Johnson seeks residents’ opinions on constituency projects
By Damilola Kushimo
Road infrastructures, empowerment, job opportunities, endowment for the aged, pilgrimage opportunity among others were the major demands as the member of the Federal House of Representatives representing Oshodi-Isolo Constituency II, Engr. Ganiyu Johnson, engaged the residents to seeks their opinions on their needs at his maiden constituency meeting tagged “Meet you Member of Parliament”.
For the people living with disabilities, they want laws set up to improve their living conditions to be effective, urging the lawmaker to help revisit them by drawing the attention of the Assembly to them in Abuja.
According to their chairman in Isolo LCDA, Yussuf Agbabiaka who spoke on their behalf, laws to improve the lives of people living with disabilities such as the one on free education from primary school to higher institution has not been executed, noting that the 5 per cent job opportunity for people with disabilities has also not been effective.
“The creation of office of the special adviser to the state governor, local government chairman and top political office holders on people living with disabilities should be mandated. This is an office that will represent the interest of people with disabilities and it must be headed by someone with disability as that will help. We want law on free health for people with disability, we want empowerment for us. This will greatly help to make us independent and as well reduce the number of beggars on our streets,” he said.
Responding to their demands, Johnson, who noted that some of the demands could be met immediately, said they would be attended to one after the other.
He however made it clear that some of the demands such as road infrastructures were beyond his capacity, saying he could only facilitate the execution of such by lobbying the committee in charge in the House.
He said: “I have noted all the demands, some I can solve immediately, that is the purpose of it; some are work in progress and some are beyond me because as a legislator my role when it comes to road infrastructure and all that is to facilitate the action, I’m not the one to do it, mine is to facilitate the process of doing the job which I am doing and of which is happening in Lagos State right now, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has already engaged 10 contractors who have begun work round the state on all major roads so you should see a new face of Lagos by the end of March/April 2020.”
He disclosed that the engagement was to have an interpersonal interaction with the people of his constituency in order to create an avenue for them to have direct access to him as he promised during his election campaign.
“The forum is to allow our people have access to me. In most cases the constituents usually complain that they don’t have access to their legislator and I decided that we can have a medium whereby the constituents will interact with their legislator so that there will be a feedback mechanism between myself and the constituents.”
He however appealed to those who could not be attended to, saying it was due to the large number as he promised that the engagement would be a continuous exercise.
