Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, popularly called Jandor has said that he will be the 16th governor of Lagos State, as well as the first independent governor of the state, while his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Umo Eno assures Akwa Ibom community in Lagos that he will create 5,000 business-oriented jobs in the first year of his administration.
The duo spoke at the formal presentation of the PDP governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom State, Eno in Lagos yesterday at the Nigerian Airforce Conference Centre, Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island where Jandor noted that Eno would build on the achievements of Governor, Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State
Jandor reiterated the fact that he would be the first independent governor of the state, stressing that he doesn’t have a godfather to take instructions from before doing anything for Lagosians.
“We will provide new leadership in Lagos State. We will check the excesses of motor touts as well as Iyaloja and Babaloja in the state.
“Anyone that closes any market in the state would be sent to prison. I am not going to have any godfather.
“We will ensure that revenue collected in Lagos State is spent on the people of the state as against what is currently obtainable,” he said.
He promised non-Yoruba residents in the state that they will continue to live in peace under his government and that their contributions to the economy of the state would be appreciated.
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Eno on his party noted that he was excited to be back in Lagos State, where he said he had lived since 1968/1970, when his father, a police officer, was transferred there from Enugu State.
Eno explained that Udom Emmanuel saw in him what others didn’t see, referring to Udom as his political father, who he said made him an adopted son with the support of stakeholders in the state including former Governor Victor Attah.
The Akwa Ibom State gubernatorial candidate emphasized his determination to create 5,000 business-oriented jobs in the first one year if he emerges governor in 2023.
He was in Lagos with his running mate, Senator Akon Eyakenyi to meet with Akwa Ibom community in Lagos, where he assured his audience that he was going to build on the developmental foundation established by Governor Udom Emmanuel.
While promising to build on the success story of Udom, he said that the election is a referendum on the performances of the outgoing Governor.
“The Government of Udom Emmanuel has done so many projects in Akwa Ibom State such as good roads, street lights, walkways, fountains, dualised roads and others, and he has made us proud.
“When the standard bearer of the PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar came to flag off his campaign in Akwa Ibom, he said that Nigeria wants to be like the state.
“The Governor is building the fourth longest bridge in Nigeria. He has opened Akwa Ibom by air, land and sea,” he said.
While urging the Akwa Ibom community to return to their home state, Eno said, “With this, you don’t have too much business in Lagos. It’s time to go back home, Udom is working. We will send you logistics to come home to vote, while those here should vote for the PDP,” he said.
He said that Akwa Ibom is fast developing, adding that the election is not a popularity contest, but that it is about a need and impactful assessment.
The cleric-turned-politician stressed that Akwa Ibom is about what one has done and what he could do, saying that people can now connect any local government in Akwa Ibom from Uyo in under one hour.
“Governor Udom Emmanuel has given us peace and we need to continue the trajectory of development.
“We have “Arise Agenda” to show that God who has done it before would do it again. We want to ensure that we all have dividends of democracy and take it to the grassroots. We will have a proper farm settlement with hostels and facilities.
“We will have people work in those farms. We will provide adequate security, fund education.
“I will create 5,000 Non-Governmental jobs. I will start small and grow fast. There are many other things we would do for employment,” he said.
Representative of Governor Udom Emmanuel, Elder Samuel Bassey, who spoke earlier, said that Lagos is special to Nigeria and that it is the 31st Local Government of Akwa Ibom State.
Bassey said that since Lagos State has decided to support Umo Eno, nobody could stop him, saying that he would continue the projects of outgoing Governor.
