4th June, 2011
Lagos State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Friday joined other Muslim faithful at the Lagos Central mosque on Nnamdi Azikiwe Street for the jumat prayers and thanksgiving service after his inauguration, appealing for patience and cooperation of the citizens to make governance the all-embracing partnership it should be.
Addressing the congregation after the prayers, Governor Fashola also thanked the entire Muslim congregation and the people of Lagos for their support for the Action Congress of Nigeria in the April elections which translated into victory for him, his deputy, the three senators, 24 members of the House of Representatives and 40 House of Assembly members.
He gave an assurance that he and other elected office holders will always do the biddings of the people of Lagos State at all times because government should not be seen as concerning only the elected officials but everybody in the society.
He informed that immediately after his re-election, the state government sent out officials to all parts of the state to interview the people and collate what the people desire in terms of projects from the government.
He added that all those sent out have already returned with their findings and that very soon the government will hold a debriefing session with all concerned public servants that will be responsible for implementing the projects so identified.
He urged all public servants who would be involved in the implementation of the projects to work conscientiously so that the people might feel the impact of government’s response to their yearning without delay.
Governor Fashola, who dwelt on the virtues of patience, said there is a need for people to be patient in seemingly difficult situations, adding that traffic congestion should be tolerated with some level of perseverance rather than engendering conducts that could worsen the situation.
Citing examples from different parts of the world like the United States of America and Saudi Arabia, the governor said traffic jams are not peculiar to Lagos but a sign of a growing economy which should not be worrisome to residents of Lagos.
He also urged members of the public to always treat traffic officers with some level of respect, stressing that each time any member of the public acts aggressively to a traffic officer on duty, it could trigger a corresponding level of reaction.
The governor also advised market men and women against street trading or even in some instances renting stalls but still deploying children to go to the streets and drainage lines to sell and display wares.
In his sermon at the Jumat and thanksgiving session, the Chief Missioner of the Ansar –Ud- Deen Society of Nigeria, Sheikh Abdulrahaman Ahmad urged the governor to be wary of sycophants who are only interested in telling him what he would like to hear because of selfish reasons.
He urged the governor to always take solace in the wise counsel of Almighty Allah who never forgets all His creations who engage in good deeds and make promises he could fulfill.
The Chief Missioner reminded the governor about the supplications which he made on the day he was being sworn-in while taking his oath of office with the phrase: “So help me Allahâ€, saying that should be his watchword always.
The Imams of various divisions in the state and other prominent clerics later took turns to pray for continued peace, progress in the state and for a successful tenure for the governor.
A copy of the Holy Quran was later presented to the governor by the Chief Imam of Lagos, His Eminence, Sheikh Garuba Akinola Ibrahim who was assisted by other clerics like the Baba Adinni of Lagos, Sheikh Abdul Hafeez Abou, Alhaji Alabi Macfoy and all divisional imams amidst prayers for him and his administration.