Residents of Ojokoro in Ifako-Ijaiye area of Lagos State have called on Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu to provide more schools, roads and fire service unit in their communities.
The residents made the appeal on Thursday during the annual Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly.
The meeting held simultaneously across the 40 Lagos state constituencies, was themed: “Post-COVID-19 Pandemic: The Challenges and Prospect”.
It was attended by religious and traditional leaders, community associations, artisans, professional bodies, market leaders, politicians and other groups.
Speaking, a legal practitioner, Adelaja Agboola, decried high rate of youth unemployment and poor road infrastructure in the constituency, especially Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.
“The major road that leads from Kola to Mao junction is terribly bad as we speak and it has wasted so many lives and businesses.
“If the state government cannot do it now, let the council repair it and make it motorable,” he said.
Prince Bolarinwa Adebayo, the Baale of Alakuko, Ajegunle, Iloro in Ojokoro, noted that Gbeleyi-AMJE road linking the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway had been in a sorry state for about seven years, creating lots of traffic problem.
The Baale said: “The major problem with this road is flooding because water is being directed from surrounding areas like Abule- Tuntun, Ganiyu Lamina, Eleja, Akinde to the place, which had been affecting the road.
“The topography of this area cannot contain the water coming to this place. We need proper channelisation, a redirection of water. Also, we need senior secondary schools and employment for our youths.”
Alhaji Amusat Azees, Lagos State Coordinator of the Community Development Advisory Council, commended Sanwo-Olu and urged him to fulfil his promised primary and secondary schools for the area.
Azees also urged that governor to construct alternative roads to link Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, which he said, was in sorry state and giving the residents sleepless nights.
Alhaji Rasheed Salami, Coordinator, Community Development Committee (CDC) Ward B, noted that the last administration in the state did a lot of roads in Ojokoro, urging Gov. Sanwo-Olu to construct more roads and ensure provision of schools for children.
In his address, Rasheed Makinde, the lawmaker representing Ifako-Ijaye 2 in Lagos Assembly, said that COVID-19 had brought huge challenges to the world and the people of the constituency.
According to the lawmaker, the state government is working hard to ameliorate the challenges facing the people.
Reeling out some challenges facing the constituency, Makinde called for urgent state attention to provision of schools, ending of gas pipeline explosion, road repairs, flood control, establishment of fire service unit, among others.
“Our constituents are clamouring for new roads, construction of primary and secondary public schools. We do not have fire service unit in this local government and we have been continuously having fire outbreaks in our local government.
“We rely on fire service units in Ikeja and other local governments for help in times of fire emergency.
“We have a plot of land where the bunkers use as their hideout for scooping fuel from the NNPC gas pipeline, we want the state government to come to our aid by acquiring this land and use it for fire service station in our local government.
“We still need a recreational ground, we still need a mini stadium in our local government where the youth can recreate and exercise to discover and develop talents in our local government,” Makinde said.
The lawmaker, who expressed satisfaction with the residents’ turnout for the meeting, said all the issues raised by the people would be compiled and submitted to the Lagos Assembly for onward transfer to the state governor.
A former Lagos lawmaker, Ipoola Omisore, however, said that the area had received some government attention in terms of road construction.
“The government has tried for us, over 30 roads already done, but we have problem of drainage. There is flood across the constituency in such a way that most houses are being threatened as well as lives and property.
“Secondly, we lack hospital and we also lack big market in the constituency. Also, we need more public primary schools,” said Omisore, the immediate past representative of Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency II in Lagos Assembly,
Earlier in his opening speech, the Chairman, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Alhaji Hammed Tijani, said service to humanity remained the priority agenda of his administration as efforts had been made to reduce the sufferings of the masses.
Tijani said that the stakeholders’ meeting would help address several salient challenges affecting the people.
Sports5 days ago
Latest1 week ago
Politics2 days ago
Business7 days ago
Education6 days ago
Crime5 days ago
Business5 days ago
Latest6 days ago