Shun protest, government doing its best, Lagos Speaker appeals
The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa ,has appealed to residents not to participate in the planned protest against hardship in the interest of peace and progress.
Obasa made tbe appeal on Wednesday while addressing his constituents at a stakeholders meeting on peace and security in Agege area of the state.
The Speaker said protest was not needed in the state as the government was doing its best to meet the needs of the people.
Obasa urged parents and guardians to discourage their children, wards neighbours and family members from joining the protest or being part of anything that could breach peace in the state.
“We are enjoying the dividends of democracy in Lagos, especially in Agege, because Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has been making life better for us.
“There are many development projects ongoing in Lagos. If the government is doing all these, why will any of us want to be combative towards the government?
“The current inflation is not peculiar to Nigeria alone. It has affected other countries. The ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia, as well as the war between Israel and Palestine, have contributed to inflation.
“The impact of war and insecurity is what we are experiencing now. Both the federal and state governments are doing everything to alleviate these challenges. ” he said.
Also speaking ,Rep. Wale Ahmed, a member representing Agege Federal Constituency at the House of Representative, appealed to Agege residents not to participate in the protest.
Ahmed, however ,said those who believe the protest should hold should not let it cross the line of a peaceful protest.
The lawmaker noted that he knew President Tinubu had good intentions for Nigerians and he was working hard to correct the challenges facing the country.
He said everyone, including those planning to foment trouble in the name of protest ,knew the president was trying his best.
He said the president needed more time to fix the country ,urging residents to be patient with the present administration.
The lawmaker acknowledged that things are tough at the moment, but urged citizens to continue to keep faith with government to turn things around.
The Chairman, Agege Local Covernment Area, Mr Ganiyu Egunjobi,also cautioned residents against joining the protest.
Egunjobi reminded the gathering of the damage caused during the EndSARS protest and stressed the need to protect the state’s infrastructure.
He said: “We are here today to sensitise our residents of Agege to the upcoming protests called by some faceless groups.
“We will not be part of the protest because our peaceful coexistence in Agege cannot be compromised as we all know what happened during the 2020 EndSARS protest.
“Two police stations were burnt down so we don’t want such incidents to repeat itself in Agege because the people of the council are already enjoying the dividend of democracy.”
Ogunjobi while sympathising with ordinary Nigerians on the present situation , said hardship was a global issue.
Stakeholders at the meeting ,including religious leaders ,spoke in turns to advise against joining the protest.
The clerics stressed that President Tinubu had only been in office for a year and needed more time to address the country’s issues.
