracy is credible polls and good governance, urging Nigerians to consider every candidate’s experience, past records and competency before casting their votes during the 2023 elections.
Describing the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as one of such leaders that the nation needs at this critical time, the Special Adviser pointed out that the blueprint that Tinubu left after leaving office had remained the template that successive administrations have built their policies and had enabled them to achieve remarkable records.
In his words, “The economic blueprint handed down by the Tinubu administration in 2007 was an ideal economic transformation policy document comparable to any other across the globe.
The document had not only repositioned Lagos to become Nigeria’s economic nerves centre, but has propelled it to be the fifth largest economy in Africa”.
While expressing optimism that the nation would witness more and more transformations if Tinubu succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari, Wahab stated that the APC presidential candidate is the most qualified and prepared among the flag-bearers aiming to take over Nigeria’s mantle of leadership next year.
The Governor’s aide added that Asiwaju was the only candidate that had traversed the nation’s geo-political zones and built a generation of leaders contributing their quota to Nigeria’s development.
According to him, no other leaders, either dead or alive, in Nigeria today with such credentials as Asiwaju, he is an enigma. The nation needs his high intellectual capacity, political experience and administrative excellence to grow faster.
“I can tell you for free, if you ask Asiwaju to submit the list of his proposed cabinet members today, he will give it to you within a few seconds and the list will comprise people of good integrity with proven track records of excellence. I am sure with Asiwaju as the nation’s leader, you don’t need to come from the West, North or South or have any godfather before you are considered for a post that you are qualified, he is the most detribalised Nigerian with biases for competency, excellence and result”, Wahab stated.
While wishing Lagosians a more prosperous new year ahead, the Special Adviser urged the residents to re-elect Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat for their second term in office, to allow them to complete various ongoing reforms and massive infrastructure development projects visible across the State.
He noted that the combination of the two technocrats, the Governor and his deputy, is the best thing to happen to Lagos State in recent times, noting that governance in a State of well over 20 million people is better managed by tested and trusted experts and not toddlers.
The Special Adviser noted that the various reforms and initiatives introduced by the Sanwo-Olu administration had redefined governance and brought democracy dividends to the doorstep of the common man.
He averred that both Sanwo-Olu and Hamzat were products of Tinubu’s political ideology and good governance, adding that the rapid transformations witnessed in the last three years through the implementation of the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda underscore the fact that the State is on the right path to greatness.