…Knocks Present Transport Parks Management Arrangement
A Governorship aspirant in Lagos State under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) Olorunfemi Mustapha has said his deputy will be a female should he emerge as the candidate of the party for the gubernatorial elections next year.
Mustapha, who spoke during a radio interview monitored in Lagos on Friday with veteran journalist, Jimi Disu, said his deputy would be a female and a christian to balance the gender and religious scale.
“My deputy will be a female and a christian. You can take that to the bank,” he said.
He spoke on a number of issues, reeling out plans to develop critical sectors of the state including transportation, education, health, finance, among others through modified public private partnership models that would be beneficial to the state and the people.
On the current Transport Parks Management Committee headed by Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya popularly called MC Oluomo, Mustapha said what he would bring on board is a totally different arrangement to formalise the sector.
Asked by the anchor that the present administration had already formalised the sector, Mustapha disagreed, saying: “What you have now is not formalisation. You need an entity that will be able to manage and supervise the parks in a responsible and professional fashion.
“This has been done in a lot of countries in Mexico and South American countries. You need to have a concession and say okay we will formalise you and turn it into a Plc so you will pay tax; you will be audited and there will be a benchmark as to what the deliverables are.”
He added that the operators in the transport sector are informal sector players that needed to be formalised, adding that a proven entity would be brought in to lead the concession arrangement.
He also said he would focus on the intermodal transport system of rail, waterways and the road.
Already, Mustapha said a discussion had been activated with a South African rail coach manufacturer to supply Lagos, while in terms of waterways, about 400 boats would be brought in to the transport architecture of the state.
On finances of the state especially as regards IGR (Internally Generated Revenue), Mustapha who is a retired Permanent Secretary in the state, said he would improve on the existing structure and grow the IGR to N100billion monthly.
On the political side, he described Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC) and others as critical stakeholders that should be managed.
Mustapha is in the race for the APC governorship ticket with the incumbent Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu who has already been openly endorsed alongside his deputy, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat for a second term by the National Leader of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the GAC.
The endorsement of Sanwo-Olu for a second term is said to be based on his sterling performance in critical sectors of the economy.
Also in the race is a former Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources in the state, Mr Wale Oluwo.
