Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has sworn-in Hon. Oladotun Olakanle as the new Executive Chairman of Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in the State, urging him to make welfare of the people his priority.
Speaking during the swearing-in ceremony held at the Lagos House in Ikeja on Thursday, Governor Sanwo-Olu urged Hon. Olakanle to prioritise the welfare of the people and always be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability and probity in the management of public resources entrusted in his care.
Hon. Olakanle, a former Vice Chairman of Onigbongbo LCDA became the new council boss following the demise of the immediate past Chairman, Hon. Babatunde Oke, who died on Wednesday August 12.
Governor Sanwo-Olu while stressing the need for continuity of good governance in Onigbongbo LCDA, implored Hon. Olakanle to see his emergence as council chairman as “Call to Duty” with a benchmark for performance already established by his predecessor in line with the incumbent administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda.
He said: “I congratulate you on your elevation to the position of Chairman of Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area. I urge you to carry on the good works which you were part of the process of initiation and implementation as Vice Chairman before your swearing in today.
“To succeed in this new position, you must see yourself as a team leader and not take for granted the goodwill of the people of Onigbongbo Local Council Development Area. The best way to achieve this is to prioritise the welfare of the people and always be guided by the principles of transparency, accountability and probity in the management of public resources that has been entrusted into your care.
“I charge you to see this opportunity as a ‘Call to Duty’ with a benchmark for the performance already established by your predecessor and our administration’s governance template and vision for a Greater Lagos encapsulated in the T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda. If you look at our T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda, you will always have things to take on there, to work and administer to your people.
“You are expected to land on your feet, running from Day One and let the residents and citizens of Onigbongbo LCDA feel your impact. They do have high expectations of you. I have no doubt in my mind that you will not betray their trust.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu also gave assurance that his administration would continue to sustain the synergy it currently has with the 57 local government chairmen.
“I want to affirm the commitment of our administration to ensure that the socio-economic welfare of our citizens in Lagos State is paramount to us. We will continue to sustain the synergy that we currently have with our local government chairmen. Indeed we expect that the dividends of democracy would not only be what the state government would do but would also be what the local governments would do,” he said.
Speaking on the former chairman, Governor Sanwo-Olu, who observed a minute silence in honour of the deceased, described late Oke as an affable and committed party man who had fantastic dreams for his people.
He said the state government would continue to remember the lasting legacies he left behind, adding that “the greatest respect we can render to his memory is to continue with the vision of development that he had for the Local Council Development Area.
“We will continue to remember the lasting legacies he left behind and the greatest respect we can render to his memory is to continue with the vision of development that he had for the Local Council Development Area.”
Giving a vote of assurance, Hon. Olakanle, who described his emergence as Chairman of Onigbongbo LCDA as a divine offer, assured Governor Sanwo-Olu that he would work towards the actualization of T.H.E.M.E.S. development agenda in Onigbongbo LCDA.
He also appreciated God and commended the support of the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who he described as father of democracy, for giving him the opportunity to serve where he started from and where he is today.
“I want to assure Mr. Governor that in this assignment that I am being given to do now, I will do it with justice. I will do what I am supposed to do and I will try as much as possible to discharge my duties as enshrined in the administrative guidelines of the local government.
“This is an opportunity I never envisaged. Because of this, I am seeing this as a divine offer, which by the special grace of God I am not going to take for granted. I am going to commit myself to the service of my local government and in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S. agenda of the present administration in Lagos State,” he promised.