Lagos State governorship candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general elections, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has berated the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, for his new legislative agenda.
Obasa who was re-elected on Tuesday for a third term as Speaker, had in his acceptance speech at the inauguration of the 10th Lagos Assembly proposed new property, and business ownership laws in the state.
The Speaker had noted that Lagos is a Yoruba land, adding that the essence of the laws were to protect the Indigenes of the state.
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“Lagos is a Yoruba land as against the assertions of some people that it is a no man’s land.
“Therefore, part of our legislative agenda is to ensure the translation of laws passed by this House to the Yoruba language,” Obasa had said.
“We also aim at achieving our collective goals of creating a robust legislative framework that protects the interest of our people. Going forward in this wise, we are going to employ all legislative instruments for the support of the indigenes of Lagos.
“There would be laws and resolutions in the areas of economy and commerce, property and titles, and we will reverse all that is reversible to protect the interest of the indigenes,” he noted.
But reacting to the Speaker’s speech in a Twitter thread on Thursday, Rhodes-Vivour stated that with the state having been divided along ethnic lines during the last general elections, the proposed laws would only divide the state the more.
According to him, what is expected is policy that compensates indigenes for lands seized by government, and not threats to property rights.
“The speaker of the house announced his intention to make laws to protect indigenes. ” They will reverse the reversible ” I believe that the time for this ethnic dog whistling must come to an end. With an election that ripped our social fabric, it is time for healing.
“We expect policy that compensates Indigenes for lands seized by government, education bursaries, and inclusion of an independent traditional institution in governance. Not threats to property rights enshrined in the constitution,” Rhodes-Vivour said via his Twitter handle @GRVlagos.
THE WHISTLER recalls that the last general elections in Lagos divided the state along ethnic lines.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Parks Management Committee, Musiliu Akinsanya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, had in a viral video warned Igbos that wanted to vote against the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the March 18 elections in the state to stay at home.
However, following widespread public criticisms, he denied threatening the Igbos, saying he was addressing a lady called “Iya Chukwudi”, not the Igbos in Lagos.
There were lots of ethnic slurs before, during and after the elections, which led to rising tensions in the state.