24th April, 2024
Dr D Udoh, a social media user has reignited the controversial ‘no man’s land’ debate about the status of Lagos State with a new proposal.
In Udoh’s view, Lagos should be adopted as the commercial capital of Nigeria, with the President appointing a minister to head the state, as is the case with the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
According to him, Lagos deserves a special status that should protect the interest of everyone.
Taking the debate to another height on Monday, Udoh in a series of posts on his X handle, @Udoh_D, monitored by PUNCH listed five new proposals that should be adopted by the Federal Government to ensure Lagos achieves a special status.
His proposal is presented below:
Lagos State, by virtue of being a former capital of Nigeria and a commercial city that is cosmopolitan, should be granted a special status that achieves the following:
1. Protect the interest and strategic investment of all Nigerians that are domiciled in that state.
2. Decouple the state from ethno-religious politics and bigotry that could threaten the strategic position of the state as a melting pot for all Nigerians.
A future president who is completely detribalised and not emotionally biased towards the politics of the state through legislation should sponsor a bill before the National Assembly that seeks to achieve the following:
(a) Completely and formally adopt Lagos State as a commercial capital of Nigeria
(b) Vest the powers in every elected President to appoint a minister for Lagos who will preside over the affairs of Lagos State just like the President currently appoints a Minister for the FCT
(c) Some headquarters or departments of Federal Government infrastructures and parastatals could be formally moved to Lagos.
The proposal has generated serious controversy on the social media platform with many who are opposed to his view condemning the suggestion and asking him to delete the post while a few others see merits in his points.