Governor Fashola tendered his apology at a observance to mark the shiny Jubilee anniversary of Aka Ikenga, an Igbo social-cultural group in Lagos. He said:
“The reality is that I do not have a difficulty with the Igbos, they understand that because the biggest herd of beef cattle I obtained during my father’s burial came from the Ndigbo. Those persons who
came under their numerous hues are not persons I have a problem with, they are my kindred and my persons. furthermore, there were persons who did not clearly understand me and they have misread phrases said or misrepresented activities taken in the way that it has satisfied them to do so. To those
people, I owe an interpretation, not a protection of what has occurred and that is partly why I am here.
“We have constructed a relationship founded on tolerance, mutual respect, trust and love. That
connection was started by our ancestors, it was handed over to us and we have nourished it with a allotment of believe, with a allotment of comprehending and with a allotment of fidelity.
“Those who misread that relationship, believe that there is no value in that relationship, I have arrive here to correct that because I place a allotment of worth on that connection. If those people have misread me or they have misread activities taken by our government, here, now and today, I offer an unqualified and unreserved apology."
“Why should persons feel compelled to migrate from one place to the other? Is there one part of this homeland that is less endowed whether in human or natural resource? Is that the difficulty? Is it the case that possibly some parts are so endowed or not adequately managed?"
“Those are the dependable arguments that we must have. The political gale is gathering and allusions have been made to the matters I address, not only by the head person, but by the President of Ohaneze
Ndigbo. How can development be so tough in the part of Nigeria that provided us Ike Nwachukwu, Chinua Achebe, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Odumegwu Ojukwu, Alex Ekwueme and so on, how can
development be so difficult in that part of this country? I believe those are the genuine issues.”
“I think we have been in the report of our connection for the incorrect reasons in the last few weeks, but if you hear to the voices of those who speak the loudest, you would see that they do not talk about us, they do not talk about the difficulties, but about themselves. The most of us are concerned about how to make it better, that is what concerns us always in Lagos, and it is not an easy decision for me.”
"The pursuit of making it better makes us take up principles which are always subject to the human text of fallibility