‘You’re The Best Among Us’—Gov Jang Praises Fashola

May 22, 2009 13:35, 1,380 views

The rating of the Lagos state governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), went up another notch in faraway Jos, the Plateau state capital, where the Plateau state governor, General Jonah Jang (retd), declared him the best among his counterparts in the country.

Governor Jang, who was speaking while receiving his Lagos state counterpart, who paid him a courtesy visit, declared that, “I must say honestly that I rate you the best among us in terms of development in the states we preside over.” The governor, who noted that there is need for state governors to exchange official visits in order to learn from one another, also requested his visitor to consider extending an invitation to him to enable him pay an official visit to Lagos at a later date, to, in the governor’s words, “take a look at what you are doing.

“We should start paying one another state visits to learn from what each of us is doing. Irrespective of our different political parties, we have a lot to learn from one another, and I believe, it is not time for politics, as the president said, it is time to work for the nation,” Jang said. According to him, to work effectively for the nation and our different states, “we should be able to exchange ideas by paying one another official visits,” adding that he has already focused his eyes on the areas of revenue generation and security where he would like to tap from Fashola’s wisdom.

“I am watching your revenue generating system very carefully and we are trying to borrow from you by asking those who are working for you to come and look at our own state,” the Plateau state governor said. Also commending Fashola on the success of his security system in Lagos state, Jang declared; “Again, the former I.G., Smith, told me that he was chairman of the security system you set up and today we hardly hear of armed robbery in Lagos state. I agree again that this is what we have to learn from you, aside from physical development.”

Governor Jang, who said he spent 12 years in Lagos during his service years, recalled how difficult Lagos was then in terms of moving from one point to another, and commended his visitor for the tremendous transformation that Lagos state has recorded in many areas, especially in transportation and the environment. Wishing governor Fashola a happy period in the state, the Plateau state governor,, who noted that the National Economic Council (NEC) also has some top military officers as members, expressed delight that, with his wealth of experience as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, the Lagos state governor will impact on the council membership what democracy is all about.

Earlier in his remarks, governor Fashola told his host that he was in the state on the invitation of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, adding that, “I thought it would be an act of discourtesy to embark on a visit to that institution without extending courtesy to my brother, the governor of Plateau state.” Governor Fashola said the visit also afforded him the opportunity to congratulate his host and the people of Plateau state for the recent installation of the new Gbom Gwom Jos, which he described as “a most respected traditional institution.” Recalling that governor Jang could not attend the NEC meeting in Abuja, on Tuesday, because he was playing host to another very important institution that has helped foster religious tolerance and peaceful coexistence among the people, the Lagos state governor commended his host for the peace existing in the state.