Ensure Even Devt across Lagos, Lawmaker Urges Ambode

Femi Durojaiye

A Lagos lawmaker, Hon. Abiodun Tobun has urged the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, not to relent in his efforts at bringing development to both urban and rural areas of the state.

Tobun made the appeal at the recent media chat with Assembly’s correspondents in Ikeja, the state capital.
The lawmaker commended Ambode for all his strides towards sustaining the basic infrastructure in the metropolis and taking development to the hinterlands of the state.

He said, “The approach of leaving the rural areas to develop urban areas has led to migration of people to the city. The idea of developing the metropolis is the mindset of people at the helms of affairs; some governments develop the centre and leave the rural areas.

“This approach usually leads to rural-urban migration and makes the centre to be congested while some governments believe in developing the rural area to decongest the city to make more people comfortable living in the rural areas.

“The best approach is to develop both the rural and urban centres simultaneously. The government should not allow the infrastructure at the urban centre decay while at the same time it should take development to the rural areas too.

“This is the approach the present government is adopting. There is no rural area that is not touched. We are encouraging the governor not to relent in his plans to develop the state”, he added.

Tobun also commended the governor for picking two roads from each of the 20 Local Governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) to develop, in a bid to prevent the influx of people into the urban area.
He urged the governor to sustain his determination to light up all communities and construction of more roads to improve socio-economic activities in all areas.

According to him, before the present administration, Epe and Ikorodu do not have master plans, but the government has awarded the work to a consultant to come up with master plans for the two suburb communities.

The lawmaker said such would bring about overall development to the areas. He said the state government was also planning to develop the Fourth Mainland Bridge through the Public-Private Partnership approach.

On the Local Government Administration Amendment bill the House passed recently, Tobun said the bill would encourage good governance and checkmate excesses at the local level.

On the threat by the National Assembly to veto 2016 Appropriation Bill if President Muhammadu Buhari failed to give assent, the lawmaker said the parliament was at liberty to do same.

He, however, urged both the executive and the legislature at the federal level to reach a compromise because of the masses on grey areas of the budget. According to him, the cordial relationship between the executive and the legislature in Lagos State has occasioned different developmental projects across the state.

On the lingering fuel scarcity, Tobun said the situation would continue unless the federal government looked inward by resuscitating local refineries for production of fuel. He urged the President to sustain his determination to stop importation of fuel.

The lawmaker also assured his constituents and other stakeholders that he would not betray the confidence reposed on him by the people.