Hon. Adewale Temitope Adedeji, OON (JP), a member representing Ifako-Ijaiye Constituency 01 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, has called on state assemblies to emulate the synergy between the Lagos Assembly and the Executive arm of government to achieve development.
He made the call while speaking as a panellist on the topic “roles and impact of lawmakers in society” at the maiden edition of the Rt. Hon Adebo Ogundoyin Students Legislative Summit held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, on Wednesday.
Dissecting the topic, he said the cordial relationship between the Legislative and Executive arms has given birth to great infrastructural development for Lagos State.
He said, “For a state to experience massive infrastructural development and progress, there is a need for the Legislative and Executive arms to be in tandem. In Lagos State, we have a House that stands alone. A House that has its autonomy. Before we pass any law, it goes through the first and second reading to the public hearing and before it is signed into law, it is always sent to the Executive arm of government to see if they are comfortable with what we have given and what we have proposed to them. So, we tend to meet halfway, and then they decide. Once that is done, it is then passed into law. So, we have a relationship whereby everyone is playing their part in terms of the separation of powers as laid down by the constitution.
“So, it is possible for an executive arm to have a close relationship with the Legislative arm because the executive arm believes the Legislature is a watchdog for their decisions and activities. But they (Lagos State) have a cordial relationship between both arms, and that has made Lagos develop very fast in terms of budget appropriations, which is key to the activities of the Executive arm, and that is why you see infrastructure developments springing up across the state.
“If the Executive is not in favour of a bill, it is not passed. So, before bills can be passed into laws, there must have been an agreement between the Executive and Legislative arms.
He also highlighted the need for public engagement.
“After the second reading of bills, the entire public is invited to the House, and a communique is given back to the people and receives their communique, taking the necessary input into consideration, and then it is passed into law.
He added that “lawmakers also do stakeholder engagement where everyone goes home and holds a meeting with his constituents to inform them of what has been done while taking back their requests to the House, which is sent to the Governor and forms part of our budget for the following year.”
Responding to a question from one of the students from the Yaba College of Technology on what he has done for his constituents in relation to education, Hon. Adewale Temitope said through the ATA-EI, over 4,000 students have benefited from free JAMB forms; 1,000 plus students from free GCE, many students are currently on scholarships to various tertiary institutions while people above 40 years have also benefited from the free adult education classes as part of moves to make Ifako-Ijaiye Local the most educated LG in Nigeria by 2037.
Some of the dignitaries at the event included Gov Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, represented by a former Reps member, Hon Golu Timothy, Speakers of the Osun and Ekiti House of Assemblies, Rt. Hon Adewale Egbedun and Rt. Hon Adeoye Aribasoye, respectively; Minister of State for Youth, Ayodele Olawande; Soun of Ogbomoso land, Oba Afolabi Ghandi Olaoye; APC national youth leader, Dayo Israel, Oyo State House of Assembly members, amongst others.
