The Personal Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Constituency Affairs, Khadijat Omotayo Kareem on Monday said the President is not resting in his commitment to see to the growth of Lagos State.
Khadijat was at a town hall meeting with critical stakeholders in Lagos State held at the premises of the Lagos State Television. She had held such meetings in other parts of the country.
The meeting was to deliberate on challenges facing constituencies in Lagos and report back to the President in order to find solutions to them.
Khadijat said the President understands the importance of building infrastructure in Lagos as the commercial centre of Nigeria and is committed to completing ongoing federal projects in the state.
“He is committed to addressing challenges facing the state and projects that will enhance quality of Lagosians as well as meet the needs of our constituencies,” she said.
She added: ” The President is not resting because he wants to bring renewed hope to Nigerians “
Khadijat assured stakeholders that every constituent in Lagos will get what they deserve and that their complaints will be reported back to the President.
The Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, Lagos Chapter, Funmi Sesi, said the stakeholders meeting was necessary in order to build a relationship between the government and the people.
On issues concerning Lagos and the South West, Sesi said Lagos State should be given special status by the federal government. She noted that Lagos State is home to Nigerians from all parts of the country which has caused financial strains on the state in providing public infrastructure.
She told the personal assistant to inform President Tinubu to embark on a massive housing scheme in the south west, build more specialized hospitals in Lagos, handover abandoned federal government property in the state to the state government, establish a food bank in Lagos, invest in agriculture in the South West as well as. transportation system in Lagos
The President, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Lagos chapter, Gbenga Ekundayo , drew the attention of the personal assistant to some government policies.
He noted that some economic policies of the President have cut down the purchasing power of Nigerians and appealed to the President to ‘slow down’ on his policies.
“The President should expedite action on the Renewed Hope Housing Scheme. He should try and win the youth to his side using sport. The President should also look into the lifestyle of political appointees which is sending the wrong signal to Nigerians,” Ekundayo said.
On her part, the Iyaloja of Computer Village, Ikeja, Bisola Azeez, who represented the Iyaloja-General, Folasade Tinubu-Ojo lamented the lack of access to loans by traders.
“Our challenge as traders is having access to loans to augment our working capital. The real people that need the loan don’t have access to federal government loans because of too many requirements. The federal government should fashion out means traders can get loans
An activist and founder, Coalition of Oodua Self-Determination Group, Rasaq Olokooba said the President should take quick action on the formation of state police.
“Our farmers can no longer go to farm because our farms are no longer secured. The security of Yoruba land is gername. There should also be special status for Lagos State because Lagos has the highest number of residents,” he said.
Other contributors expressed worries over attitudes of political appointees who abandon their constituencies after getting into office and relocate to other areas.
They urged the president to compel politicians to live within their constituencies for the benefit of their people.