Lagosians decry rejection of Special Grants Bill

Prominent Lagosians have decried Senate’s rejection of the special grants for Lagos Bill.

It was presented by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central) who argued that the country’s economic and financial engine-room, should be given one per cent from the Federation Account.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said a yes vote would have ensured a fair treatment for the state, given its special position.

Eminent politicians, including Second Republic House of Representatives member Prince Oluyole Olusi, Senator Anthony Adefuye, former House of Representatives Whip Hon. Wale Oshun, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora and Mr. Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), said Lagos deserved an extraordinary federal attention because it is a mini-Nigeria.

Frowning at the rejection of the bill, Adefuye, who represented Lagos East in the aborted Third Republic, said the senate’s decision was erroneous, stressing that the clamour for a special funding for the state had some justifications.

He said the former federal capital has continued to play an important role in the economic, social and political life of the federation since the capital was relocated to Abuja.

Adefuye said: “Lagos is the heart beat of the economy. We need to take care of it to attract investors to Nigeria. The Senate should look at it thoroughly. Everybody should support the bill, considering the fact that Lagos was the first capital of Nigeria.”

Olusi, a leader of the APC, acknowledged the division over the clamour, saying that stakeholders must take a position. He said the implication of the agitation should be clearly understood by those clamouring for it and those opposing the proposal.

Olusi said: “Lagos is useful to all. It hosts the port. It is the commercial nerve centre. Lagos is like another Nigeria comprising of all citizens-Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa. Those asking for special status are asking for it in the interest of Nigeria. If you provide extra federal fund to provide amenities for Lagos, it is for the benefit of all. The clamour was misconstrued by the Senate.

“The Federal Government has responsibilities to ensure that adequate provisions are made for the enhancement of commercial activities in Lagos. The Federal Government has responsibilities to all Nigerians, who are working, trading and residing in Lagos. Populous states like Lagos and Kano deserve extra federal funding.”

Mamora, a former Deputy Senate Minority Leader, advised members of upper chamber against playing politics with the demand for special status for Lagos. Accowith the demand for special status for Lagos. According to him, Lagos is Nigeria’s economic capital and every Nigerian, irrespective of the state of origin, has something to do in Lagos.

Noting that the demand has been on for so long, Mamora said: “The truth of the matter is that the demand for special status for Lagos did not start under democratic dispensation. It started under the late Gen Murtala regime that established the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and made Abuja, the new Federal capital.

“The Murtala regime had it in mind that Lagos should not be abandoned. It was captured in the minutes of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) in their deliberation that Lagos will still remain her status with the support of the Federal Government.”

Mamora recalled that when he was in the senate between 2003 and 2007, he and his other colleagues made a submission to the Constitutional Amendment Committee on the status of Lagos. “I championed the course again in 2007 when I became a member of the committee. I could remember when the former governor of Lagos State, Mr Babatunde Fashola appeared before the committee to make a case for special status for Lagos, he submitted the minute of the SMC that contained the decision of the Murtala regime on the matter.

“The demand is proper and not selfish when we look at it from the point of view that the federal structures and establishments Lagos accommodates are enormous; to maintain and sustain them require special votes from the Federal government.

“Besides, the Federal government generates much of its revenue in Lagos. The most viable airport and seaport are in Lagos. It remains the hub of Nigeria and West Africa.

To Prof Itse Sagay (SAN), the senate decision to throw out the bill is shocking. He said Lagos deserves better treatment being the former federal capital.

Sagay said the demand for special status for Lagos is legitimate because it has a lot of federal owned infrastructure that used to be sustained with special vote. Lagos, he noted, is Nigeria’s commercial capital. It needs special vote though not at the same level with Abuja, he stated.

Oshun, the Chairman of the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG), suggested that “if the Senate blocks the demand for special votes, Lagos State government should demand for 13 per cent derivation on revenues the Federal Government is generating from the natural resources of the state.”

He cited the sources of revenues as the seaports and waterways in Lagos. “If they rejected the bill for special status, we should demand for derivation; it will be much more rewarding”, he insisted.

Akintola said the rejection of the bid to grant Lagos Special Status within the Nigerian federation did not come as a surprise to him.

He said: “This is because majority of the people in the National Assembly are economic illiterates, political illiterates and social illiterates. If they had considered it from the point of view what Lagos is to Nigeria, what New York is to the United States of America, it would have become obvious to them that it deserves special status.

“Though Washington is the capital of the US, most of the foreign missions are still located in New York and New York continues to enjoy special status. Even the capital of Brazil was moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia, butame way, Abidjan has not been abandoned because the capital of Cote d’Ivoire was moved to Yamoussoukro.”

Akintola said the rejection of the bill was done out of envy. He said: “No one can deny the fact that Lagos is the commercial capital of Nigeria; God has destined Lagos to be so, especially after the monumental work done by former governors Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola in transforming it into a megacity and the incumbent Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has sustained the tempo.

Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode insisted yesterday that the state deserves a special status.

In a statement by Commissioner for Information and Strategy Steve Ayorinde, the said: “In spite of the setback the bill suffered on Wednesday, the fact remains that Lagos State has always played a special role to Nigerians as individuals and to the country as a whole.

“Nigeria needs Lagos in order for other parts of the country to continue to benefit from it.

” A special status and a special grant are fair requests that would have encouraged and rewarded Lagos State for what it contributes to the federal purse.

“A yes for the bill would have provided an opportunity to truly reflate the economy and empower the state in serving as home to more than 21 million Nigerians.

“The state also serves as a hub to the largest volume of businesses and foreign direct investments in Nigeria, but clearly, a spectacular opportunity has been missed by ignoring this important bill.”

Ambode commended Senator Tinubu for her thoughtfulness and courage in promoting the bill that sought a special recognition for the state.

“Without prejudice to the decision of the Senate to stand down the bill, Sen. Tinubu’s informed position and push will remain an important contribution as well as a reference point in the national economic discourse.”