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Lagos Assembly Passed 300 Bills, 2000 Resolutions In 25 years – Speaker

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2024

The Lagos State House of Assembly has passed 300 bills and 2,000 resolutions since the return of democratic dispensation in 1999.

The Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa stated this at a programme to commemorate 25 years of democratic governance on Wednesday in the state.

The programme, organised by the Lagos State House of Assembly was themed “Building a Brighter Future: A Journey of Hope and Aspirations”.

Obasa revealed that some of the bills and resolutions were historic.
He added that many of the bills eventually became laws which had impacted residents greatly as well as people outside of the state.

“Particularly worthy of mention are the Financial Autonomy law, Neighbourhood Safety Agency law, Regulation Approval law, and the Local Government Administration law, which created 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAS).

“This is in addition to the existing 20 local government areas in the state for the purpose of bringing government closer to the teeming Lagosians. The law also creates a four-year tenure for elected officials of the local government councils, making Lagos the first state in Nigeria to do so.

“Also, there is the Traffic Sector Reform law which created the Bus Rapid Transportation (BRT) system and the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) law.”

Our BRT law became a prototype design for many other states in Nigeria and some West African countries like Ghana and the Gambia.

“As a matter of fact, most of our laws, including our House Rules, have become models for other State Houses of Assembly in Nigeria,” he said.

Speaking on education, he stated that the Assembly had enacted the Lagos State University of Science and Technology law which converted the old Lagos State Polytechnic to a full university.

He noted that one of the beauties of law was that it would eliminate the discrimination against polytechnic graduates in the labour market.

Obasa added that the Lagos State College of Education was upgraded to the Lagos State University of Education through an enabling law, thereby increasing the number of universities established by the state to three.

The Speaker said in a bid to proffer solutions to the security challenges facing the country, the Assembly pioneered the agitation for the creation of state police.

He said due to constitutional constraints, an abridged form of security outfit called the Neighbourhood Safety Corps Agency was created to assist the police in maintaining law and order and enhance community policing in the state.

Obasa recalled that the very first session of the Assembly was headed by Mr Oladosu Osinowo (Ikorodu Urban II constituency) between October 1979 and September 1983.

He said Osinowo laid the foundation for the vibrancy of the House as well as the brilliant leadership for which the Assembly was revered.

He said at the time Osinowo was Speaker, Lateef Jakande was the state governor and that his administration built the Assembly complex.

He said the second Lagos Legislative Assembly was headed by Mr Oladimeji Longe (itire-Ikate constituency) between October 1983 and December 1983 while Shakirudeen Kinyomi (Ojo I constituency) was the Speaker in the third Legislative Assembly.

The speaker said that the Fourth Legislative Assembly, led by Dr Olorunnibe Mamora (Kosofe I constituency), was inaugurated by the then governor of the state and now President Bola Tinubu on June 2, 1999.

“The Assembly has enjoyed relative stability in its leadership with only four Presiding Officers in 25 years of uninterrupted democracy in Nigeria.

“This has, in no doubt, enhanced innovation, competence and capacity. Mamora led the House between June 1999 and June 2003, followed by Mr Jokotola Pelumi (Epe II), who led between June 2003 and December 2005.

“Then, Mr Adeyemi Ikuforiji (Epe I) took the mantle and led between December 2005 and June 2015. In addition, I am the current and longest serving legislator and Speaker in Nigeria, I was first elected Speaker in June 2015, I was re-elected in 2019 and again returned in 2023,” he said.

He added that the Assembly’s avowed commitment to excellence in all its ramifications had made the state the bride of all since 1999.

Obasa said the Assembly had lived by its creed, reflecting positively on the constituents who had put their hopes on it as an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for prompt, fair and effective dispensation of justice.
NAN

Headline

Netanyahu Says Israel’s Strikes On Iran Have ‘Clear Support’ Of Trump

Published

2 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel’s air strikes on Iran had the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.

“Our enemy is your enemy… We’re dealing with something that will threaten all of us sooner or later. Our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu said in a video statement addressed to Trump on the US leader’s birthday.

“This is what Israel is doing with the support, the clear support of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people and many others in the world.”

Headline

US Lawmaker Shot Dead, Another Wounded In Targeted Attack

Published

2 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

A gunman shot two Democratic state lawmakers in Minnesota early Saturday, killing one and her husband and wounding the other, in what the northern US state’s governor said were politically motivated attacks.

The shootings came at a moment of deep political divisions in the United States, as thousands took to the streets in protest at the policies of Republican President Donald Trump.

The suspected assailant was still at large, officials said, with a massive manhunt underway.

Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi decried what they called “horrific violence” and said the perpetrators would be prosecuted to “the fullest extent of the law.”

State representative Melissa Hortman — the former speaker — and her husband Mark were killed at their home near Minneapolis, Governor Tim Walz told a press conference.

State senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette were shot and wounded, the governor said, his voice breaking with emotion. He said officials remained “cautiously optimistic” they would recover.

“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz told reporters.

“Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don’t settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.”

Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Hoffman and his wife were shot first, and as police investigated, Hortman and her husband were shot about 90 minutes later.

The suspected gunman was able to escape during an exchange of gunfire with officers near Hortman’s residence, Evans told reporters.

“We’re actively searching for that individual right now,” he said.

– Impersonating law enforcement –

In both cases, authorities believe the assailant was impersonating a law enforcement officer.

“The suspect exploited the trust that our uniform is meant to represent,” said Bob Jacobson, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

An anti-Trump rally in Minneapolis — part of the national wave of “No Kings” protests planned for Saturday — was canceled after police issued a shelter-in-place order because of the shootings.

Flyers for the protests were found in the suspect’s car, as well as a manifesto that named numerous politicians and state officials, police said.

Police are looking for a white man with brown hair, wearing black body armor over a blue shirt and blue pants, local TV station KSTP said.

“We do have the suspect’s car. Suspect is on foot,” said Mark Bruley, the police chief in Brooklyn Park, where Hortman lived.

The United States has been deeply divided since Trump returned to the White House in January.

The Republican president has drawn criticism from Democrats over his harsh deportation policy, his assault on universities and the media and a perceived flouting of limits on executive power as he pushes his agenda.

“At this precipice moment we’re on, this tragic act here in Minnesota should serve as a reminder to all of us,” Walz said.

“The democracy and the debates in the halls of Congress, in state houses, in school boards, is a way to settle our differences peacefully and move society to a better place.”

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar remembered Hortman as a friend who entered politics at the same time as her and dedicated her life to serving the state, working on issues such as women’s rights and clean energy.

“Let me be absolutely clear: this was an act of targeted political violence, and it was an attack on everything we stand for as a democracy,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “We must all condemn it.”

Minnesota’s other US senator, Tina Smith, also issued a statement condemning the shootings.

Former House member Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting to the head in 2011 and is now a prominent advocate for the prevention of gun violence, described herself as “devastated” by the death of Hortman.

“We must protect our democracy from those who try to destroy it with a gun,” Giffords wrote on X.

Headline

Diplomat, Wife Injured In Iran Strikes On Tel Aviv

Published

2 hours ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Croatia’s consul in Israel and his wife were lightly injured in Iran’s missile strikes on Tel Aviv, Croatia’s Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said on Saturday.

“I am shaken by the news that our consul and his wife were injured in the attack on Tel Aviv. The building they live in was hit,” he said on X, formerly Twitter.

“I spoke with them and, fortunately, their injuries are minor and they are not in any life-threatening condition.”

Grlic Radman added that his ministry was in constant contact with the Croatian embassy in Israel and was taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of its staff.

“We strongly condemn attacks on civilians and diplomatic facilities. We call for immediate de-escalation and restraint,” Grlic Radman said.

Israel on Friday launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, hitting scores of targets across the country, including nuclear and military sites and residential buildings.

Iran said 78 people were killed and 320 wounded in the first wave of Israeli strikes.

Iran retaliated with barrages of drones and missiles at Israel, killing three people and wounding dozens.

AFP