DEPUTY governorship candidate of Lagos State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs Haleemat Oluyemisi Busari, said on Wednesday that the party’s ticket pairing her with Mr Jimi Agbaje remains the best choice for Lagosians, assuring that decision-making would be a joint responsibility if the ticket got into power as she had forged a workable partnership with her principal towards transforming the fortunes of the state.
Busari said this when she featured on a radio programme, describing Agbaje as someone who allowed ideas to thrive and who would not reduce her to a mere appendage if they got elected.
“I believe in the objectives and plans of the platform upon which I am running, which was why I accepted the offer anyway. I believe that the ticket can actually impact governance in Lagos because we have the ideas. We (I and Agbaje) have our heads and minds in the right places.
“Governance is all about capability, you have the right kind of morality to support what you want to do. If you are in government for service, then the first hurdle has been crossed because everything you see is the big picture regarding how one wishes to impact on humanity,” she said.
Busari, a lawyer who has been in legal and corporate practice for three decades, said she hoped to bring her vast experience and contacts to bear upon the office of deputy governor, having made the decision to pair up Agbaje as his running mate.
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She stated that the PDP-led government when voted into office, would prioritise the domestication of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act in order to foster accountability in governance.
While drawing a nexus between education and development, she restated the resolve of their potential PDP regime to accord the education sector the needed priority attention.
“A couple of things have come to agitate my mind and one of such is education. Education is what impacts everything that we do as a people and that is something that I am passionate about. This is because we live in a knowledge-driven economy,” she said.
According to her, a blueprint had been developed by the party to ensure that pupils in state-owned primary and secondary schools in the state enjoyed the same access to education irrespective of religious or ethnic affiliations.
On the issue of State Police, Busari stated that when fully operational, all segments of the state would be brought into the conversation with a view to having a police system that would earn the respect and trust of residents.
Commenting on the issue of controversies surrounding the desire of Muslim students to wear hijab in public schools, Busari said: “My position is that we should stick to the facts. By that, I mean we should stick to the current position of things. And where the position is now is that the Muslim community has been in court with the state government.
“I’m aware that there has been a ruling allowing hijab in schools; although that ruling is still being contested. The ruling that stands now is that Muslim children are allowed to wear hijab in schools. I am also aware that the state government has issued a circular stating that school children are allowed to wear hijab in schools. They (the government) have even gone further to describe the kind of hijab to wear in schools.”
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