Ojodu People’s Parliament rally for grassroots governance

Rights interest community watchers known as Ojodu Peoples’ Parliament, on Saturday, embarked on a massive electioneering sensitisation and awareness road march round Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos.

In the wake of the forthcoming local government election in the state, The Daily Times learnt firsthand that the group, encouraged and powered by notable Nigerians with passion for good grassroots governance, had invited all accredited candidates of the various political parties (now campaigning to be elected in the area) to a Town Hall Meeting, to be held today, on Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at the Banquet Hall of the Excellence Hotel, Ijaiye/Isheri Road, Ogba-Aguda from 5 – 9 pm.

A major activist in the group and one of the leaders at the Rally, Mrs. Olaide Ogunlewe, in a brief chat, explained that the aim is chiefly to sensitise the people to know meet and know the people governing them.

“Our mission for today is to sensitise our people to have an understanding of what governance is all about because though politicians are governing the people, the people don’t know anything about government. Now the time has come when we begin to harness and do an interface between governance and the people they are governing. With all these programmes, people can now begin to know who their counsellors and their chairmen are.

“We are encouraging all the electorates to come out to meet entire all accredited candidates of the political parties one-on-one, so that they can have an interface with them and ask lots of questions about what their intentions are concerning governance in Ojodu LCDA.”

ICRD

“We are also using the platform to launch our NGO, the International Centre for Reconstruction and Development (ICRD), which has been quietly reconstructing our community socially, economically and politically.”

Ogunlewe said ICRD is a neutral, none partisan, None Governmental Organisation which has been involved in the social and economic aspects, “Like children going to school, trying to build up artisans and things like that, but we believe at this stage that we should step into mainstream politics.”

The march took off from Haco Junction along Adeniyi Jones, Ikeja about 9 in the morning and rounded up at Oluwole Estate also in Ikeja, after some six hours of music orchestrated neighbourhood campaign through Muyibi Street, Ajayi Road onto Yaya Abatan to Excellence Hotel and Road Ogunusi all the way to Ojodu, Berger Okeira and the Lagos State Secretariat.

Revealing the choice of Ojodu as their starting point, coordinator of the Rally, Honourable Sunday Ogugua explained that Ojodu is the gateway to other states in Nigeria. “It is very vital for the government of Lagos State and Ojodu People’s Parliament intend to, with time, expand the awareness sensitisation to the nooks and crannies of the country.

“The grassroots voters have been taken for granted by politicians for a very long time, so much that the people don’t know that power actually belongs to them. With the programme developed and rejuvenated, we’re aiming to make them realise that when they vote a chairman into office, what they are saying is, “Mr. Chairman, I have no time, please go there and represent my interests and work for me”, so the elected, whether counsellor or chairman, is not doing the electorate a favour,” he stressed.