Good people of Ibeju-Lekki, Though you have saddled me with the responsibility to move our dear local government forward as your Executive Chairman, a mandate that I have meticulously held for the development of our communities , however, I come to you today as a citizen to identify with you in a time like this. I seize this opportunity to appeal to all residents, especially our youths, to shun any form of protest in our domain. It is not in doubt that our dear country, Nigeria is going through a phase in transitioning to a better nation that we have all longed for. The effect of this transition, in what appears unbearable to many of us as hardship, has degenerated to reactions amongst other citizens, thereby prompting the call for this potentially hostile “Hunger Protest” scheduled to kick start today across the country. Historically, the outcome of protests in Nigeria has always been destructive, disastrous, and devastating. The pattern has shown that it usually deviates from its originally intended genuine motives to plunging the country into civic unrest. Our local government had its fair share of such unrest in 2020, during the #EndSars nationwide protest which left our public institutions, particularly the council secretariat, police stations and other infrastructure completely razed to the ground and in its wake, left many people dead. It is now four years and we are still counting our losses while recovering and rebuilding. To cushion the effects of the economic realities, our administration took proactive and sustainable measures as a peoples oriented government. We swiftly established the Ibeju-Lekki Community Market to sell food items at 300 percent more as relief to more than 3,000 residents. We are supporting small businesses with a N30 million MSME scheme, giving out N50,000 and N100,000 in grants and loans to more than 400 beneficiaries. We have provided bursary awards of N50,000 each to about 300 students in tertiary institutions across the country. Our administration provided free Jamb forms and scholarship awards to students seeking to gain admission into higher institutions of learning . Amongst others, we provided free monthly running costs to all primary schools within our local government. Under the leadership of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, the Lagos State Government has ensured that workers in the state are paid above the country’s minimum wage. The state also established Ounje Eko and Eko Care to provide relief for residents in the areas of food items and transportation. To mention a few, including free medical care, free education, and increased bursary and scholarship for Lagos students. All these are to offer reliefs for the good people of the state. With a clear purpose to renew the hope of an average Nigerian, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken the bull by the horns to tackle decays in the system, one of which is the local government autonomy in grassroot governance as a tier that is closer to the people. The president who believes that a worker in Nigeria should not be paid less than N70,000 has signed the new national minimum wage into law while also putting other measures in place. To this end, I plead with the good people of Ibeju-Lekki to remain calm and resolute in a time like this. On Tuesday, a Lagos State High Court gave a ruling restricting the proposed nationwide protest to the Gani Fawehinmi freedom Park in Ojota and the peace Park in Ketu. While we recognise the right of individuals to protest, Ibeju-Lekki is not among the listed legitimate grounds for the protest as we call on all citizens to go about their duties without fear or molestation. Let us keep the hope alive as a new dawn is here already. Thank you. Hon. Abdullahi Sesan Olowa Executive Chairman, Ibeju-Lekki Local Government.
