The Lagos PDP governorship candidate, Azeez “Jandor” Adediran, on Wednesday, said he, alongside his running mate, Funke Akindele, will make the state genuinely wealthy by giving it a breath of fresh air.

Mr Adediran said this while unveiling a seven-point programme of action for the state if elected governor in 2023.

“Our focus is to change the face of governance in Lagos State and make it a wealthy state in truth as against its current status of being a wealthy state only on paper,” he said. “Our agenda for a wealthy Lagos is a treat everyone deserves.”

Mr Adediran disclosed the agenda in a statement titled “My Vision for Lagos” as the governorship and House of Assembly campaigns officially kicked off ahead of the 2023 general elections.

He assured residents of transparency and accountability in governance if elected.

“We are set to make Lagos State work better in the interest of all residents by decentralising development to all parts of the state and ensuring that the flow of the state’s wealth is redirected from the pockets of an individual to the benefit of all.

“We are very intentional about our vision of birthing a true Mega City led by a servant leader who is truly independent and will not need a second level of approval before taking decisions.

“The power will truly reside with the people and not an individual pretending to be a demi-god.”

As part of their plans to deliver a wealthy Lagos, Mr Adediran said his team would be guided by: Technology-driven approach to governance, Rule of Law; Equity & Inclusiveness; Accountable Representation and Transparency (TREAT).

The candidate noted that corruption was one of the biggest problems stagnating the development of the state and promised to ensure financial re-engineering through critical reforms.

On works and infrastructure, Mr Adediran said  the financial muscle of the state would be deployed to provide necessary road infrastructure and bridges to resolve perennial traffic gridlock in some flashpoints while also instilling discipline among road users.

On education, Mr Adediran promised to take out-of-school children off the streets and put them in school.

The candidate said that he would declare a state of emergency in the education sector and proceed to make primary and secondary education wholly free and compulsory.

He added that he would also provide free school uniforms and learning aids in both primary and secondary.

“We will address the shortage of school teachers by being the first to implement the 65 years retirement age and 40 years of service.

“We will also bring back those that have been retired since the signing of this law to complete their years of service.”

On healthcare, the governorship hopeful decried how patients roamed about premises of general hospitals because of a lack of hospital beds, saying when adequate infrastructure was to be provided, his team would embark on the automation of health facilities.

He assured that his administration would create ‘technovation’ hubs across the five divisions of Lagos State, namely, Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Lagos and Epe.

He said youths would be trained at the hubs to acquire digital skills while facilitating tech start-up support to leverage opportunities.

Mr Adediran said all PDP candidates for legislative offices would reach out to every Lagos resident and walk through each of the 245 political wards and 13,325 polling units across the 20 local government areas of the state to seek votes and support.

 (NAN)