PDP governorship aspirant, ADEDEJI DOHERTY, is not a greenhorn in Lagos and South West politics. He tells Assistant Editor (South West), MUYIWA OLALEYE, his agenda for Lagos and why the state must be salvaged from the APC.
Clinching Lagos Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ticket
Clinching the ticket in PDP is a robust one. The ticket can only be clinched if you have the majority in terms of the delegates that are being nominated in the various wards, local governments and in the state. And as such, it’s for me to work into the party’s structure, which we have been doing as a campaign team, and which we will continue to do until the time the primary election will be announced. And by that time, we should be sure that at least we have more than 80 per cent of the delegates on our side.
Lessons of previous contests and strategy for 2015
The challenges are enormous. During the 2007 elections, we had mature aspirants. It is the situation now in terms of politicking, in terms of reasoning, cohesiveness and structure. We have also matured in terms of communication with the party structure. The party structure at this particular point in time is the structure that will determine who at the end of the day the wards will pick to bear the flag of the party during the general elections. So, the lesson we learnt was that at that time, we were a bit far from the party structure, but as at today, we are very close and we are working directly with the party structure.
Agenda for Lagos electorate
The main thrust of our administration, I have always said, is a drive towards rural development. If rural development is achieved, every other thing falls in line. And as such, we will have a revolution in terms of youth employment, housing, civil service, education, transportation and all that. These are all the areas of interest. But if you don’t have the rural development plan, every other plan will not work. This is because the urban areas of Lagos are already congested. And you have to decongest the areas. Once you do that, you will be able to move people into the rural areas. And once that happens, there will be automatic development in those rural areas.
So, in retrospect, what we are looking at is rural development as the main thrust of our administration come 2015, which will be followed by education, youth empowerment, health, employment, urban development. We will enhance the infrastructure of Lagos. These are just the summary of what we’re looking at.
Inadequacies of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Lagos government
Definitely, there are a couple of flaws. Also, we can’t say everything the APC has done has been bad for Lagosians; but a lot of things have to be adjusted. For instance, dredging, health in terms of cost, education in terms of quality and cost, transport in terms of mass transport and waterways, civil service in terms of welfare, taxation in terms of the private sector and the impact of taxation on the development in industries, profitability of the private sector, creation of employment in the state. Other areas have to do with tourism, agriculture, inter-state integration and all that. I can see that Lagos is just trying to partner Ogun State at this particular point in time. This is quite overdue.
Governor Babatunde Fashola is just talking about rural development, and this is his seventh year in office, about six months left to his tenure. He is already on his way out. The issue of employment is a big problem in Lagos today. We cannot go into detail of the issues that are quite pertinent, but I will like to say that the PDP-led government in Lagos will immediately create succour for the private sector, and as such will create more jobs for the youths in the state. It will create more opportunities for the teeming residents of Lagos and reduce their taxes because we can always have a substitute for our income from taxation. Instead of increasing taxes in the private sector, private companies or individuals in Lagos, let them save that money and increase their productivity; let them save that money and increase unemployment. Let them save that money and let’s go to the federal government and ask for 13 per cent derivation from the income from our purse. That is our asset. If that is done, we will be able to, at least, take in the revenue from the bulk of at least N30 billion a month. With that, we will turn Lagos to a Dubai. These are the areas we believe the Lagos APC had failed the people. PDP government led by Engr. Adedeji Doherty will make sure that the federal government supports Lagos State, bringing it to the forefront of mega cities, not only in the West African coast but in the entire African continent.
Fashola is a very good man. If you look at my responses since Fashola came in, it was a situation where you have a right man for the job but in a wrong party. He couldn’t flow. He has not been able to do even 30 per cent of what he set out to do. I believe this is a man of integrity, a man who wants to do the job for the betterment of Lagos; but a man that had his hands tied for the past seven years. It’s quite a pity. But definitely with a PDP-led government, with a government led by my humble self, we will definitely perform better and do a lot of things that Fashola hadn’t done.
Surpassing Fashola’s performance profile
Definitely, because PDP will surprise Lagosians. I will also surpass Fashola’s record. I have my antecedents behind me. I have been in business in the private sector for close to 30 years. I have created wealth personally. I created companies that succeeded and those that have failed. I have gone through major crisis in billions of naira, and I have worked companies out of debt. Today, Lagos is carrying close to about $20 billion in debt, both locally and internationally. I have worked my own company out of N3 billion debt. So, if I can do that personally without government money, why can’t I do it for my state? I have empowered thousands of people that had worked through my companies. And I continue to empower people on a daily basis. So, why can’t I do all these for the state?
President Goodluck Jonathan endorsing Jimi Agbaje for Lagos
I don’t believe that. I think it’s just one of the ploys of politicians that are working with Jimi Agbaje. We should know that President Jonathan is not the type that condones imposition of any kind. Definitely, he would always want a situation where a consensus can be reached. And at a point where it’s not possible, he will definitely opt for primary which is what has been enshrined in the party’s constitution. So, that’s the position today. Agbaje coming in or any other person willing to come in will surely have to go through the constitution of the party. And the party’s constitution has already stated that the primary will take place. Then, the better person will emerge. If it’s me, fine. Also, if it’s him, all well and good.
Division within PDP leaders
There are factions everywhere, in every local government, in every party in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. However, I don’t know those that you are talking about. But definitely, I believe that all our leaders are working together as at today in Lagos. There are no factions in Lagos PDP today. We might disagree on certain things.