LSHA stakeholders’ meeting: Hospitals, schools, roads top priorities for Ojokoro residents
By Adeleye Adeyemi
Stakeholders in Ojokoro area in Lagos State on Thursday said that priority needs of the area remained a General Hospital, schools, roads and recreational centres.
The stakeholders highlighted these problems at the 7th Annual Lagos State House of Assembly Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting held in the constituency.
The meeting simultaneously holding in all the 40 constituencies in the state, was tagged “Increasing Wave of Drug Abuse: A Threat to Nation Building”.
Oba Riliwan Taiwo, the Oba of Ojokoroland, who commended Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s provision of some roads in the constituency, called for construction and rehabilitation of more roads to lessen the plights of residents.
The Oba, who was represented by High Chief Fawemimo Ajanaku, the Araba of Ojokoroland, said that the poor condition of roads had increased the plights of motorists and commuters.
Also speaking, Prince Bolarinwa Sarumo-Dada, Baale of Alakuko-Ajegunle-Ilo in Ojokoro, said, “We need roads, we need schools, especially in my area, and we need empowerment for our youths to engage them and divert their minds away from drug abuse.”
A former lawmaker, Mr Ipoola Omisore, who applauded the stakeholders’ meeting, said it was an opportunity for the people to tell the government what they wanted.
“In Ojokoro, we have our problems, we do not have a general hospital of our own. In my own Ward, Alakuko, we need a senior secondary school, a land has been provided, we want it included in the 2022 budget.
“We are semi-urban area, we don’t have a market. We need a big market.
“We have to go to Ifako-General hospital to access hospital, that should stop,” Omisore said.
The former lawmaker, who commended the state government for road infrastucture, said, “like Oliver Twist, we need more road construction and rehabilitation.”
The Executive Chairman of Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Hammed Tijani, who also commended Sanwo-Olu’s developmental strides especially road infrastuctures, said that the council still needed more roads.
“The first problem we have is road network. I still want to appeal that the state government should come to our aid in some of our roads for instance the Gbeleyi Ave., Agric Road and Ile Igbo St.
“These are major roads that, if we are able to construct them and put them in better shape, people will have easy access and alternative roads to move within the local government,” Tijani told newsmen.
According to Rasheed Makinde, the lawmaker representing Ifako Ijaiye Constituency I in Lagos Assembly, human demands remain insatiable.
Makinde said: “We still need more. Among those things that we need is schools. We need more public schools in our constituency.
“Our health centre needs to be upgraded to a modernise one that can accommodate a lot of patience.
“We need a recreational centre. if you cannot build a mini stadium, let the state government come and acquire land where the youth can exercise themselves and where the old ones can come for a jog.
“We need an indoor sport centre in our constituency. We want the executive to come to the aid of the people. We still have a lot of road projects deficit.”
According to him, the deplorable state of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway has worsen the condition of inner roads in the area, as motorists saw them as alternatives.
“The express has collapsed which the Federal Government takes care of but the federal government has been on it for over three or four years.
“Our inner roads is where the heavy trucks are now passing and the roads are getting collapsed too.
“We need the government to come to our inner roads for repair and upgrade some roads that are totally collapsed,” he added.
The event had in attendance various political leaders, market groups, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in the area.
