Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwoolu said he has lost weight due to pressures of work as Lagos State Governor.
Sanwoolu who was sharing his experience with State House Correspondents, Abuja, after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari , and later, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, described his schedule as hectic and demanding
Speaking after meeting which was called to address the Security situation in the country, the Governor described Security as “everybody’s business “ but quickly added that “as a governor we also have a major responsibility to ensure that as number one security officer of the state, security of lives and properties is also paramount”
Sanwoolu tasked government at all levels to get to the root cause of the current security challenges facing the nation, including how to bring the menace to an end.
“So It’s a work in progress for us as a state and for me in particular, it’s something that I take very seriously. We are not just to be mouthing it but we make sure that we put resources in place and strategies. We’ve been talking about domesticating and pushing part of the initiatives around security trust fund that we’ve done.
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“We will continue to engage, and continue to identify what are the sources, what are the underlining issues that is bringing about it. Are they economic? Is it more than that?
“So that we will also attack the root cause. It is something that for us as a government that is looking for investors, we certainly must continue to be in a position where we can give confidence to all our investors that it’s a safe haven to come and invest.
Asked if a regional cooperation was part of the plans to deal with insecurity in the South West, Sanwoolu noted that “ It’s still work in progress and we have a south west leader who I am sure has also addressed the press on the matter.
“I don’t want to be at the risk of preempting what that body will do, let us wait for them to come up with a proper action plan at the regional level and let’s see what solution it will come with.”
Speaking on his experience as governor of Lagos state, the Governor described the challenges he is facing as “real”
Governor Lagos for him, is not a tea party, as according to him, “ l don’t sleep until the traffic has gone down, l won’t sleep until l have resolved the Apapa gridlock, it’s real”
“I dare say that I have lost weight and probably I will loose a little bit more but I think it’s what the job entails and is to also ensure that you have the right team of people that would also support you. So when as a leader, you show that leadership support, then the message itself will trickledown and trickledown very well and that is why we have to take that very bold idea and you’re going to see a lot.
“So it’s something that l have psychologically prepared for. So the best thing to do is to ensure that you are not about looking for what the other person did but it’s for Lagosians to see you do what you said you are going to do for them. You don’t do it from the office, you have to do it from the road, you have to do it so that people will see and truly know that mean business. .”
Sanwoolu also assured Lagos residents, of his resolve to ensure that the Apapa grind lock not only end, but establish a sustainable plans to tackle the issue.
“It’s a work in progress. If you go to Lagos now, you will see that they have started clearing it. So for us, it’s not just to do it but to ensure that we sustain it. So sustainability is critical.
“It’s to build a model where it’s sustainable and we are not also involving the big players we are also discussing with them – the shippers council, the shipping lines, NPA, NIMASA and all of them that are stakeholders in the conversations around port utility, we are settling it. We will continue to engage ourselves and come up with a sustained resolution not just a one off.”
