Hon. Rasheed Makinde ( APC- Ifako-Ijaiye state constituency II) in Lagos State House of Assembly and constituents on Thursday, applauded Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu for his infrastructure development in the area.
The two-term lawmaker, traditional rulers, and constituents gave the commendation at the Eight Annual Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting organised by the Lagos Assembly simultaneously in all the 40 constituencies of the state.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting tagged: “2023 General Election: The Imperatives of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), was attended by all relevant stakeholders, religious and traditional rulers as well as groups in the area.
Speaking, Makinde said that Sanwo-Olu deserved commendation for recent inauguration of 31 roads in the area and ongoing infrastructure, assuring that the constituency had resolved to reciprocate his gestures with huge votes in the 2023 elections.
The lawmaker, who noted that he had put machinery in place to mobilise eligible voters in the constituency to register for PVCs, said the people were ready to return Sanwo-Olu for second term and vote massively for APC Presidential candidate, Sen. Bola Tinubu.
“It is however, quite worrisome that over 20 million PVCs still remain uncollected across the nation according to a recent INEC report and out of this huge figure, one million are from Lagos state.
“This situation do not augur well for our progress, our democracy and the development of the state as it may create an opportunity for incompetent persons to be elected as our leaders and representatives and thus overturn our achievements.”
Stressing that the state had been so blessed with great and visionary leaders since the second republic with proud record of dividends of democracy, Makinde said there was need for people to collect PVCs to vote in the forthcoming general election.
The lawmaker said the past governors of the state from Late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Tinubu, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode to the present governor Sanwo-Olu, had initiated remarkable and comprehensive policies and reforms which had turned the state around in all areas.
In his welcome address, Mr Hammed Idowu, the Chairman, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area (LCDA), who commended Sanwo-Olu and Makinde for being visionary, said the town hall meeting provided opportunity to address salient issues in the area.
The council boss, said the people of Ojokoro would forever be grateful to Sanwo-Olu for a lot of infrastructure in the area, describing him as “Mr Sellable”
Idowu, who commended Sanwo-Olu for another inauguration of a school on Wednesday in the constituency, expressed optimism that the governor would also attend to whatever demands the stakeholders came up with at the meeting.
Stressing the need for residents to get PVCs, he said the council would put machinery in place to mobilise more people the moment INEC extended the exercise.
“PVC is another opportunity for people to determine the future they want. We should vote for the government that can take us to the promised land,” he said.
Educating the constituents, Mrs Adenike Oriowo, the Public Affairs Officer of INEC, stressed the importance of PVCs as the only power to vote in the government that people wanted.
Oriowo, who decried that over one million PVCs were uncollected in the state, said that many people in the constituency had not yet picked theirs PVCs.
Urging the people to consider PVCs as international passport, Oriowo said: “You can use it to determine a lot of things for yourselves, your children and your nation. Please, mobilise your people and do not sell your PVCs.”
The PRO, who urged eligible voters to register and transfer their registration to all the old and newly created polling units in the area, assured that all new registrants would get their PVCs to vote.
The Oba of Ojokoro, Oba Rilwan Taiwo, urged the electoral commission to further bring both the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) and PVCs distribution closer to the people to give opportunity for many aspiring applicants.
Also, Prince Bolarinwa Adebayo, the Baale of Ajegunle-Alakuko in the constituency, who also commended Sanwo-Olu for road infrastructure inaugurated in the area and Makinde for prioritising education, said the area needed more roads and schools.
“Only people that do not know the value of education will not praise Makinde. We need infrastructure like good roads and schools, especially secondary schools because we do not have enough.
“Some wards do not have school. In Ward G and some other wards, we don’t have secondary schools and there is land for the government to development. We want government to work on youth empowerment, reformation and rehabilitation.”
Mr Gbenga Bello, one of the youth coordinators in Ojokoro, who described Sanwo-Olu and Makinde as men of excellence for their infrastructural, human and youth development, called for more infrastructure in the area as a border area between Lagos and Ogun.
“We need more good road networks, schools, hospitals-we don’t have a general hospital right now and I think we deserve one,” Bello said. (NAN)
