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Sanwo-Olu drops ‘Your Excellency’ title, says only God is excellent

 

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has announced his decision
to drop the title of ‘Your Excellency’.
The Governor conveyed his decision in a statement he signed and issued
yesterday saying that he came to the conclusion that to change the
narrative of governance, ”executive arrogance” has to be struck down.
”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.”
Sanwo-Olu said only God, ”the Almighty, the Creator, the Protector” is
the most excellent, and that 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.
At a church service last Sunday, the governor said he would issue an
executive order against the title, ‘Your Excellency’. He said only
public officers who have performed well on their job deserve to be
addressed by the title.

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