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 Daily
Independent Online.
* Friday, July 02, 2004.
Don’t provoke violence in Lagos, NDP chieftain warns Ogunlewe
By Habib Aruna
Assistant
Political Editor, Lagos
Former
governorship aspirant of the National Democratic Party (NDP) in Lagos
State, Mr. Ademola Amure has expressed fears that the current tango
between Governor Bola Tinubu and Minister of Works, Mr. Adeseye Ogunlewe
might snowball into a major crisis.
Amure
wondered if what Ogunlewe is doing in Lagos is replicated in all the
states of the federation, adding that the minister’s undue interference
in the affairs of the state should be a concern to all stakeholders.
The
NDP chieftain, who spoke with Daily Independent in Lagos on Wednesday,
said the state had always been a peaceful one prior to the emergence of
Ogunlewe. “There had been a relative calm in the state until the
realisation of one minister who thinks being the minister of works gives
him the audacity to control the affairs of Lagos State, ignoring the
other 35 states”, Amure stressed.
He
said even though it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to
maintain federal roads, it is equally explicit in the provisions of the
Constitution that it is the responsibility of the governor to make laws
for his state.
“Where
does a minister derive his powers from to make laws for a state? For four
years before Ogunlewe was appointed, the same Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP)-led government had a minister of works who did not remember that
Lagos was part of Nigeria.
“All
of a sudden, they have woken up from slumber to the realisation that
Lagos deserves the attention that should have been given to it over the
years. It is high time politicians stopped using their offices to the
detriment of the people whose interests they are elected or appointed to
serve”, Amure stated.
He
said his main concern is that the ultimate losers will be the people of
the state, who, according to him, do not care who does what inasmuch as
the right services are rendered to them. He therefore urged the minister
to concern himself with the maintenance of the existing road network and
construction of new ones. Besides, Amure noted that the seriousness of
the minister would be measured within the context of what he is doing in
other parts of the country.
“The Federal Government should
wade in to save the situation from degenerating into what cannot be
controlled. That is the last thing that this state needs right now”, he
counselled.
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