EXPECT MORE SCHOOLS, BETTER ROADS IN SECOND TERM – Obe

By Abolaji Adebayo

Tackling the menace of bad roads and inadequate public schools will be the priorities of Hon. Monsuru Bello Obe, the chairman of Ejigbo Local Council Development Area if he wins the July 24 council polls.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with ECHONEWS, Obe said a survey of the expectations of residents of the LCDA of the incoming administration highlighted the need to fix the bad roads and improve access to education.

He said most of the respondents clamoured for the rehabilitation of Ifoshi road, the main street in the traditional part of the town.

In response to the demand, Obe said he has resolved that, although it is under the purview of the Lagos State government, his administration will ensure the road is properly fixed from Iyana Ejigbo down to Ejigbo Police Station if he wins the second term ticket.

His words: “What we plan to do differently in our second term in office is to assist the government at the state level being a government that is running on the same political platform. The trunk B roads in Ejigbo are so many that we believe that the suffering of our people can also be alleviated by fixing some of those state government roads particularly the ones that have to do with all the travellers in Ejigbo be it inward or outward movement in Ejigbo. For example, the Ifoshi road over the years has been a menace to people of Ejigbo, but this time around, because of the experience we have gotten in the last four years; because of the commitment and because of the way we understand the management of every public infrastructure, we intend going into that kind of big project now to just sustain the loyalty we have for the people of Ejigbo. We are seriously committed to improving on what we have done and to also give a fresh hope that local government too could be a source of joy to any resident of Ejigbo.”

Obe also promised to make the construction of schools a priority.

Assuring that the ongoing construction of the first public primary school in the Ilamose ward will be commissioned before his first term ends, he promised that the first primary school in Aigbaka ward will be built by his administration if elected for another term of four years on July 24.

According to him, the completion of the primary school in the Aigbaka ward will enable his administration to achieve the feat of ensuring that there is no ward in Ejigbo LCDA without a primary school.

“This will empower poor parents who have to put their children in private schools where they pay high fees the ability to reduce their budget by patronizing the free public schools. The children will be able to go to school near their homes.

Recalling that the land to be used for the primary school was previously planned for a cemetery, he said his administration bowed to the wishes of the residents by replacing the project with a public primary school.

Obe said the remaining three plots will be donated to the Lagos State Ministry of Education to build a secondary school beside the council’s proposed public primary school.

Explaining the rationale and expected impact, Obe said: “The number of secondary schools in Ejigbo LCDA, including Ejigbo and Oke Afa/Jakande Estate is just two. They cannot accommodate the number of pupils that graduate from primary to secondary school. So, we determine that, in our next approach, we will donate about three plots of land out of the one-acre that we have just purchased to the state government for the construction of another secondary school in Aigbaka.

“That will make it to be three. And with that one alone, I know that taking our pupils to Okota, to Idimu, after graduating from primary school will reduce because the new school will accommodate more. So these are the little surprises that we pray that God gives us the capacity to deliver as we have said.”

Apart from road and school infrastructures, Obe exclusively told ECHONEWS that his administration in its second term is planning to upgrade the local council secretariat by scaling up the structures to accommodate more offices for council staff and government agencies.

“What we have just done in the last three and a half going to four years is just a restructuring of the building and probably a major rehabilitation. We are coming up now with two floors on the existing building. It means that we are going to expand the local government secretariat in such a way that it will accommodate every facet of the government. We are talking about the marriage registry that is outside the compound, we have to provide a place for it within the Secretariat. We are looking at the two religious bodies to have places of worship there. By the time we have two more floors on the existing structures, we will have enough offices to even accommodate some of the federal government agencies that are supposed to work directly with the local government such as the National Orientation Agency (NOA) as well as other state agencies. These were not possible because of the inadequate offices. So, by the special grace of God, we are coming back now to make sure that we build another two floors on the existing structure of the local government meaning that the council will be reconstructed that is just the idea.

Commenting on the scorecard of his first term in office, Obe said the residents have scored his administration well considering the support for his second term from the community development associations, the youth and indigenes.

He noted that he has delivered over 16 out of about 18 promises he made during his campaign.

On his preparation for the July 24 election, Obe said: “Well, in the first instance, winning an election in Ejigbo LCDA shouldn’t be a very stringent one because we’ve done that several times over the years. We have also put in place a lot of security measures that would guarantee the safety of our people during the electoral campaign of the party. Number two, we have also lined up structures, institutions, people that we have to meet, people that we have to talk to starting from the CDC level, the ward level, the LGA level, the traditional institutions, the Christian association, the league of Imams, the civil societies and some other artisans in Ejigbo. So, we have lined up different programmes that would have to meet people at different times between now and the 22nd of July when the electoral campaign is believed to be over.”

Speaking on how to manage the crisis that may emanate from his vice especially now that he will be working with another person, the legislators and party leaders, Obe simply said: “We must manage one another, there is no perfection in life. Nobody is perfect, we just need to learn how to manage each other.”

He advised the electorate to be calm during the forthcoming election and do things within the civil arrangement and also ensure they meet up with the Covid-19 rules.