Vice President Namadi Sambo says many residents of Lagos State have been fleeing the state because of the high taxation being imposed on the people by the state government.
Sambo said this at a reconciliation meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party governorship aspirants in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said the state government was misleading the people of the state by laying claims to some Federal Government projects, such as the deep blue sea port.
The VP said he was surprised that with the large revenue the state was generating, it was unfortunate that the All Progressives Congress-led government had failed to deliver the dividends of democracy to the people.
He, therefore, stated that if the pdp candidate, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, was elected governor next year, he (Agbaje) would bring an end to the suffering of the people.
The meeting came after the immediate Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, took the party to court to compel it to cancel the primary in which the number of votes exceeded the number of voters.
He said, “Lagos has for years been yearning for change from the burden of excessive taxation and squandering, you all know about. Today, people are leaving Lagos. The huge resources accruing to the state are used to the detriment of the good people of Lagos State.
“We are poised more than ever before to rescue Lagosians from the bondage and sufferings of taking back with the left hand and then, taking it away by the right hand.
“I will like to mention part of the tricks of the opposition where some governors put their pictures on projects in newspapers. In one of them, I saw the Lekki Deep Sea port. This is a PPP (Private-Public Partnership) programme where the Federal Government has large shareholdings with the Nigeria Ports Authority.
“The site of that Lekki Deep Sea port was the site where the Federal Government was to build a methanol plant. That methanol plant could not continue because we had spent over $200m on which has been converted to our share.
“Apart from that, the NPA is a 20 per cent shareholder in that port and then the private sector has the largest share. Some states are claiming that it is their projects.
“Our own pictures are there and we are confident that anything that we print and show you can be verified. I believe that with the coming of our new governor, we will have realistic development in Lagos State.”
Sambo added that all the aggrieved participants had been appeased and they had all agreed to work for the success of Agbaje in next year’s elections.
Sambo said, “I am delighted to know that we are more than ever before united to form a common front in realising our objective of not only capturing Lagos but winning all seats at all levels in the forthcoming 2015 elections.
“The Lagos State PDP and indeed Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Deji Doherty, Ambassador Tokunbo Kamson and Babatunde Gbadamosi who were our governorship aspirants have agreed to team up together and work to win Lagos this time around in 2015.”
However, the Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Lateef Ibirogba, said he was surprised by the claim of the VP that people were fleeing Lagos because of high taxation.
He said he was disappointed that Sambo could peddle lies when it was glaring that the state government had performed better than the Federal Government in all sectors.
He said, “Was it the Federal Government that did the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge or the 10-lane expressway in Badagry? Are they responsible for the light rail? Are they the ones that have been successfully running the economy of Lagos? I really do not know what they want to lay claim to except the bad Oshodi-Apapa expressway which is a source of pain to all Lagos motorists.
“What have they ever done in Lagos? I am happy that even Obanikoro has said Bode George and Agbaje hired armed thugs to disrupt the primary. Obanikoro also told us how the federal task force was used to perpetuate violence.
“Is that the kind of party that wants to rule Lagos? Look at the conduct of their primary where one of the aspirants even went there with a bulletproof vest. Even a blind man knows that Lagos is the benchmark of good governance.
“The PDP has not been able to successfully run the Federal Government in 16 years and they want to rule Lagos. They are just a bunch of shameless people. I advise them (PDP) to start packing their belongings from Aso Rock because by next year, we will come to occupy the place.”
Earlier, Obanikoro had said he would work with Agbaje to ensure victory for the PDP in 2015. He said the success of the PDP was more important than his political ambition.
He said the APC had put the people of the state in bondage and only the PDP could free the people.
He said, “Despite the inadequacies experienced in our governorship primary, a lot has been said, we have disagreed but we have agreed that Jimi Agbaje is our candidate. I want to express my appreciation to my supporters that stood by us. There is time for everything and that is why I want to implore all of you that yesterday belongs to yesterday.”
Also, Agbaje said that through the intervention of the Presidency, the PDP had become one big happy family.
Agbaje promised President Goodluck Jonathan that he would deliver Lagos to the PDP and also garner votes for him next year.
He said, “Today, a new chapter is being written in the annals of the PDP Lagos: A chapter of unity, a chapter of power, chapter of hope, a chapter of change, a chapter of victory. And by the grace of God, in 2015, the PDP will record resounding victory in Lagos.”
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