N34 billion IGR: Jimi Lawal commends Lagos State, pledges same for Ogun State

A governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Otunba Jimi Lawal, on Tuesday commended the Lagos State Government for its steadfast commitment to improving its Internally Generated Revenue, pledging that with its proximity to the state, Ogun State will not be far behind that of Lagos if he is elected as governor in 2019.

Lawal, who is eyeing the governorship seat under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has often commended Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibiunle Amosun, as the best in the history of the state, being the only one who has taken Ogun State’s IGR beyond that of previous administrations. Ogun State’s IGR hovered between N700 million and N750 million monthly before Amosun became Governor. But the state currently maintains an average monthly IGR of seven billion naira, which is unprecedented in the history of Ogun State.

Reacting to a development that the monthly IGR of Lagos State is now N34 billion monthly, Lawal, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Wale Adedayo, said, “The disclosure by the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade, that their IGR is now N34 billion monthly is a development that should make everyone of us in Ogun State very happy. It is congratulations to the people and government of Lagos State on this development, which should ensure a more quality socio-economic life for the people.

“There can hardly be quality development in any of our states without quality IGR along with a visionary leadership that knows what to do with these taxes by the people. We remain the closest to Lagos State, because we can safely say that Lagos is in the belly of Ogun State if you look at the map of Nigeria. Whatever benefits Lagos State will no doubt affect us positively in Ogun State, if we get things right. It is for this reason, among others, that I have been consistent in arguing that Senator Ibikunle Amosun is a blessing to Ogun State, who in our estimation, remains the best Governor since the creation of our state in 1976.

“There has been some misconceptions about my consistent affirmation that our Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, remains the best in the history of Ogun State. For the avoidance of doubt, it is my pleasure to repeat that affirmation, because there are facts to back it up, for those who are willing to be objective. It has nothing to do with political correctness, given my background as a reputable administrator and an investment banker of note.

“The leader in a polity is like the head of a family on whose shoulders lie the well-being of the household. The kind of food the family eats, the quality of education of the children and how far they can go in life invariably depend on just one critical factor – how much is the income of the family head? It is how much the family head makes as income that will largely determine the quality of life of that household – all other things being equal. In the case of Ogun State, it is the first time in our history we are generating the amount of IGR being declared today.

“This scenario is the same for any community or State. Senator Amosun is the first Governor to take our IGR to its current level, and we have pledged to move the same IGR very close to that of Lagos State, because almost a quarter of our land from Sango Ota through Iju, Akute, Alagbole, Ajuwon, Alagbado, Mowe and Ibafo are being erroneously called Lagos State. We’ll upgrade all these places with much needed infrastructure so as to tap from its many financial benefits for the good of Ogun State.

“Agbara, where I had visited a couple of times, is also another place, where we’ll work assiduously to get more benefits by ensuring that we care for our people there. Of course, from Shagamu through Ogijo to Ikorodu is another area, and thank God for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention, the road linking Ikorodu to Shagamu is about to be upgraded, making it possible for us to benefit seriously from developments along that axis. It is the same with Ibefun, Idowa, Omu and the boundary towns linking Epe with Ogun State, where we hope to benefit from the Dangote project in Epe through multiple housing projects we have already planned for those areas.”

N34 billion IGR: Jimi Lawal commends Lagos State, pledges same for Ogun State

A governorship aspirant in Ogun State, Otunba Jimi Lawal, on Tuesday commended the Lagos State Government for its steadfast commitment to improving its Internally Generated Revenue, pledging that with its proximity to the state, Ogun State will not be far behind that of Lagos if he is elected as governor in 2019.

Lawal, who is eyeing the governorship seat under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has often commended Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibiunle Amosun, as the best in the history of the state, being the only one who has taken Ogun State’s IGR beyond that of previous administrations. Ogun State’s IGR hovered between N700 million and N750 million monthly before Amosun became Governor. But the state currently maintains an average monthly IGR of seven billion naira, which is unprecedented in the history of Ogun State.

Reacting to a development that the monthly IGR of Lagos State is now N34 billion monthly, Lawal, in a statement by his Special Adviser (Media), Mr. Wale Adedayo, said, “The disclosure by the Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade, that their IGR is now N34 billion monthly is a development that should make everyone of us in Ogun State very happy. It is congratulations to the people and government of Lagos State on this development, which should ensure a more quality socio-economic life for the people.

“There can hardly be quality development in any of our states without quality IGR along with a visionary leadership that knows what to do with these taxes by the people. We remain the closest to Lagos State, because we can safely say that Lagos is in the belly of Ogun State if you look at the map of Nigeria. Whatever benefits Lagos State will no doubt affect us positively in Ogun State, if we get things right. It is for this reason, among others, that I have been consistent in arguing that Senator Ibikunle Amosun is a blessing to Ogun State, who in our estimation, remains the best Governor since the creation of our state in 1976.

“There has been some misconceptions about my consistent affirmation that our Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, remains the best in the history of Ogun State. For the avoidance of doubt, it is my pleasure to repeat that affirmation, because there are facts to back it up, for those who are willing to be objective. It has nothing to do with political correctness, given my background as a reputable administrator and an investment banker of note.

“The leader in a polity is like the head of a family on whose shoulders lie the well-being of the household. The kind of food the family eats, the quality of education of the children and how far they can go in life invariably depend on just one critical factor – how much is the income of the family head? It is how much the family head makes as income that will largely determine the quality of life of that household – all other things being equal. In the case of Ogun State, it is the first time in our history we are generating the amount of IGR being declared today.

“This scenario is the same for any community or State. Senator Amosun is the first Governor to take our IGR to its current level, and we have pledged to move the same IGR very close to that of Lagos State, because almost a quarter of our land from Sango Ota through Iju, Akute, Alagbole, Ajuwon, Alagbado, Mowe and Ibafo are being erroneously called Lagos State. We’ll upgrade all these places with much needed infrastructure so as to tap from its many financial benefits for the good of Ogun State.

“Agbara, where I had visited a couple of times, is also another place, where we’ll work assiduously to get more benefits by ensuring that we care for our people there. Of course, from Shagamu through Ogijo to Ikorodu is another area, and thank God for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention, the road linking Ikorodu to Shagamu is about to be upgraded, making it possible for us to benefit seriously from developments along that axis. It is the same with Ibefun, Idowa, Omu and the boundary towns linking Epe with Ogun State, where we hope to benefit from the Dangote project in Epe through multiple housing projects we have already planned for those areas.”