Press Releases

Fashola Urges Nigerians To Take More Active Roles In Politics

Aug 28, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Saturday implored Nigerians to take a more active interest in the politics of the country, saying if they continue to sit on the fence they would have no moral rights to criticize those elected to serve.

Governor Fashola who spoke at the Annual Ramadan lecture organized by the Arabic and Islamic Institute, Markaz, Agege added that it is only when credible Nigerians come forward that the political space would be more competitive resulting in the emergence of the best.

The Governor urged the citizenry including religious leaders to always collaborate with elected leaders as such leaders do not possess all the solutions, adding that when the ratio of elected leaders is taken against the number of people they administer power over, it is a very negligible number that are in government.

He also called for a revisit of the revenue allocation formula which currently favours the Government at the centre to the detriment of component units, adding that the necessary constitutional amendments should be made to correct the present straight jacketed lumping of all Local Governments in one category.

Governor Fashola said while some Local Governments are endowed with mineral resources and deposits, some are riverine while for those in the North, there main preoccupation is to cattle rearing and milk production , adding that it is ironic that each one gets the same allocation, irrespective of its different features.

The Governor said the State Government is committed to ensuring that public schools are fully equipped with laboratories and Information Technology equipments which would stand the schools in good stead to compete with products of private schools.

He explained that teachers at the public schools would also enjoy continuous training and retraining to empower them to impart adequate knowledge to the pupils and students.

He noted that government seeks to embark on this because the schools act as a leveler for both the children of the poor and the rich where they mix and experience the peculiarities of each other's world and become lifelong friends.

Governor Fashola described the period of Ramadan as a very blissful one which he wished should continue as it promotes the spirit of sharing and good neighbourliness.

In his lecture, the Director of the Institute, Sheikh Habeebullah Adam Abdullah AL-ILORI (OON) commended the present administration in the State for the giant strides which it has recorded in the area of provision of infrastructure.

He added that the average resident of the State is happier to pay his taxes now because he can feel the impact of the Government more than ever before.

Sheikh Abdullah AL-ILORI (OON) attributed the achievements recorded so far to the positive spin offs from continuity. He offered prayers for the continued well being of the Governor and his predecessor in office Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Governor Fashola was received on arrival in the institute by its management committee, the Special Assistant to the Governor on Religious Affairs (lslam), Imam AbdulHakeem Kosoko, the teeming students of the school and residents of the area who trooped out to welcome him.