By Fatima Zahra Muhammad
A former Minister of Communications, retired Major General Tajudeen Olanrewaju, has opined that the next Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly should be an indigene of the state.
This is contained in a statement he signed and made available to ASHENEWS on Saturday.
Olanrewaju, who was commenting on the recent report that the current speaker of the house, Mr Mudashiru Obasa has indicated interest to rerun for the position urged him to respect the interest of the indigenous people of Lagos.
“An indigene from Lagos State should occupy the speaker’s seat of Lagos State House of Assembly. Speaker Obasa should be interested in equity and balance to not contest the position of the speaker. This is just my plea to our respected brother, Speaker Emeritus.
“With the best of intentions, the Lagos State House of Assembly should promote the highest interests and best ideals of the five Divisions of the State in their business,”he said.
Olanrewaju said that the Lagos State House of Assembly has failed to take leadership at the Assembly since the beginning of the democratic dispensation.
“They are always deprived of the majority and denied perspective participation. Omoeko Pataki, of which I’m a trustee, would be keen to observe the process of business in the assembly and encourage the members to promote the best possible ideals of our indigenous IBILE people of Lagos State, particularly in the employment into the civil and public services, empowerment and promotions to the senior cadres in government.
He further cited the recent recruitment exercise for the appointment of Magistrates as one of the cases of marginalization of indigenes in the state.
“I would want to observe a sea change, which will redefine the rules of marginalization that underline almost every facet of employment in the public and civil service in the State. The general opinion held is that an indigene had been experiencing a long-standing history of obstacles to getting to the top of his position.
“For example, the recently concluded tests and interviews on new magistrate appointments left a bitter taste in the mouth. The indigenes that did very well were not considered for engagement, and those appointed, apart from some of them being non-indigenes, did not perform better than the best indigenous choices.
“This has been the pattern most of the time. It is not certain if Governor Sanwoolu was aware of what the scene looked like at the Ministry of Justice. This is not a blame game, but there is a need for a dynamic transformation in the state government, by paying attention to demands of the indigenes for peace and development,” he said.
