Following public outcry and condemnation by concerned residents of Ikorodu division on the perceived neglect of Ikorodu division in the area of project distribution and execution by the Lagos state government, under the administration of Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, a member, representing Ikorodu constituency 1 in the Lagos state house of assembly and majority leader of the state assembly, Hon SOB Agunbiade has corrected the impression by his constituents, saying that, the government is committed to all the projects it has indicated interest in carrying out across the division.
Agunbiade made the assertion on the sideline of the Lagos state house of assembly, Ikorodu Constituency 1 town hall meeting held at the Ikorodu campus of Lagos state polytechnic tagged, “True Representation & Accountability”. The meeting which was held at the 700-Seater Auditorium of the Lagos State Polytechnic Main Campus in Ikorodu on Friday, October 6, 2017 was well attended by stakeholders across constituency 1.
He stated that, the reason for the perceived delay in the take off many of the projects scattered across the division was the issue of fund appropriation and allocation, as well as processes leading to visible take off of many of the projects.
‘Ikorodu is not being marginalized in any way. What we need to do is to engage the government in constructive dialogue. We have to come together to speak as one. The governor cannot come down to Ikorodu to make public statement that he is not committed to. For instance, the Ikorodu stadium that is being proposed for Lagos state polytechnic will require a lot of per-construction processes like site survey, soil test and other procedures before practical construction work can commence. Ditto for the Isawo-Owutu-Arepo and Igbe-Ginti road among other projects’.
Speaking further, Agunbiade said, ‘Ikorodu has only six out of the 57 local government and local council development areas, and the governor must give all of them equal attention. This is apart from the fact that the nation is undergoing recession, where many state governments cannot even pay staff salary. We all need to be patient with this government that has been up and doing, for paying salaries promptly and still embarking on capital projects at the same time’.
Hundreds of Ikorodu residents drawn from the traditional council, market women, community development associations, student bodies who participated at the town hall meeting praised Hon Agunbiade for his steadfastness and practical representation of Ikorodu constituency 1 at the house of assembly.
They however seized the opportunity to appeal to Agunbiade to prevail on the state government to intervene on troubled roads like Sulaiman Shoderu, Ikorodu-Sagamu road, among many other projects.
