‘We Have Built Self Confidence’

Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Ipoola Omisore, has said that the Assembly has risen to a level where legislators in the state are respected.

Omisore, who spoke with Assembly Matters on the state of the Assembly, said that under the leadership of Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji, the House has become a leading example of how the legislative arm of any government should operate.

According to Omisore, the House has shown a lot of maturity while doing its job to the extent that there is now mutual respect between the executive arm of the state government and the judiciary.

“Don’t forget that some Houses of Assembly were cowed down by their executives or governors to take a position during the constitutional review that they did not need House independence, but our House fought and won.

“We are lucky we did not wait or rely on the constitutional review. Look at what our colleagues in other states have done. There is no House of Assembly that does not like independence, but can you imagine a Speaker going to the national level to vote against autonomy of the House?

“That shows you that some of the Houses of Assembly in Nigeria are robot Houses. This makes us to beat our chests and say we are proud,” he said, adding that although the House is dominated by members of the Action Congress of Nigeria, the legislators have always put sentiments aside when it has to do with issues concerning members of the public.

The lawmaker, who is seeking re-election into the House to represent Ifako-Ijaye Constituency 2, also stressed that the House of Representatives was forced into passing the Freedom of Information Bill because the state House of Assembly had written to the Upper House, informing it that the bill was being prepared for passage at the state level.

He, however, said the state Assembly put the passage of the bill on hold because of campaign activities.