Politics
There is hope ahead for the country – Gov Sanwo-olu By Ifeoma Ikem
There is hope ahead for the country – Gov Sanwo-olu
By Ifeoma Ikem
The Lagos State
governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has advised Nigerians to remain calm knowing that the nation is on recovering stage.
Sanwo- olu said this during an interview with pressmen at the Cathedral Church of Christ, Marina, Lagos .
“There is hope ahead which will be recorded very soon in the country as the current administration of President Bola Tinubu continues to tackle the myriad of challenges across the nation”.
He promised to work for Lagos better and faster in his second term in office so as to accelerate developments across the identified areas in his THEMES+ agenda.
“We are at a time as a people when things are indeed at various levels of challenges. Our case is like that of a patient who had been diagnosed with an ailment in the hospital and who had also received some medication but he is now in the process of recovering.
“And during that recovery process, there would still be pain that would be felt.
“The world has gone through a lot and so it is not peculiar to us alone. We are at the recovery stage and it will appear as if we still have a bit of pain here and there.
“But I can assure us that with all the medications that we have taken with all the policies of the current Federal Government’s Renewed Hope agenda, there is light down the tunnel”.
He said his message to all Lagosians was to remain hopeful.
“What we are going through is not peculiar to us and I want to assure you that better times are ahead of us.
“In Lagos, we are thankful to God, we are thankful for what God has done for us and we will continue to remain the commercial and economic nerve center of our country.
“We will continue to attract investments at the highest level into the country and would continue to be a beacon of social economic transformation in our country. We will continue to remain the most peaceful part of our country”.
He said his government is committed to the Federal Government and the Renewed Hope agenda, more particularly committed to giving hope to the hopeless.
“Indeed, the rising of Lagos is about us and several things will happen as we enter the new year.”
“We are happy and I want to congratulate Mr. President and Mr. Vice President for coming to Lagos to celebrate Christmas with us. We do not take it for granted. We want to wish them the very best of Christmas.
Sanwo-Olu urges Lagosians not to lose hope.
“We also want to wish all Lagosians the very best this Christmas. We are coming back to say by this time next year, we will all have better reasons and greater joy in our hearts to celebrate,”he added
In his sermon, the Bishop of Lagos Diocese, Rt. Revd. Ifedola Okupevi, said the birth of Jesus is about good news that brought civilisation and changed the history of the world.
He commended President Tinubu and Governor Sanwo-Olu for providing leadership at the federal and state levels and urged governments to provide palliatives for the people and reduce poverty in the country.
Ifedola urged governments to address the issue of exchange rates and work toward reducing the mass exit of Nigerians to foreign countries.
According to him, we are in the season of celebrating Christ’s unity, patience and same time ready to give whatever we can give to the less privilege in the society.
“This period our dear country needs prayers, prayers for our leader so that our leaders should bring themselves at a level in the sense they will listen to the plight of the masses.
“We have nobody to help us except God almighty.
“Our youths need to be also encouraged that the future will be bright”, he said
Gov. Sanwo-Olu was accompanied by his wife, the First Lady, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu,
Breaking: Speaker Obasa Debunks Allegation Of Spending N17b On Assembly Gate
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Thursday described the allegation that the House spent N17 billion on the fixing of a gate as spurious and funny.
A self-proclaimed group, Lagos State Anti-Corruption Coalition, had accused the Assembly of spending the amount to construct a gate. The group also sought investigation of the claim.
Speaking at plenary, Dr. Obasa said the allegation stemmed from the fear of some people over 2027 which is still more than two years away.
Obasa further debunked the claim that the House spent N200 million on its recently organised 22nd thanksgiving service for staff.
“It is so funny. How much is the allocation of the Assembly in the whole year that we will decide to spend N17 billion on a gate? They even claimed that we expended 200 million on thanksgiving that did not hold.
“We are aware that at a period like this when we are approaching elections in 2027, we should expect such things. I think some people are scared and I don’t know why.
“This House did not and has not embarked on any such project. We are not that reckless. We had our thanksgiving last Friday and dignitaries from various parts of the State attended it,” the Speaker said.
Addressing further claims by the group about the alleged relationship between him and the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, the Speaker denied attending the latter’s screening and confirmation by the National Assembly.
“They said that I was at the National Assembly when they were confirming the EFCC chairman. I want to believe that there are CCTV cameras at the National Assembly to identify those who attended the event. The press must have written about it too. So the group should do more to confirm if I was there.
“This is just to deny the allegations in the interest of the public and not the writers because the writers are not those we should be joining words with,” the Speaker said.
Earlier, the House, through its spokesperson, Hon. Stephen Ogundipe, had addressed the allegations noting that the Assembly bases its activities on integrity, transparency and accountability.
“It is ludicrous the claim about constituency intervention funds and constituency project funds and their handling by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko as claimed by the group.
“One would have expected a self-acclaimed anti-corruption crusading group to do its groundwork before jumping across the fence with conviction that it hit a jackpot to malign an institution of repute in the name of politics.
“Simply put, the Lagos State House of Assembly does not have any such funds. The Assembly does not embark on constituency projects. Instead, once every year, the House holds stakeholders’ meetings simultaneously across the state where constituents have the opportunity to tell the lawmakers their expectations and make requests for the betterment of the state.
“These requests and expectations are compiled and sent to the executive arm of government for consideration as inputs in subsequent budgets. If this is what the group takes as constituency intervention or project funds, we are sure this explanation has given the required education, moreover, it is common knowledge that it is the responsibility of the Executive arm to execute such projects,” the earlier statement by Ogundipe read.
Eromosele Ebhomele
Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
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