9th September, 2011
Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, chairmanship aspirant for Ikeja Local Government, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Engr. Mojeed Alabi Balogun, has joined the calls for a special status for the state, in consonance with her status as the nation’s most populous and most important state that caters for Nigerians.
The incumbent vice chairman of Ikeja Local Government, who said this during a chat with Political Platform, added that the calls remain the best possible way to drive the country’s development as the state remains the nation’s most industrialised state with needs that align with its growth needs and potential.
He said,“It is ironical that successive governments have been treating Lagos and its expanding needs for critical infrastructure demands with levity. Each day, the population and needs of Lagos continue to increase to reflect this important role. As the economic capital of Nigeria, Lagos has been the first port of call for eager millions of youths from all parts of the country who long for means of survival from the vicissitudes and vagaries of a floundering economy as Nigeria’s.
“We are worried that successive governments have left these very great demands to the state government and the lean monthly allocation it receives from the Federation Account. We are worried that the Federal Government has played deaf to the need to fund the repair of the infrastructure in the state and the general demand that Lagos be accorded a of special state and the economic empowerment needed to drive such status,†he said.
The Ikeja Local Government chairmanship hopeful said he his particularly pleased that the state governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, is rising to the many demands of Lagos and has been attending to its needs with the limited funds at his disposal.
“I’m happy that there has been tremendous infrastructure renewal in Lagos for the past 12 years but Lagos still needs massive funding from the Federal Government to take care of its huge infrastructural base and ensure that Lagos drives the growth of the country’s economy.
“Lagos is the only state where every Nigerian family is represented so it is the state that means most to all Nigerian families as well as the economy of the country and must not be neglected,†he noted.
He called on President Goodluck Jonathan and the National Assembly to grant Lagos the special status and as a matter of urgency, make all the necessary provisions for such status.
—Jamiu Yisa