By Abolaji Adebayo
The residents of Ikeja Federal Constituency will never forget in a hurry, the impacts of Hon. James Faleke, the member representing the constituency at the Federal House of Representatives for his giant accomplishments in the community.
Those impacts would remain indelible as long as the constituency is still in existence and history of Lagos State is still told.
Though the capital city of Lagos State, Ikeja is one of the 24 federal constituencies that has witnessed great transformations in terms of infrastructure and human developments, as well as economic and social developments facilitated from the federal level by Hon. James Faleke.
Faleke, a former Executive Chairman of Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), is serving as a member of the House of Representatives for the third term having being elected in 2011 to represent the constituency.
His laudable service to the people of the Constituency has earned him more accolades and re-elections to represent them again and gain.
They described his progressive and populist developmental and community-building initiatives which have brought smiles and relief to the citizens directly and by extension to their families and communities since the dogged logistician and grassroots mobiliser embarked on the task of using legislative activism to advance the cause of the people for liberation from want and poverty since 2011 as most laudable in the history of the constituency.
“We seek to demonstrate that, rather than take the narrow route of lawmaking and oversight functions that could restrict him to the National Assembly premises in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory; he goes the extra mile to serve his people by aggressively working for their empowerment.
“He is unable to sleep each time he remembers that somebody, somewhere that could do with a little help is suffering. He is a man with a heart of kindness,” one of the resident noted.
“How to solve the socioeconomic, cultural, and political problems that are overwhelmingly visible in his immediate society keeps the servant leader on his toes.
“He is not happy unless his people are happy. This explains his commitment to constant empowerment to pull more people from the stranglehold of poverty and gives them a second chance to make something of their lives.
“Under his empowerment programme, hundreds of mini-buses popularly known as ‘koropeFaleke’ and tricycles (KekeMarwa) have been distributed to many youths, including some who have been downgraded as never-do-well in the society, with no hope for life. A few of the youths were pushed into alcoholism and drugs because they could no longer cope with the challenges of survival in an economy in crisis.
“However, with the intervention of Hon. Faleke, many of them have regained their hopes and are doing well in the transport business. Some of them have been so transformed that they have resumed their parental obligations to their children and elderly dependants,” another resident affirmed.
Mr. Masbau Raji, a youth leader in the constituency said: “It takes a great man like Hon. James Faleke to rekindle hope and restore destiny. Still engaging Ikeja young residents in productive activities, Hon. James Faleke does not just dole out funds; he ensures that you are well-trained first. This is evident in the ICT trainings he facilitates for youths.”
ECHONEWS gathered that over 200 youths have gone through the ICT training scheme with knowledge, laptops to work and cash grants to start businesses.
Apart from the trainings, the lawmaker has also facilitated the employment of 125 unemployed constituents, (mostly youths) into various federal agencies, institutions and parastatals, vocational training while over 500 youths got work tools and machines such as industrial sewing machines, vulcanising machines, generators, deep freezers, blending machines, hair dryers, clippers, and generators, with cash grants to engage in profitable businesses.
Being an industrial and commercial hub, home to thousands of small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs), Ikeja is said to contribute not less than 40 per cent of the gross domestic product in emerging economies by providing jobs and producing low end products.
Using his expertise in purchasing and supply, Faleke identified the MSMEs as critical engines of growth particularly to rekindle the economy after the setback of the Corona virus pandemic.
It is in line with this global outlook that 1,167 Ikeja MSME owners recently got cash grants to shore up their businesses.
He has disbursed more cash grants to people too numerous to mention in past years.
Conscious of the fact that only citizens in good health can be productive, Faleke also executes free medical outreach, and comprehensive health screening programmes regularly across Ikeja Federal Constituency, done in all wards.
Yet, the staunch advocate for humanity said he will never stop.
His belief that nations do not grow without education, made him to engage in developmental activities targeted at schools.
This includes rehabilitation of public schools; provision of computer laptops, school bags and shoes to selected students of public schools across his constituency; provision of computer laptops to heads of Public Schools; building of ICT centres in some Public Schools in his constituency.
In security, the lawmaker facilitated the donation of Security Patrol vehicles to the Police, FRSC, and LASTMA. Through his joint efforts with Ojodu community, the badly damaged Ojodu Police station destroyed during the EndSARS protest in October 2020 was reconstructed into a storey building and refurbished to modern standards.
He regularly holds stakeholder engagement with the traditional chiefs and security agencies in Ikeja so that criminality can be reduced to the barest minimum.
Faleke lighted up many streets in Ikeja with over 6,510 Solar Powered Street Lights, so that the nights will not be used by devious elements.
He facilitated the provision of 25 Transformers in communities across Ikeja Federal Constituency. This also adds to the beauty and serenity of the environment.
Through these and more constituency projects and philanthropic gestures, Faleke said he hopes to ensure every constituent in Ikeja benefits from the dividends of democracy, promising to make more effort towards reducing poverty to the barest minimum within his Constituency.
In his legislative functions, Faleke has sponsored and support some Bills which include: NYSC Act Amendment bill;
University of Lagos Act [Amendment] bill; Eastern Development Commission bill; National Broadcasting Commission Act [Amendment] bill; Chartered Institute of Auctioneer of Nigeria bill; Western Development Commission bill; Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal [Amendment] bill; Motion on the Prohibition of the sale and use of Military Uniforms.
Others are: The Construction\Rehabilitation of Lagos\Ibadan Expressway; Motion on the need to clamp down on over 1,400 illegal borders routes to curb insurgency; Need for review of the cost of the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination [UTME] application Form; Need to investigate the handling of import duty revenue waivers and bonds on import duties collected by the Nigeria Custom Service from 2010 to date.
He also supported the bills on the: Need to bail out ailing industries, to enable them absorb the teeming unemployed graduates; Need to address the ecological catastrophe and humanitarian crises in the Lake Chad basin; Need to construct more pedestrian bridges on major highways in the FCT; Motion on urgent need to investigate the Armed Robbery Attack on the Obafemi Awolowo Female Hostel of University of Ibadan.
Others include: Motion on urgent need to rescue the country from over 20 Billion Naira Annual Revenue leakages arising from various malpractices in Foreign Exchange allocation to scompanies from sources, such as CBN and Autonomous Inter-Banks Domiciliary et cetera; A Bill for an Act to Amend Section 36(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; A Bill for an Act to Amend the Administration of Criminal Justice Act o 2015 by deleting Section 396(7) of the Principal Act; A Bill for an Act to Amend the Electricity Power Sector reform Act 2004 & other related Matters.
Others are: A bill for an Amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as Amended); A Bill for an Act to Amend the Finance Act 2019 to mandate the Accountant General of the Federation to post Treasury Officers to Revenue Generating Agencies for Appropriate Remittance of Revenue into the Consolidated Revenue Account, and others.
NOTE: For more details of his achievements, read a compendium titled “Faleke: Service To The People” to be published soon.