Lagos Mobilises Residents For LG Election

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

In a bid to enhance effective participation in the upcoming Local Government elections in the State, the Lagos State Office of Civic Engagement is mobilizing all residents in the State to actively participate in the poll which comes up in July.

Special Adviser to the State Governor on Civic Engagement, Mr. Kehinde Joseph disclosed said this on Tuesday at a ministerial press conference in Alausa, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

He emphasised the importance of having voters’ card since it is a compulsory requirement for all adults to vote in the election, urging all Lagosians to change their apathy towards participating in elections.

Joseph assured Lagosians that their participation in the forthcoming local government elections would positively influence the outcome because they have the power, through their individual votes, to determine the eventual winners across the State.

Responding to question on public protests in spite of the existence of Civic Engagement Office, Joseph lamented that many of the protests were being staged due to lack of understanding of the various channels of engagement with government.

He said: “Some protests are unnecessary as the issues involved can easily be resolved by establishing a communication line with the concerned authority through various platforms while some are issues that have nothing to do with the State government”.

The Special Adviser further noted that his Office engaged in dispute resolution and conflict management to encourage the development and maintenance of productive relations among individuals, groups and communities.

According to him, 40 disputes and issues that could have resulted into crises were handled and resolved amicably by his Office in the last one year.

He cited peaceful resolution of the dispute between the Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State (MOALS) and the Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria (MTUN) Ojodu Zone; the rift among Students’ Joint Campus Committee of the Lagos State Tertiary Institutions, the thorny issue between National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria(RTEAN) and Nagari Nakowa Motorcycle Owners and the Riders Association of Lagos (NNAMORAL) and Ojodu Community Development Association and NURTW, among others, as some of  the disputes resolved by the Office.

The governor’s aide said that the present administration was currently looking into the challenges facing communities, especially in the area of infrastructure, such as roads, street lights, health facilities, schools and flood control, stressing that complaints from the communities had been brought to the attention of appropriate Ministries and were receiving attention.