By Chukwudi Nweje
Mr. Folajimi Lai Mohammed represents Ikeja 1 Constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly. In this interview, he spoke about his achievements in his two years in the assembly.
You have spent two years so far in the Lagos State House of Assembly. What can you point at that you have done for your constituency?
I have done many things that are within my parameter to do, especially in terms of intervention programmes and may be in terms of poverty alleviation and creation of wealth, like you saw last when I presented a car-wash to a community in Onigbongbo and in the education sector where I donated 50 chairs and tables. I’m pretty much limited to that. But in terms of employment, when it comes to the civil service and job creation, these are things that are within the ambit of the executive, but what I can do is to relay back the messages from my constituents to the executive and see how I can influence them to be implemented.
There are 17 primary schools in Onigbonbo and none in Oregun. How are you responding to these demands for more schools?
When you talk about addressing the needs of schools, we are talking about structures , infrastructure, including tables and chairs. So when you have 17 primary schools in a particular local government area, it shows its importance to the community. However, we have taken note of all the demands and sent it to the state government through the ministry of Education and we are hopeful because we have a responsive government and I ‘m sure the government will get to that.
You just held a constituency stakeholders meeting, what is about?
The essence of the stakeholders’ meeting is to engage and interact with the constituents, feel their pulse and know what their feelings are and then see how we can bridge the gap between the constituents and the people at the top. This is the third edition in the series and as usual, it is organised simultaneously throughout all the constituencies in Lagos State.
The choice of the theme is in consonance with the determination and deep commitment of the Lagos State House of Assembly to ensure that our people have meaningful representation through good laws that will guarantee infrastructural development, the creation of jobs, qualitative education for the benefit of all, affordable healthcare delivery that will ensure the well-being of our people as well as the establishment of a security system that promises safety of lives and property among others.
Comparatively, Lagos State seems to be faring better than other states of the federation. Why do you think that is so?
The achievements of the Lagos State government which is acknowledged nationally and internationally was made possible by three major factors: the first is the cordial relationship between the executive and the legislature and their shared vision to transform Lagos State. The second factor is the commitment of the All Progressives Congress to the fulfillment of its campaign promise to transform the state and make life more meaningful for the people and the third factor is cooperation and support of the people. It is the support we receive from the people that informed this stakeholders’ meeting, the objective of which is to strengthen participatory democracy and ensure true representation based on rendering account to and seeking inputs from the constituents.