The Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has faulted a poll by the African Leadership Magazine which rated Governor Akinwunmi Ambode as the best performing governor in the country.
The Lagos PDP said the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, and his Ondo State counterpart, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, had performed better than Ambode.
The opposition party’s reaction was against the backdrop of the rating titled, “Good governance poll for Nigeria’s top performing governors.”
The PDP said the magazine’s poll was allegedly sponsored by the state government with the aim of misleading the public.
While analysing the rating, the Publicity Secretary of the Lagos PDP, Gani Taofik, in an interview with our correspondent, on Thursday, described the rating as laughable.
He added that it was far from the current realities in the state.
“Can Governor Akinwunmi Ambode walk on the streets and receive the same kind of support that Governor Fayose gets in Ekiti? Ambode’s elitist style cannot be compared to that of Mimiko and Fayose, who are governors that the common man recognises and relates easily with.
“Ambode cannot match the popularity and acceptability that both Mimiko and Fayose command in Ondo and Ekiti states respectively. Fayose and Mimiko are far better than Ambode,” Taofik said.
Reacting to the PDP’s claim on Thursday, the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress in the state, Joe Igbokwe, however, described the PDP’s statement as mischievous and laughable.
Igbokwe said nothing good could come out of the former ruling party.
In a text message sent to our correspondent, Igbokwe said, “The Lagos PDP will not acknowledge the monumental achievements recorded in the last 14 months by the Ambode administration, which are being appreciated by all and sundry.
“Nothing good can come from the Lagos PDP or the national leadership of the party. They are the same. The only thing they know how to do is to scheme to get to power and use their positions to steal everything in sight. See where they left Nigeria in 16 years.”
Taofik asked the governor and the magazine to defend the government’s policies in the housing, agric, transportation sectors, among others.
