Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Dr. Mudashiru Obasa, has declared that council chairmen in the state will, henceforth, face strict monitoring to make them meet the yearnings and aspirations of their people,
Obasa said reports available to the House have shown that some of the council chairmen have not met the expectations of their people, so far. He warned that it will no longer be business as usual in the councils as the Assembly would now ensure strict compliance to serving the interests of the people.
At separate meetings with council chairmen, vice chairmen, councillors and senior staff of councils in Lagos recently, the Speaker said: “I wonder how you sleep with your eyes closed while your council cannot even build and equip a good maternity centre. You can’t justify the fact that in six months, there is no meaningful project done by you in your community.
“Some councils have no single project for over two years; you treat vice chairmen and councillors like they must be subservient even when you are going astray. Some of your councillors have not received official vehicles up till now.
“Some of your councils do not have legislative chambers, meaning that the councillors have not been holding sittings. How do you get approval for the money you spend?”
He told them he was aware some councils borrow money up to nine-digit figures without approvals or due process and lease council property without caution.
“It is now strictly going to be true governance at the grassroots level. If you don’t develop your communities, where would you fall back to when you leave office? How would the people see you?”
Going forward, he said, each council chairman must adopt “a policy that every quarter, there must be something to show that he is truly in office. Let there be something to commission.
“If you’re to construct a road, it shouldn’t be one that would last for a month or a year. It should be something that would make people pray for you each time they pass through it. Let’s truly serve our people.”
