The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and his deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, resumed duty for their second term in office on Tuesday, May 30, at the state secretariat in Alausa.
As part of their first day at work, the governor and his deputy visited and interacted with civil servants, including some in the top echelon of the civil service, at the secretariat.
The duo had earlier been sworn in for their second term on Monday.
At the swearing-in ceremony, Governor Sanwo-Olu reassured Lagosians that more progress was coming as the state steadily journeyed into the unfolding dispensation.
“In my first term, we set the stage for transformative change. We confronted significant challenges, from improving our infrastructure to ensuring adequate social services, from grappling with economic downturns to navigating a global pandemic. Yet, we never faltered. Our challenges became stepping-stones and our trials, the foundation of our resilience,” Sanwo-Olu said at the Tafawa Balewa Square venue of the inauguration.
He enumerated the transformations recorded by the state since 2019 under his leadership, saying the that Lagos had lived up to its billing as the Centre of Excellence, becoming the first sub-national to deliver an intra-city rail network from its balance sheet to aid mass mobility in the mega city.
That, the governor said, has further advanced the state’s development course, just as the completion of Lekki Deep Seaport has enhanced socio-economic growth and turned the state to a new logistics hub of West Africa. He said the delivery of largest rice mill in Imota by his administration was a game changer that would make Lagos a key player in food production chain on the continent.
Sanwo-Olu said Lagos had remained on the track of sustenance and prosperity, pointing out that his government’s financial engineering led to the upgrade of the state to AAA(nga) status in financial sustainability and resilience by Fitch International, a feat unprecedented in the annals of the state’s history.
He also listed other notable progress made by Lagos, especially in expanding infrastructure to enhance intermodal transport system, healthcare services, education, aesthetic environment, social interventions and other areas across his administration’s development agenda.
He promised that there would be much more to be accomplished in the coming days as his final term begins.
He expanded the scope of his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, adding three new areas of focus in which the state government would intensify intervention in the next four years – Social Inclusion, Gender Equality and Youth.
“Our people still expect a lot more from us in several areas; today is another opportunity to acknowledge our citizens’ expectations and to rededicate ourselves to meeting and surpassing those expectations.
“I pledge, as your governor, to unleash greater energy in the service of Lagos. I will work tirelessly for the well-being of every Lagosian and will strive for a Lagos that we can all be proud of,” he said.
