A former governor of Jigawa State criticised President Bola Tinubu’s reputation as the architect of contemporary Lagos State, blaming his federal government for failing to get things right.
Tinubu was the governor of Nigeria’s economic capital from 1999 until 2007. Some of his followers credit him with laying the groundwork for the contemporary Lagos State.
However, Lamido, a member of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), claims that Lagos, as a former Nigerian capital before being relocated to Abuja, enjoyed a strong Federal Government presence.
“I know him when he was under SDP; when he was the secretary of the party. I also knew him as governor of Lagos State. I know him very well and I know his capacity, I know what he can do; I know what he cannot do. Luckily today, he is there on top of the country. He never built Lagos,” he said on Monday’s edition of Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“Lagos was built with Nigerian money- I mean the port, the airport, the bridges. So, when you say Tinubu built Lagos; he never built Lagos.”
‘Govt Doing almost Everything Wrong’
Since Tinubu took over the president in May 2023, his government has introduced a raft of reforms including the removal of fuel subsidy and the floating of the naira.
These moves have however tripled the cost of petrol, increased the cost of living, and pushed inflation figures to new highs, soaring to 33.6 per cent in April 2024.
Though the Tinubu administration is calling for patience from Nigerians and believes the policies will yield fruits soonest, Lamido has rated the present government poorly.
“The government is doing almost everything wrong,” he said on the current affairs show, faulting the Lagos-Calabar coastal road project amid the clamour for a new minimum wage by organised labour.
According to him, if the government can embark on the project and with prudent management of resources, Nigeria can easily pay a new minimum wage as demanded by labour leaders.
“There is money in Nigeria. If they do it [Lagos-Calabar coastal road], they can pay any minimum wage,” the former governor insisted.