A pro-democracy group, Labour & Workers Welfare Advocacy Center, has advocated for prompt passage of the Lagos State 2021 Budget presented to the Legislative House on Tuesday, November 10, 2020, by governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.
Convener of the Centre, Comrade Omobanke Razak, in a statement Tuesday in Lagos said, the quick passage of the important document would encourage the governor to hit the ground running through the implementation of all the earmarked projects for the state next year.
Omolabake recalled that Governor Sanwo-Olu, while presenting the N1.155 trillion Appropriation Bill to the Lagos State House of Assembly, tagged it, “Budget of Rekindling Hope,” pointing out that, the tag was apt going by what the state has gone through in the recent time.
The concerned youth leader was of the view that, the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the #EndSARS protest that turned bloody took a great toll on the activities of Sanwo-Olu’s administration as they were not envisaged and thus not budgeted for, reasoning that, such sad episodes have no doubt tested the people’s hope on survival.
The group leader, therefore, praised the governor for his thoughtfulness in making the Budget all-encompassing to rekindle his people’s hope that, a light would soon appear at the end of the dark tunnel with the passage of the budget.
Omolabake pointed to the aspect of the Budget where the governor said: “In the “Budget of Rekindling Hope,” the government will be investing heavily in the development of human capital, with special focus on youth employment and provision of social safety for young people. The focus will be raising human capital, creating jobs and strengthening security for businesses to flourish.
“The expenditure is for the restoration of economic balance as the State continues to navigate its way out of the negative impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the destruction of public assets, following the EndSARS protest hijack.
“The year 2021 is one of Rekindled Hope, following recent events of global and national proportions, especially the coronavirus pandemic, the EndSARS protests, the general feeling of disenchantment in the polity and the socio-economic yearnings of Lagosians for good governance. This budget reflects our desire to rebuild the trust of the people in this Government, even as we commit significant human and financial resources to the rebuilding of Lagos while doing all we can to move on from the destruction and vandalism recently witnessed in the State, barely three weeks ago.”
The Centre’s boss took a special interest in the aspect of youth mentoring as he quoted the governor as saying that, “there would be an increment in its financial commitment to youth mentoring, mental health support, and substance abuse rehabilitation,” thanking Sanwo-Olu for realizing that the youths are the pillars of future development worldwide.
While enjoining the people to rally round the governor to succeed, Omolabake said, they should reciprocate his humility when, in his speech, he said, “We have audacious governance goals, which we cannot achieve without the concerted efforts of all our people,” pointing out that, “the governor has appreciated the importance of our support and we should patriotically give it to him for the good of all.”
Omolabake thus thanked the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, who praised the governor and pledged the readiness of the legislature to work with the executive arm to rebuild the State, promising speedy passage of the budget and assuring the public that the Assembly would properly vet the details in line with its mandate.”
