Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Sunday said the All Progressives Congress (APC) will work hard to ensure the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State continue to be consigned losers, as they wont rest on their oars despite the success recorded in the state since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
“One understands that as you improve, you must never be complacent, we will ensure that we put them in their place as consigned losers as we have always done” he said, while speaking as a guest on Politics Today.
Mr Fashola, whose second term will end in May 2015, also noted that he is not perturbed by the challenge being posed by the PDP, noting that “the louder the opposition have made noise whenever it comes to election time, the more resounding and wider has been the margin of defeat.
He said the same way the opposition parties are vowing to wrestle power from the APC has not changed from 2007, where he always won with margins far beyond their reach.
“At that time during the 2007 election, I won the election with 800, 000 votes, the largest member of the opposition scored 300, 000 votes. Added together with all the other votes in the election then, they didn’t make 500, 000.
“By 2011, our votes had literally doubled. From 800,000, I was elected with 1.5 million votes and the opposition was still at 300, 000”, he said.
Mr Fashola said he is very confident that he has added value to the lives of Lagos residents since taking over power in 2007, just like his predecessor did from 1999- 2007.
“If you go out there and ask the average Lagosian that are you better off today than you were eight years ago?, the answer clearly and overwhelmingly will be yes.
“If you ask Lagosians too in 2007, when my predecessor was leaving office, if they were better of than in 1999, the answer also would have been a yes and one is hopeful that by 2019, when we ask residents of Lagos the answer will be a much more overwhelming yes”, he said.
He further noted that “it is a handing over and torch passing” adding that it represents “building on what was left behind and pushing forward with new ideas, freshness and energies.
“Embracing technology and embracing new methods”, he maintained.
