Lagos Assembly urges Buhari to address agitations for restructuring, dialogue

Lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to listen to agitations from Nigerians for restructuring and dialogue on the future of the country with a view to addressing their fears.

They also urged Governor Babajide Olusola SanwoOlu of the state to continue to provide the necessary atmosphere for the economic development of the state.

The lawmakers took turns to speak on the 60th independence anniversary of the country after the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams raised the issue during plenary on Monday 5th October, 2020 under Matter of Urgent Public Importance.

Adams recalled that Nigeria got independence on 1st October, 1960.

Going down memory lane, he said that it was on 1st October 1900 that the Northern and Southern Protectorates were created and that in 1914, the northern and southern protectorate were amalgamated.

“The Motion for the independence of Nigeria was moved in 1953 by Anthony

Enahoro. We got independence in 1960, but we have had issues such as the civil war, economic challenges and others.

“Since independence, the issue of national unity has always been the problem. The issue of economic development has been a problem and we have been depending on oil and attention has not been on industrialisation.

“Lagos has always been at the forefront of development for the country, so the state needs to be given a special status,” he said.

The Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa said in his comment that the views of the lawmakers were not the same and that what they wanted were different.

“If we talk about what we have achieved, we should compare it with the fund that we have had and see if they commensurate.

“We should look at the countries that have developed not those that are struggling. We should look at our problems and see what we have done wrong.

“We talk about poverty, unemployment, inflation, lack of qualitative education, ethnic division, Oodua, Biafra, Arewa and the people of Niger Delta are making agitations.