A group, SomoLondon Movement has rallied all residents in Somolu Local Government Area in Lagos State on its plans to open up the LGA for robust development initiatives.
The Movement, according to its Convener, Gbenga Abdulai said, the plans were in tandem with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Participants for the submit drawn across various sub sectors gathered to discuss a 10-year development blue for the local government.
National Union Of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, represented by
Olawale Jayeola, lamented lack of designated garages and parks in Somolu, which according to him, causes congestion and indiscriminate parking in the area.
Jayeola said apart from the risk posed by indiscriminate parking, lack of designated garages also made his members vulnerable to incessant crack down by officials of the Lagos State Traffic Taskforce,adding” this way, we are made to suffer consequences of a problem we did not create.”
In their respective submissions at the Summit, representative of Market Associations, Chief Mrs Olufojude and her counterpart representing People With Disability, PWD, Ladipo Oluwakemi said though they were impressed by the strides of President Tinubu in the area of grassroots development, there was still need need for more inclusivity.
According to them, it is only through inclusivity that their members and the masses can be carried along and encouraged to contribute to the process of nation building and grassroots development.
In his response, Abdulai, said SomoLondon Movement had encapsulated sustainable solutions in its 10-year Development Plan to ameliorate various socio-economic problems in Somolu.
Abdulai said, the 10-year Development plan designed by his team contained measures to crash food prices, reduce cost of accomodation, equip schools with state-of the-art laboratories, and improve road networks, among other things in the local government area.
He added that the needs have been identified to set up Somolu Local Government Governing Advisory Council and Somolu Stakeholders Monitoring Group.
He noted that the former would comprise of political leaders to advice the Chairman on the implementation of programmes as is the case with Lagos State while the latter made of representatives of the various socio-economic groups, would monitor project implementation and hold the Chairman accountable on his campaign promises.
Abdulai also added that his group would involve in massive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in all sectors, particularly, the education sector.
He said requirement for all-session supply of stationery, especially exercise books to schools could be met through collaborations between the local government and corporate organizations.
Abdulai said feasibility survey carried out by SomoLondon Movement revealed that corporate bodies, especially banks would always be willing to support the local government in the area of stationery supplies to schools, if given the opportunity.
“We can ensure that each child gets the quantity of exercise books he requires for each session with the support of corporate organizations. All we need do is to allow these corporate bodies promote their interest by branding the exercise books and they would be willing to fund production of the stationery.
“So the government does not have to provide budget for production of exercise books nor would parents have to bear the financial stress of procuring exercise books for their children.
“It’s going to be win-win for all the stakeholders, especially government and parents, considering the way rising cost of production has shot up prices of stationery.”
The group’s lead also identified skill acquisition as one of the measures for poverty reduction in the society.
He said appropriate focus must be placed on the welfare of apprentice artisans to reduce the rate of truancy or malingering in the course of training.
He said apprentice artisans also deserved free feeding like their counterparts in schools, adding that this is one practical way of actualizing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ s Renewed Hope Agenda for youth development through efficient skill acquisition.
Meanwhile, the group has received commendations from various political leaders.
The group was hailed for the quality and ingenuity of various ideas in its 10-year Integrated development plan for Somolu.
Former Special Adviser to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Local Government And Chieftaincy Affairs and Chairman of the Summit, Prince Bayo Osiyemi said Abdulai and his team of technocrats have demonstrated deep understanding of the various problems confronting grassroots development and solutions to them.
In his remark, a political leader, Somolu/Bariga Federal Constituencies, Apostle Peter Oyewusi commended Abdulai and his team for raising the bar for grassroots development strategies.
