The Lagos State House of Assembly has congratulated the immediate past Governor of the state, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, on his appointment as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, tasking him to immediately fix federal roads in the state before he becomes overburdened by the workload of overseeing three major sectors.
Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, made this call on Tuesday when the Deputy Majority Leader, Olumuyiwa Jimoh, under Matter of Urgent Public Importance, called on the Federal Government to refund the N52 billion spent by the Lagos State Government in repairing federal roads in the state.
In his contribution to the motion, Speaker Obasa declared that it was important to remind Fashola of the challenges facing the state since he served in the state for eight years.
“He (Fashola) has also been in the forefront of the repair of federal roads in Lagos State and the refund of money expended on federal roads by the state government.
“We must write a letter to the minister to call his attention to the urgent need to repair federal roads in the state.
“It is better to make this appeal to him before the work-load of handling three major areas of government becomes much,” he said.
Speaking earlier, Jimoh congratulated Fashola on his appointment but maintained that it was necessary for the money to be refunded to the state for the execution of other important projects.
He further pleaded with the Federal Government to complete ongoing projects in the state and pay attention to other laudable projects that would help the development of the state.
His motion was supported by Mosunmola Sangodara, who represents Surulere Constituency 2.
On his part, Tobun Abiodun, another lawmaker, called on Fashola to put Lagos State utmost in his mind as all families in Nigeria are represented in the state.
The lawmaker said that most business outlets have their headquarters in Lagos State and that President Muhammadu Buhari gave Fashola the job as Works Minister based on his performance in the state.
In his view, the Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade, also agreed that the appointment of Fashola as Works, Power and Housing Minister was based on his performances as the governor of Lagos State, adding that some of the lawmakers in the Assembly were part of the success.
“There is nothing wrong in calling on former governor Fashola to repair our roads.
“We just need to remind him as he was in the forefront of the struggle.
“The prayers should be directed to the President of the country to give attention to Lagos roads and refund the money spent on Federal roads by the state government,” he said.
Gbolahan Yishawu, in his submission, said that the matter should not be limited to roads, but that it should be extended to power and housing.
Expressing slightly a different view, Tunde Buraimoh argued that it was wrong to call on former governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola on the matter as he said that it could be interpreted as seeking for favour.
He reasoned that the Federal Government should rather be called upon to develop Lagos State, as placing the demand on the Minister of Power, Works and Housing could be misunderstood by other Nigerians.
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