By Dansu Peter
A lawmaker representing Badagry constituency II at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Engineer Sentonji Davids has given the accounts of his stewardship to the people of his constituent in Badagry.
Hon. Sentonji, an Engineer by profession at the well-attended town-hall meeting by well-meaning individual, traditional rulers, politicians, (both All Progressives Congress, APC and the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP) youths, and women which was held yesterday at the Community Hall Igborosun explained his exploits as a lawmaker in the Lagos Assembly; his personal and collective achievements were highlighted.
Below is the Full Text of His Speech at the Event
SPEECH DELIVERED BY HON (ENGR.) SETONJI DAVID, MEMBER HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY REPRESENTING BADAGRY CONSTITUENCY II, AT THE 3RD CONSTITUENCY STAKEHOLDERS’ MEETING ORGANISED BY THE LAGOS STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, HELD ON OCTOBER 6TH 2017 AT IGBOROSUN COMMUNITY HALL, IGBOROSUN, BADAGRY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA.
PROTOCOLS
I am delighted to welcome everyone once again to the 3rd edition of our Annual Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting which, as usual, is being held simultaneously across all the constituencies in the State. I particularly want to thank all those present here for honouring our invitation and for your continued support not just for me as your chosen representative but for your interest in the affairs of your House of Assembly. Your unwavering support for the policies and programs of the State Government as a whole cannot be overemphasized.
The theme for this year’s edition is “True Representation and Accountability”. Our choice of this theme is in consonance with the determination and deep commitment of the leadership of the Lagos State House of Assembly under the able Leadership of thespeaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa in ensuring that our people have meaningful representation through good laws that guarantee infrastructural developments; the creation of more jobs, qualitative education for the benefit of all; affordable health care delivery system that ensures the well-being of our people; the establishment of a security system that promises safety of lives and property amongst others.
Please permit me to inform you with all sense of responsibility that your suggestions, demands and requests at the previous stakeholders’ meetings were collated and forwarded to the Executive arm as promised and were received with enthusiasm by the Governor, His Excellency, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. I am also exceedingly delighted to inform you that most of the various infrastructural projects which are evident and visible across the Local Governments/Local Council Development Areas in the State are some of the outcome of the years 2015 and 2016 meetings respectively.
At this juncture, it is equally instructive for you to note that our achievements which are being attested to both locally and internationally may not have been possible if not for three significant factors.
The first is the cordial and progressive working relationship between the legislature and the Executive arm and our shared vision, mission, passion and commitment towards the development of the State.
The second reason is the commitment of our great progressive party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the fulfilment of its manifesto and other campaign promises to transform our State and make life more meaningful to the people.
Let me seize this opportunity to formally inform you that it was not a surprise that seven (7) out of the eight (8) members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in the House joined the All Progressives Congress earlier this year having witnessed the on-going transformation in the State under the APC-led administration and the inspirational approach of the leadership of the House of Assembly.
The third factor is the cooperation and support which you our dear people have been giving to the government. Without your continued support, cooperation, and belief in us, we would not be where we are today. That is precisely why we are holding this Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting objectives of which are to strengthen participatory democracy; ensure true representation through accountability; seek inputs from constituents on their welfare and needs; and garner continued support of the people for the Government.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have continued to improve on our legislative competence and accomplishments over the past two years, by reviewing our old legislations and initiating new ones where necessary to appropriately meet current needs. We have initiated various legislations that are effectively addressing challenges such as Kidnappings; ritual killings; land grabbing; armed robbery and other crime related issues. We have passed various resolutions that have changed the lives of the people and the face of Lagos State.
Beyond these, our pragmatic laws and vibrant representation have continued to inspire and serve as templates for many legislative institutions across the country and a model for other African countries who have continued to visit us to borrow from our rich democratic and legislative experience.
Having won many awards and international mentions in recognition of our achievements, we are indeed humbled and we promise not to rest on our oars in responding to your needs and being much more circumspect in rising to address emerging challenges in our localities. I wish to state here for record purpose that out of the forty-three (43) bills that have, and are being considered by the House of Assembly, sixteen (16) had been passed into Law; two (2) are about being passed, twelve (12)are being reappraised for more comprehensive legislative attention, while others are at various stages of consideration.
In the area of mediation and dispute resolution, the House, through the activities of its Standing and Ad Hoc Committees has continued to work tirelessly in attending to petitions bordering on matters of injustice, violation of Human rights and other areas of disputes. Our actions as ombudsman in resolving many of the petitions have also helped in decongesting our courts and promoting reconciliation.
In all, the 8th Assembly has received over eight hundred and fifty (850) petitions and attended to over six hundred (600) of them conclusively. Our constant vigilance on the welfare of the citizenry has led to the passage of over two hundred (200) resolutions, a good number of which have been receiving government attention. Examples are the construction of 114 roads in the Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas of the State; relocation of tank farm at Apapa, the provision of alternative parking lots for petroleum tanker drivers at Apapa to ease traffic gridlock along Ikorodu road and many others.
At this point it is important to brief you about the on-going process of further amending the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) by the National Assembly which is aimed at reflecting our needs and aspirations to have a better society. A number of amendments were proposed out of which 21 were approved for further consideration by the State Assemblies. Some of the key areas being proposed for further amendment by the Lagos State House of Assembly are; State Police, Devolution of Power, Restructuring, amongst others.
The pattern of voting on the issues of amendment at the National Assembly is hereby presented to you on a different page and we shall welcome your reactions to guide our pattern of voting on the subject matters as soon as they are finally transmitted to the House of Assembly.
We would continue to keep you updated through our website and other social media platforms and would continue to welcome your comments, advice and suggestions. You can also visit the Assembly to watch our debates at your convenience or through our live streaming at www.lagoshouseofassembly.gov.ng, www.lagosstatehouseofassembly.gov.ng/life and [email protected].
In view of the foregoing, I urge you to please feel free to express your opinions and make valuable contributions that can strengthen our resolve to do more. I assure you that the Government would continue to use whatever information, suggestions and contributions gathered from this exercise in the formulation and execution of policies to the benefit of all, together we can make Lagos a better, more secured cleaner and prosperous place to be.
Therefore, we will be ready to receive memoranda from you, in respect of your opinion and suggestions on how we can better represent your interest and for those who are yet to come up with their memoranda, but wishing to send one, you still have till Monday, 9th October, 2017 to submit same at my Constituency Office.
I thank you for encouraging us so far and responding to our call to attend this Meeting. We are certain that the outcome of today’s meeting would further enhance our collaborative efforts towards making Lagos the State of our dream. We are proud of the Lagos State House of Assembly as a legislature that is above the common standards of excellence.
Ìtèsíwájú Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó ló jẹ́ wa lógún
Thank you and God bless.
No comments