LAGOS — THE Conference of Local Government Chairmen in Lagos State yesterday alleged that agents of the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Works and the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are trying to cripple the new councils in the state which it said “are capable of destroying the very foundations of democracy not only in Lagos state but in Nigeria in general.”
The group however warned the PDP in the state, saying that patience was fast wearing out and that it would no longer sit back and watch lawless elements of the party backed up by some of its chieftains to undermine the legitimate councils of the state.
These came on the heels of several attacks launched in the recent past on some local government councils in the state which were said to have been perpetrated by people claiming to be agents of the Federal Ministry of Works by the name Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA).
“We will no longer allow a situation whereby political rascals, who neither understand nor believe in democracy, openly insult and assault the sacred mandate reposed in us by the people as local government chairmen,” they warned.
Addressing an emergency news conference yesterday, held at the Bagauda Kaltho press centre, secretariat, Ikeja, Lagos, which was attended by the 57 council chairmen in the state, the chairman of the conference, Alhaji Muniru Muse said the Alliance for Democracy (AD) government of Lagos had restrained from acting for too long, stressing that the time of grace was over.
His words: “Let it be said loud and clear that our people have a democratic right to self-defence and the right to defend their mandate. If those who have the duty to protect these rights refuse for any reason to do so, the people will defend themselves.”
“We therefore call on the President Olusegun Obasanjo and the entire PDP leadership at all levels to call the Lagos State PDP to order immediately, in particular the Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, who is the arrowhead of the PDP’s agents against the good people of Lagos State”, he stated.
Saying that the PDP and FERMA incessant attacks and actions were undermining the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the councils, Muse added: “It is clear that the actions of the PDP and FERMA in undermining the revenue base of our councils through out Lagos state is an outright violation of the explicit ruling of the Supreme Court.
He said the activities of the PDP and FERMA were direct slaps in the face of the judiciary and an assault against the rule of law, saying that the people of Lagos would not allow this to continue.
His words: “We are serving a clear notice today that the days of attempting to run invisible parallel governments in our local government through Senator Ogunlewe’s special implementation assistance are over. We cannot and will not allow a situation in which those who do not have the mandate of the people to take over our councils. There can be no separate governors or local government chairmen in disguise for federal highways”.
The council chairman warned Ogunlewe that if Lagos State could be at the forefront of the struggle against a full blown military dictatorship, “we have all it takes to effectively contain any unruly civilian dictator in a democratic dispensation.
“We must assure the minister that if the most vicious military dictatorships could not intimidate us in Lagos, he is the last person with the capacity to do so. Anybody who thinks that the fear of a state of emergency in Lagos State will deter our people from defending their rights is living in a wool of illusion.
“We will stand by the people’s mandate at all times. We will never compromise the cause of truth and justice. As for those who are clamouring for and working towards a state of emergency in Lagos State, we urge them to pause and learn from history. As it happened in the Western Region in the first republic, any abuse of emergency powers in Lagos State will only propel Nigeria’s fragile democracy to the emergency casualty ward from which she may never recover. A word is sufficient for the wise”, he warned.
