Lagos gov, Sanwo-Olu, drops ‘His Excellency’ tag, says simply call me ‘Mr Governor’

* An Executive Order underway to put official stamp on the
decision

Lagos State governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced that
henceforth, he would be dropping the “His Excellency tag from his
name, declaring that only God is “the Almighty, the Creator, the
Protector” and Him alone is the most excellent.

Governor Sanwo Olu said he would prefer to be addressed simply
as “Mr Governor.”

The governor’s decision was communicated in a statement he
signed and issued on Wednesday. It reads: “In the last five months
that I have been privileged to exercise the mandate freely given to
me by the great and hardworking people of Lagos State, it has come
to my consciousness to review certain features of
citizen-government relations which impede the genuine expression of
the democratic spirit of our society and the meaningful exercise of
the sovereignty of our people,” he said.

”The office of the governor has been celebrated as the paragon
of excellence, a temple of perfection and a throne of purity. This
demi-god mystique spreads over the entire machinery of the
executive arm of the government, symbolising an authoritarian
disposition on the governed. It has deformed the orientation of
elected and appointed persons who are paid from the taxes of the
people to see themselves as oppressors who can do no wrong and must
be served, rather than serve the people.

”Whatever might have been the reason for this myth, let us be
honest, the office is occupied by a mortal who has been called upon
to serve the electorate with humility – and sincerity. The office
of Governor is a public trust that calls for sacrifice, modesty and
willingness to add value to the lives of the people.

“Fellow Lagosians, I have come to the conclusion that for us to
change the narrative of governance, we have to strike down this
seeming symbol of executive arrogance that commands popular
obeisance and undermines the democratic role of citizens as the
masters of those they have elected and appointed to serve. It is a
conviction that I believe will send the right signals to all
politicians and civil servants that service to the people has
brought us here. It is the duty we are obliged to do. It is the
responsibility that we bear wherever we find ourselves; whenever we
are called to serve.”

The governor added that ”the Almighty, is the Creator, the
Protector” insisting He is the most excellent, and no man can share
His eternal qualities.

“Thenceforth, I wish to be addressed simply as Mr. Governor, a
title that will constantly remind me that I have been chosen out of
so many fellow compatriots to lead a collective salvage of our
political economy. A salutation that sanitises the paraphernalia of
office and reminds us all of our imperfections and mortality. “To
give official effect to this announcement, I shall issue tomorrow
an executive order that will formally ensure full compliance with
this new policy,” he said.

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