Saturday’s LG election will be peaceful, Ambode assures

Lagos State governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has expressed firm belief that Saturday’s local government election in the state will be peaceful.

Ambode expressed this positivity, in Ibadan, on Wednesday when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo state.

He avowed that needed machinery and apparatuses for a peaceful conduct of the election across the 20 local government areas in the state had been put in place.

“We are well set for Saturday’s local government election. It will be peaceful and we strongly believe that everything will go well,” Ambode said.

Responding to Ajimobi’s call for Lagos partnership with Oyo on agriculture, Ambode averred that Lagos sought the integration of states in the South West in agriculture to produce food needed by the region.

Ambode who stated that the South West was the mainstay of food security of the country, posited that states of the South West had to optimise their vast arable land.

He harped on the need for economic integration or the South West to boost the Gross Democratic Party (GDP) of all states of the region.

“We have so much fertile land in the South West that all states in the region must integrate so that they can provide to us those things that we consume in Lagos. It is a win-win partnership and in the overall interest of the economic integration of the South West.”

“We have in the pipeline an agric summit that Lagos is planning in conjunction with other South West States to create a master plan that we will also allow other states participate with us,” Ambode said.

Earlier in his remarks, Ajimobi highlighted the crucial role of Lagos in the economic integration and growth of states in the South West.

Like the Kebbi partnership on rice production, Ajimobi called for Lagos’ investment in Oyo state in owning farms and partnering on all aspects of the agriculture value chain.

“We want Lagos to invest here, own an agric farm. What we are doing in Oyo state is integrated organic agriculture. We want you to participate in agriculture production, processes and value addition. We need to relate with Lagos economically and Lagos must play its role in ensuring the economic growth of states in the South West,” Ajimobi said.