Ashafa Renews Call for Federal Support for Lagos
Initiates 26 bills, 12 motions under seven years
The Chairman of Senate Committee on Land Transport, Senator Gbenga Ashafa at the weekend said Lagos State deserved special support from the federal government, not only because the state was the former federal capital territory, but also because of undue pressure its growing population exerts on its infrastructure on daily basis.
Ashafa, currently representing Lagos East senatorial district in the National Assembly, disclosed that he had fully executed a total of 96 projects; initiated 26 bills and sponsored 12 motions within seven and half years he had served in the Senate.
He made case for special support for the state during a telephone conversation with THISDAY on Friday, noting that he would work his colleagues across the federation to ensure the federal government grant the state special status if re-elected next year.
Ashafa, a two-term senator from Lagos East, is seeking re-election to the ninth National Assembly on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC). However, a member of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Bayo Osinowo has entered into the senatorial race, thereby making the contest a two-horse in the party’s primary election.
In conversation with THISDAY, Ashafa explained his decision to seek re-election to the ninth senate, noting that he had a mission “to push for special status for Lagos State in the senate. I have worked on this initiative the last seven years, but the bill suffered setback on the altar of national politics on three different occasions.
“Lagos State deserves special support from the federal government. The state is the economic gateway of Nigeria. Aside, millions of people move in and out of the state regularly, thereby making it imperative that we continue to build on our infrastructure.
“Lagos State, also, generates and remits to the Federation Account the highest corporate taxes in the country. This tax receipt is then shared across the entire country without due consideration for the state that generates the lion’s share of the funds,” he said.
He acknowledged that senators from other geo-political zones “have not really bought into this idea. We cannot force our will on the people of Nigeria. We, in the Senate, must engage our colleagues; debate the issues around Lagos special status intelligently; build strong consensus and eventually get a fair deal for the people of Lagos.
“I can tell you that this is already happening. Senator Remi Tinubu and I are working extremely hard to make this happen. Before the completion of the ninth senate, I believe we will have made tremendous progress on this. Pushing for special support for Lagos State is at the heart of my re-election bid,” the senator noted.
Speaking on what he achieved in the last seven and half years in the senate, the lawmaker disclosed that he completed at least 96 projects; initiated 26 bills as well as sponsored 12 motions apart from hundreds of women and youths he claimed to have empowered.