The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Civic Engagement, Mr. Kehinde Joseph disclosed this today at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa, during the ongoing Ministerial Press briefing to commemorate the second year in office of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and the 50 years anniversary of Lagos State.
He emphasised the importance of having voters’ card since it is a compulsory requirement for all adults to vote in the election, urging all Lagosians to change their apathy towards participating in elections.
Joseph assured Lagosians that their participation in the forthcoming local government elections would positively influence the outcome because they have the power, through their individual votes, to determine the eventual winners across the State.
Responding to question on public protests in spite of the existence of Civic Engagement Office, Joseph lamented that many of the protests were being staged due to lack of understanding of the various channels of engagement with government.
He said: “Some protests are unnecessary as the issues involved can easily be resolved by establishing a communication line with the concerned authority through various platforms while some are issues that have nothing to do with the State government”.
The Special Adviser further noted that his Office engages in dispute resolution and conflict management to encourage the development and maintenance of productive relations among individuals, groups and communities.
According to him, forty disputes and issues that could have resulted into crises were handled and resolved amicably by his Office in the last one year.
He cited peaceful resolution of the dispute between the Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State (MOALS) and the Motorcycle Transport Union of Nigeria (MTUN) Ojodu Zone, the rift among Students’ Joint Campus Committee of the Lagos State Tertiary Institutions, the thorny issue between National Union of Road Transport Workers(NURTW), Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria(RTEAN) and Nagari Nakowa Motorcycle Owners and the Riders Association of Lagos (NNAMORAL) and Ojodu Community Development Association and NURTW among others.
The Governor’s aide informed that the present administration is currently looking into the challenges facing communities especially in the area of infrastructures such as roads, street lights, health facilities, schools and flood control, stressing that complaints from the communities have been brought to the attention of appropriate Ministries and are receiving attention.
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