—by Jamiu Yisa
The Minority Whip of Nigeria’s Senate, Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, GOS, has declared that he would be the next governor of Lagos State, come 2015.
The Senator who represents Lagos West Senatorial district made this declaration on Thursday while speaking on one-on-one, an interactive programme on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
He explained that with his experience and developmental vision nursed over the years for the state, he was more than prepared to take the state further.
“I have the experience and I am convinced that I will take the state further from where it is now,” he said.
The former member of the House of Representatives where he represented Mushin Federal Constituency I, also dwelt on the agitation for local government’s autonomy.
He said while the councils could not have full autonomy, they deserve a degree of independence to be able to function effectively, especially in terms of finance. He said it amounts to sheer semantics calling them by whatever names such as administrative vehicle or arm.
GOS frowned at the state of local government administration in the country, saying that as a former council chairman, things were different in his days as they had their allocation directly from the federation account and as such, could put development to serious task.
The lawmaker who is serving his second term as a senator, however, defended the attitude of the state government to the councils in the state, saying no local government chairman has come out to protest perceived injustice.
On the ongoing constitution review which public hearing he chaired in the Southwest, GOS said some of the key issues that dominated discourse include special status for Lagos, council administration, state creation and state police.
He noted that a referendum may be impossible because it is not provided for in the clause that pertains to amendment of the constitution.
“We cannot choose to embrace whatever suits us to define our federalism in terms of character. I support state police because it will reflect the character of federalism in the true sense of it,” he said.
GOS described the controversial allowances of National Assembly members as over-exaggerated, explaining that the Budget Act is a document of the National Assembly which comes from the executive as mere proposal and that it is the duty of the parliament to determine what goes where, if convinced by the presentations of the various ministries.
He also described as misplaced, opinions of certain people who would rather the National Assembly passed the budget as presented by the executive, noting that the document is the parliament’s and not the executive’s as may have been misconstrued.
He condemned in strong terms, the menace of political thugs in the society and established a link between the ugly trend and the growing unemployment rate in the country, adding that it was a global concern and must be addressed as such.
The Minority Whip of Nigeria’s Senate, Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, GOS, has declared that he would be the next governor of Lagos State, come 2015.
The Senator who represents Lagos West Senatorial district made this declaration on Thursday while speaking on one-on-one, an interactive programme on the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA).
He explained that with his experience and developmental vision nursed over the years for the state, he was more than prepared to take the state further.
“I have the experience and I am convinced that I will take the state further from where it is now,” he said.
The former member of the House of Representatives where he represented Mushin Federal Constituency I, also dwelt on the agitation for local government’s autonomy.
He said while the councils could not have full autonomy, they deserve a degree of independence to be able to function effectively, especially in terms of finance. He said it amounts to sheer semantics calling them by whatever names such as administrative vehicle or arm.
GOS frowned at the state of local government administration in the country, saying that as a former council chairman, things were different in his days as they had their allocation directly from the federation account and as such, could put development to serious task.
The lawmaker who is serving his second term as a senator, however, defended the attitude of the state government to the councils in the state, saying no local government chairman has come out to protest perceived injustice.
On the ongoing constitution review which public hearing he chaired in the Southwest, GOS said some of the key issues that dominated discourse include special status for Lagos, council administration, state creation and state police.
He noted that a referendum may be impossible because it is not provided for in the clause that pertains to amendment of the constitution.
“We cannot choose to embrace whatever suits us to define our federalism in terms of character. I support state police because it will reflect the character of federalism in the true sense of it,” he said.
GOS described the controversial allowances of National Assembly members as over-exaggerated, explaining that the Budget Act is a document of the National Assembly which comes from the executive as mere proposal and that it is the duty of the parliament to determine what goes where, if convinced by the presentations of the various ministries.
He also described as misplaced, opinions of certain people who would rather the National Assembly passed the budget as presented by the executive, noting that the document is the parliament’s and not the executive’s as may have been misconstrued.
He condemned in strong terms, the menace of political thugs in the society and established a link between the ugly trend and the growing unemployment rate in the country, adding that it was a global concern and must be addressed as such.
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