Lobby Reps for better allocation - Bankole tells Lagos govt

Kunle Awosiyan, Lagos - 05.05.2008

THE agitation for special allocation by Lagos State Government may not be realised easily as the Speaker, House of Representatives, Honourable Dimeji Bankole, has said the government would have to lobby the House to get a special allocation.

He said this while inspecting the rehabilitated Lagos Bar Beach on Saturday. The speaker and the principal officials of the House were in Lagos to inspect some of the Federal Government’s funded projects as parts of their oversight functions.

Speaking to journalists shortly after the inspection, Bankole stated that the House could not just go ahead and allocate special fund to Lagos, but that the state government would have to lobby like other states to get it.

He said that though the administration of Governor Babatunde Fashola had done well in putting back the bar beach to its past glory, the achievement might not make the House to allocate special fund to Lagos.

He said, “I grew up in Lagos State and I remember how beautiful the bar beach was in the past. I also knew when the beach began to deteriorate. However, now, the beach is being rehabilitated. We will continue to support Lagos State Government to do more of this.”

Reacting, Fashola said that the first phase of the rehabilitation had been completed and that the second phase would begin very soon.