President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday called on Lagos State governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola to cooperate with the Federal Government in order to make the ‘Mega City’ better considering its importance to the nation’s economy.
Jonathan said this in Lagos yesterday while reacting to Fashola’s request onthe conferment of status on the state during a book presentation tagged ‘The Jurisprudence of the Living Oracles authored by civil rights activist, Tunji Braithwaite.
Referencing the Central Bank record on the state, the president said Lagos ‘pedals’ about 52 percent of bank deposits in Nigeria’s economy and as such, it is a state that cannot be ignored in any way.
He said, “Let me acknowledge the request of Governor Lagos; even in the car, when we were discussing about some areas we need to work together. Lagos is very important to us. There is no president in this country that will play with Lagos. Thatis why we need maximum cooperation between Lagos and any federal authority.
Jonathan emphasized that Lagos statewas one of the pillars of Nigeria’s economy, stating that whatever affects Lagos affects the entire country. “Anything that happens to Lagos will impact the country negatively. Therefore, we will work with you to see what we can do”