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Lagos Assembly urges government support for school girl suffering teargas injury

The Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the government to support Amina Alege, a 12-year-old student of the Adam Yakubu Memorial High School who suffered an eye injury after she was allegedly tear-gassed by the police.

The incident occurred on Friday, February 9, in front of a mosque near Adam Yakubu Memorial High School in Iloro, Cement, Agege, Lagos.

The House called on the Commissioner for Health, Professor Akin Abayomi, and the ministry to offer necessary support to the young girl, who is billed for surgery.

The matter was brought to the attention of the House by Hon. Abiodun Orekoya, Chairman, House Committee on Sports and Youth Development during yesterday’s plenary session presided over by Deputy Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda on behalf of Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa.

Read Also: Shall we tell the President?

Orekoya said he received the information through a human rights organisation, adding that the incident happened when two schools were embroiled in a clash and the police intervened with tear-gas.

He said the student’s parents have been borrowing money to pay for her treatment and that she was currently admitted at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH).

Orekoya pleaded with the House to call on Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to offer support to the parents and help save Amina’s life before the situation worsens.

Supporting Orekoya’s appeal, Hon. Kehinde Joseph (Alimosho 2) emphasised that since the student attended a government-owned school, it was necessary for the governor to step in.

Joseph further requested that the House investigated the incident to prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Deputy Speaker Meranda directed the Chairman of the House Committee on Education (Secondary) to summon the management of both schools involved in the clash and investigate what led to the clash.

They are expected to report back within one week.

February 16, 2024
Lagos Assembly urges NASS to begin constitutional amendment process
- Reiterates call for state police
The Lagos State House of Assembly has called on the National Assembly to begin the process of constitutional amendment to allow for the creation of state police.

At a plenary on Monday, February 12, presided over by the speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, the House also called for the proper equipping of the Neighbourhood Safety Corps to support other security agencies in the state.

Obasanjo, who spoke under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’, said: “At the weekend, we heard of the attack on a commercial bus and the passengers abducted.”

Highlighting a recent kidnap in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, Obasa reiterated calls by the House for the establishment of state police adding that the country’s security system is overstretched.

He said: “This time around the National Assembly should be our focus. They don’t have to wait till the twilight of their tenure to start a constitutional amendment.

Read Also: Lagos Assembly passes N2.267tr budget for 2024

“This administration is at the beginning of its four years so the National Assembly should begin the amendment now and we should be part of it to end the issue of state police.”

The speaker also allayed fears that governors could hijack the state police to their advantage. According to him, the laws would put a system in place to check excesses.

While urging the Lagos State government to allocate a specific percentage from the Security Trust Fund to empower and strengthen the Neighbourhood Safety Corps, Obasa said it would be good to address the root causes of insecurity through effective youth engagement initiatives, such as sports.

He added: “We must consider factors that lead to insecurity. Poverty – in this period of rising inflation – we can continue bringing relief to our people. Sports has been a very effective tool to take our youth away from crime.”

Aro Moshood (Ikorodu 2) shared a harrowing account of the recent kidnapping in Igbogbo Bayeku and appealed to the government for enhanced security surveillance in the area.

Ajayi Oladele (Ibeju-Lekki 2) stressed the need for proactive measures by the government, especially to address the influx of people into Lagos without proper accommodation plans.
February 12, 2024
JUST IN: Lagos Assembly passes N2.267tr budget for 2024

The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed the N2.267 trillion budget for 2024 presented by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu last year.

The budget, comprising 58 per cent capital expenditure and 42 per cent recurrent expenditure, was approved after a unanimous voice vote by the lawmakers.

Governor Sanwo-Olu, on December 13, 2023, presented the 2024 budget proposal of N2.246 trillion to the House, saying the state anticipates an internally generated revenue of N1.251 trillion and federal government allocations of N596.629 billion.

Prior to its passage, Chairman of the joint-committee on Budget and Finance, Sa’ad Olumoh, presented a report of the committee, which recommended that the Public Works Corporation, the Water Corporation and the state-owned tertiary institutions be placed on first-line charge to enable them perform optimally.

Obasa, during the presentation, said the government should ensure a functional budget.

“It is highly important for us to apply the right indices towards ensuring a performing and functioning budget that would lift our people out of poverty and reposition the state towards infrastructural growth and renewal.

Read Also: Lagos Assembly takes inventory of roads

“Palliatives should move from just giving people garri, rice, beans or even money. We should have a direction that is focused, impactful and deeply backed up by effective policy implementations.

“For instance, in the name of palliative care, let there be provision of drugs at all public hospitals at subsidised rates. At the same time, focus should be on a downward review of treatment costs in these hospitals,” the Speaker said during the budget presentation,” he noted.

During plenary, Obasa said: “A bill for a law to authorise the issuance and appropriation of N952,430,566,998 from the Consolidated Revenue Fund for Recurrent Expenditure and N1,315,545,553,871 from Development Fund for Capital Expenditure, thereby totaling a budget size of N2,267,976,120,869 for the year ending 31st December, 2024, be passed into law.”

Obasa also hailed the lawmakers for their dedication and cooperation at ensuring a quick passage of the Appropriation Bill, and directed the Clerk of the House, Olalekan Onafeko, to forward a copy of the approved budget to Governor Sanwo-Olu for assent.

January 5, 2024
BREAKING: APC’s Age-Suleiman replaces LP’s Doherty at Lagos Assembly

The candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Amuwo-Odofin Constituency 2 at the Lagos Assembly, Rauf Age-Suleiman, on Wednesday, Demember 13, took his oath of office.

Age-Suleiman took the oath before Speaker Mudashiru Obasa and other lawmakers just before the presentation of the 2024 budget by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

With this oath, he has replaced the Olukayode Doherty of the Labour Party who was recently sacked by the Court of Appeal.

Read Also: Lagos Assembly takes inventory of roads

Speaker Obasa, while welcoming him, urged the lawmaker to cooperate with his colleagues and constantly remember those who he represents.

Obasa also congratulated the governor, the APC and the people of Amuwo-Odofin saying that with the oath of office, the ruling party now has 39 members in the House.

December 13, 2023
Lagos Assembly takes inventory of roads

Lagos State House of Assembly has begun an assessment of roads in the state to ascertain their current conditions and ensure they are fixed.

This is coming days after lawmakers decried the terrible conditions of some roads within the state.

Chairman of the House Committee on Works and Infrastructure, Desmond Elliot, said the committee has the approval of the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, to examine the challenges and come up with recommendations to help the state.

He said: “The Speaker and the House are concerned about the conditions of the roads in the state, especially that some are washed away a few months or years after they are built.

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“This tour of roads is about ensuring longevity for them and forestalling the havocs created by the rains. More rains might be coming next year, so we are working to ensure the roads are safe, accessible to residents and durable for the benefit of mankind.

“We are also looking at collaborative efforts among the tiers of government. At the end of the exercise, we should be able to give a more concrete report regarding good roads, the not-so-good ones and make presentations to the House for a solution.”

The lawmaker hinted that erring contractors could face sanctions.

He also said the committee, under Obasa’s instruction, met with the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on Works, and presented documents that would help with the fixing of federal roads in Lagos.

“The meeting was fruitful and we are hopeful. We will not stop but make sure all our roads, whether federal, state or local, are fixed. We will work to ensure that Lagos roads are second to none,” he added.

A member of the committee, Femi Saheed, said the tour would help the House to know the level of involvement of the federal, state and local governments in the projects.

“We want a holistic and symbiotic relationship among these tiers of government,” he said.

Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Works and Infrastructure, Adekunle Olayinka, said the ministry would take another look at areas where the committee expressed dissatisfaction with the level of work.

He praised the Assembly for the tour and promised that government would continue to do its best to meet the challenges of road infrastructure in the state.

November 30, 2023
JUST IN: Lagos Assembly demands identities of Sanwo-Olu’s new six cabinet nominees

The Lagos Assembly has received a letter from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu seeking the screening and confirmation of six new nominees for cabinet positions.

At a sitting presided over by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, the Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, read the letter before the lawmakers, quoting the governor as seeking the confirmation of a commissioner-nominee and five nominees in the position of special advisers.

However, the letter only named the commissioner-nominee as Mr. Abiodun Ogunleye, while the identities of the nominees for the position of special adviser were not mentioned making the House resolve to write back to the governor for the remaining identities.

This was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday, November 21, by

Chief Press Secretary to the speaker, Eromosele Ebhomele.

Obasa, while agreeing with the lawmakers that names should be attached to the letter, said: “it is necessary for us to know who and who would become part of the cabinet.”

Reacting earlier, the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Adedamola Richard Kasunmu, observed that the letter did not follow the usual procedure of revealing the identities of the nominees.

“Thus, the process of not mentioning the names seems like coming through the backdoor,” he said.

He was supported by his colleagues, Hon. Ladi Ajomale and Hon. Owolabi Ajani, who noted that the previous lists from the governor had details of the nominees and that this made the screening by the ad-hoc committee easy.

“But in this case, it is only the commissioner-nominee that had a name attached to it and this is surprising. Maybe we should also pass information to the governor that the names should be specified,” Ajomale said.

Read Also: BREAKING: Lagos Assembly invites top govt officials over motorists’ recklessness

Meanwhile, the Lagos State House of Assembly has invited the state’s procurement agency over reports of alleged spendings by the Offices of the Governor and the Deputy Governor.

Obasa, while noting that the executive arm of government had made efforts to declare the story as untrue, it was necessary for the House to look into the issue so as the establish the facts behind the story.

“So we call on the committee in charge of procurement to invite the agency and others mentioned and do a thorough job on this in order to establish facts concerning the publications,” the Speaker said.

November 21, 2023
BREAKING: Lagos Assembly invites top govt officials over motorists’ recklessness

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday, November 14, frowned at the alleged recklessness of some motorists operating in the state just as the lawmakers raised concerns over the activities of some officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA).

At a plenary presided over by the speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, the House invited the Commissioner for Transportation, Oluwaseun Osiyemi, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Transportation, Hon. Sola Giwa, to appear and give explanations concerning the incessant recklessness of drivers and the roles played by LASTMA officials.

Also invited, among others, is the General Manager of LASTMA, Bolaji Oreagba.

The decision of the House followed a ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’ raised by a member, Hon. Temitope Adewale, on the death of two officials of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) resulting from a road rage engaged in by two drivers.

The media assistant to the speaker, Eromosele Ebhomele, said that Obasa, while noting that incidents involving recklessness of drivers and careless attitudes of LASTMA officials were on the increase, said, in addition to the invitation of the affected top officials, there was a need to revisit the laws guiding transportation in the state.

He said: “The Commissioner and others can be invited so we know what to do to change the current narrative. It is good that we also look at the law to see the penalties. Maybe this would reduce such recklessness on the roads.

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“The driver who has been arrested must be prosecuted to the latter. If the driver is not found, the owner of the vehicle should be arrested where the driver is an employee of someone so as to serve as deterrent to other motorists,” Dr. Obasa said.

The speaker also supported suggestions by the Majority Leader, Noheem Adams, and another lawmaker, Gbolahan Yishawu, that modern technology be added by the government in the cleaning of roads in the state, but said it was necessary to accommodate the sweepers, who, he argued, were employed to earn a living and assist their families.

Obasa added: “We have to call on our people, the road users, to be very careful. LAWMA should also come up with ideas to help protect staff, insure them and make the motorists know when the sweepers are working,” the Speaker said while calling for more enlightenment of motorists.

The House held a minute silence in honour of the deceased while Obasa instructed the Clerk, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, to convey a condolence message to the bereaved families.

Meanwhile, the House of Assembly may dust up the law regulating transportation to address the problem of alleged multiple taxations by various unions in the sector.

Obasa gave the hint following a motion raised by Hon. Adewale, over a recent protest against alleged extortion by the transport unions in Lagos.

He noted: “This alleged extortion affects our people generally and looking at the economic condition of the country, we need to intervene. We must be able to define the paths that these unionists have to tread so that they do not make life unbearable for the people.

“At every bus stop, they collect money causing traffic snare. At the end, the man making the payment would go home with nothing and to avoid this, he has to put the weight on the commuters.

“We must avoid a situation where people would be moved to take laws into their hands. We need to extract seriousness out of this situation. Where there is a law, there will be penalties,” he said while calling for the engagement of candidates recently interviewed for recruitment into the Neighbourhood Safety Corps to expand the security network in the state.

The House resolved to invite the transport unions in the state for discussion.

November 14, 2023
Lagos Assembly’s probe of MDAs
Sir: The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership, CACOL, has received the news that the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Public Accounts has begun investigation of MDAs in the state as it relates to the Auditor General’s Report about them with great joy.

It will be recalled that, Hon. Kehinde Olaide Joseph, chairman of the Public Accounts Committee of the assembly, was quoted by media as saying “the exercise was to ensure that the committee’s statutory oversight is used as an antidote to financial recklessness by MDAs in the state and that the consideration of the report is in consonance with the need for improved efficiency and best practices in the pursuit of the statutory objectives of the Public Accounts Committee.

According to the chairman of the committee, the exercise will cover the period from January 1 to December 31, 2022 as well as the economic activities of all the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government in all sectors of the state government. The committee will be inviting all heads of indicted MDAs for clarifications regarding the queries raised in the Auditor-General’s Report to enhance service delivery.”

The exercise will ascertain the completion, accuracy, and reliability of the financial transactions within the sectors and confirm the level of compliance with financial regulations, relevant legislations, and accounting standards as well as reflect on each sector’s financial performance and position.

Read Also: Alleged certificate racketeering: Lagos Assembly invites commissioner, LASU VC

We at CACOL are very happy to hear of this noble move by the Lagos State House of Assembly. Lagos being the commercial nerve centre of the country with its huge revenue and gigantic projects springing up at different parts of the state must strive to be a shining light to other states by always making those at the helms of affairs at the various MDAs to give account of their stewardship to the residents of the state.

We hope the exercise would be carried out without political considerations and it would not be used to settle unnecessary political scores. We also want to urge the committee members to make the results of their investigations public, so that ordinary taxpayers in the street would be able to know what is going on in terms of the finances of the state and also the recommendations of the committee should be put to use by both the executive and legislative arms of government in the state.

We want to commend the Lagos State Public Accounts Committee for investigating the activities of these MDAs. The 1999 constitution of Nigeria generally vests the state’s legislature with the power to make laws, although this responsibility is not limited to making laws as a lot of additional responsibility including that of oversight has also been placed upon the legislature. We want to believe that if the current trend by the Public Account Committee of the Lagos State House of Assembly is intensified and sustained with the cooperation of the executive arm of government in the state. Stemming the tide of corruption in the various agencies and parastatals of the state government will not be a herculean task.
- Tola Oresanwo, CACOL, Lagos
November 10, 2023
Alleged certificate racketeering: Lagos Assembly invites commissioner, LASU VC

Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday summoned the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Tolani Akibu, Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Prof. Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, the university’s Senate and other top officials over allegations of extortion and certificate racketeering levelled against the school recently.

Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, noted that the story could be suspicious and not trustworthy because of its tendency to blackmail.

He, however, agreed that the concerned officials should be invited to present facts and to safeguard the institution’s reputation.

Read Also: LASUTH matriculates new set of anesthetic technology students

He said: “I agree that the committee should invite those to be invited to establish facts about the allegation, but we must not because of that destroy our institution’s reputation. If anyone is found wanting, such a person should be sanctioned.”

Moving the motion under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’, Owolabi Ajani told his colleagues that there was need to invite the commissioner, the VC and others for the House to unravel the facts behind the allegation.

Ajani noted that LASU had maintained a high integrity over the years “and this must be sustained.”

While Sa’ad Olumoh urged that the investigation should involve people in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) unit of the institution, Desmond Elliot and Ladi Ajomale supported that the allegation should be investigated.

November 8, 2023
Doctor who operated on boy with missing intestine not a surgeon – Lagos Assembly

Doctor Abayomi Baiyewu, from Obitoks Hospital in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, who performed two surgeries on the late Adebola Akin-Bright, has been revealed not to be a certified surgeon.

This revelation emerged from the House of Assembly ad hoc committee’s investigation into Adebola’s demise.

The committee’s chairman, Noheem Adams, officially disclosed Adebola’s passing during the plenary on Friday, September 22, and highlighted that Dr. Baiyewu had conducted the surgeries based on his medical doctor experience without proper surgical credentials.

Read Also: Sanwo-Olu mourns boy with missing intestine

He said: Baiyewu did not conduct any examination on the boy before the first surgery. He only relied on the report from the initial hospital he was taken to. And when Adebola complained of stomach pains, he was taken back to Obitoks Hospital where Baiyewu carried out another round of surgery by himself.”

According to him, the boy developed further complications and he was taken to LASUTH where his intestine was confirmed missing.

He added: “Dr. Baiyewu told us the parts were mistakenly discarded, and that he planned to do a third surgery before the boy was taken to LASUTH.”

The speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, directed the Clerk, Olalekan Onafeko, to write to the state police command to effect Baiyewu’s arrest.

Obasa also asked the committee to look into other areas, including inviting officials of the Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency (HEFAMAA) which is backed by law to monitor the operations of private hospitals operating in the state.

According to him, the committee should review the extant law to determine if it requires amendment.

The House, however, commiserated with the bereaved family, while Deputy Speaker Mojisola Meranda moved that the hospital be sealed.

September 22, 2023