A second reading of the Appropriations Bill for 2023, recently introduced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was conducted by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Speaker of the House Mudashiru Obasa assigned the Bill to a joint committee on budget and finance after it passed the second reading with instructions to report back to the House on December 12.
Recall that on Thursday, October 29, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu delivered to the House the 2023 Appropriation Bill in the amount of $1,692,670,759894 dubbed “Budget of Continuity.”
The MPs praised the proposed budget as attainable while outlining other ways the government may raise more money during plenary on Tuesday.
The Appropriations Bill was explained by Gbolahan Yishawu, chairman of the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, as several of his colleagues praised the Executive Arm for the idea.
In the meantime, claims of a planned demolition of several homes in the Jakande Estate neighborhood of Eti-Osa have prompted the House of Assembly to call Moruf-Akinderu Fatai, Commissioner for Housing, and Mr. Oluwatobi Lawal, Managing Director of the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC).
Also summoned as the affected residents of the estate
The issue was raised under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’ by Hon. Noheem Adams, Deputy Majority Leader of the House.
Hon. Adams told his colleagues that the residents, aged between 70 and 80, stormed his house in the early hours of Tuesday pleading that the government should be stopped from demolishing their houses.
The lawmaker recalled that majority of the residents lived in Maroko before their houses were demolished in the 1990s and they were relocated to the Jakande Estate.
He said the residents had lived peacefully until recently when they started facing threats of their building being demolished.
Adams said the residents had written a petition addressed to the Speaker and that their collective grievance was already being addressed by the House Committee on Public Petitions headed by Hon. Victor Akande.
He added that on September 23, 2022, some members of the House led by Hon. Akande visited the Jakande Estate with some officials from the LBIC, who had promised that they would not demolish buildings in the area.
However on October 12, officials of the LBIC went to the estate to mark houses for demolition,” he said.
In his contribution, Hon. Rotimi Olowo said the situation with the residents was pathetic. He said the parties are supposed to reach mutual understanding because the owners of the estate had invested heavily in the place.
Olowo was supported by his colleague, Hon. Adewale Temitope, who urged for an amicable resolution of the issue.
Speaker Obasa, before approving the invitation of the commissioner and the LBIC boss, noted said there was need to understand the position of the government before a decision is taken on the issue.
He also agreed that there should be collaboration and understanding between the property owners and the government.