The governorship candidate of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Lagos State for the 2019 election, Owolabi Salis, says he is financing his campaign from his retirement savings from his years of work in the United States of America.
Stressing that there was no godfather behind his quest for the Lagos governorship seat, Salis, a chartered accountant and lawyer, regretted that “politics in Nigeria has come to be associated with money”.
His words: “Recently, I saw a governorship candidate returning from a campaign with about 300 vehicles in his convoy. It brought to mind why people have to mortgage their conscience to seek for funds from the wrong places to run for public offices.
“In Europe and America, you will see candidates with not more than two cars, some even use taxis to go for campaigns.
“The decision is made based on what they have to offer to the people not how much they have to share or votes they have to buy”.
Salis who aspired for the governorship in 2003 and 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), before defecting to AD where he got the ticket for 2019, said it was time Nigerians looked at ideologies, pedigree and what candidates had to offer, before casting their votes.
He added: “I have over 30 years experience practicing Law, Accounting, Finance and General Consulting with standard international exposure and project management content.
“I understand the dire consequences of funding a campaign from outside and the consequent implication of the piper payers who must dictate the tune.
“My plea to the people of Lagos is to resist intimidation and not sell their votes but to vote based on their conscience, protect their votes and have in mind that their votes are what will make or mar their desires for better governance for the poor in the state.
“We can no longer afford an elitist kind of governance in Lagos. Attention must be given to the poor in all aspects of their needs. This is why part of my agenda is policies that will give reprieve to the poor in both health and economy”.
He said his administration, if elected, will invest in the culture of the people of Lagos which he said would put the state on a higher scale for tourism earnings and investments from the rest of the world.
“The AD in 1999 kickstarted the on-going projects in Lagos State. We did it before and we can do it again because governance is a continuum. People can change parties but policies and plans remain,” he noted.
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