Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola has
warned his counterpart in Anambra State, Peter Obi not to incite the
Igbos against the Lagos state government, following the recent bussing
of of some Igbo destitute to Onitsha.
Fashola, spoke with newsmen on Thursday after inspecting the on-going
light rail project and Jetties in Mile 2 area of Lagos, Southwest
Nigeria.
The governor accused Obi of playing politics with the
matter and using the media to blow the issue out of proportion, saying
that the governor has not deemed it fit to call him on the issue, only
for him to make it a media issue.
“There is too much at stake for
anyone to begin to incite the Igbo community against their host state.
There is too much at stake here. It is a very dangerous and unwarranted
precedent.
“And I hope that common sense will prevail here. Also
those who are baying for blood should know that there is too much at
risk here. When I get a formal complaint from the government of Anambra
State or notification from the Presidency, I will lay the facts bare.
“It is unfortunate that my colleague governor has made this a media
issue. As I speak, I haven’t received any telephone call or letter from
him to complain and I don’t think that is the way government works. On
less important matters like this, he had called me before,” he stated.
According to Fashola “this is a political season and Anambra will be up
for contest and in a political season, unusual things happen and
perhaps we are living in an interesting times. And some of the evidence
was when one see two adults kissing on television, it tells you that
some things are afoot.”
He added that it was regrettable when one
saw issues of governance being trivialized or tried on the pages of
newspaper, with all sorts of columnists writing on it.
On Obi
reporting him to the presidency on the issue, the governor said he was
not aware if there was any place in the constitution that gave the
president the power to adjudicate in disputes between states.
“Yes, I
know that the president has a moral authority because he is the head of
the sovereign state of the country. But I am not aware that the
constitution states that the dispute between states should be settled by
the Presidency.
“If Anambra State has an issue on this matter, and
they feel aggrieved, they should call or write to us. I feel that the
final arbiter should be the court. And it is really important to say
that our hospitality in Lagos state is legendary. And it is a global
legend that the people of Lagos State are hospitable people and so is
the present government of the state and previous administrations,” he
said.
Fashola stated that there is a large Igbo population in the
state and that their presence was evident in Alaba with the Alaba
International Market and the ASPAMDA market, saying that they are doing
their business peacefully while the state government is working
tirelessly to provide the required transport system, that would help
improve the travel time and their businesses.
Source: PMNews
