The Lagos State House of Assembly Member representing Badagry Constituency 2, Hon. Setonji David has said the greatest challenge undermining the growth and development of Badagry is the poor state of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, describing it as the worst thing that has happened to Badagry as a federation.
Hon. David made this known while featuring on a panel discussion during the Emerging Political and Economic Leadership Summit organized by Equip Africa, which took place on Saturday 10th July 2021 at the Lagos Theater, Badagry, Lagos State.
The legislator while speaking on the topic: “Achieving equilibrium between citizens’ expectation and the office they vote” during the panel discussion stated the bad state of the road has brought Badagry behind as people are not comfortable travelling on the road which according to him was not like that prior to this time.
“The greatest challenge we have in Badagry is the road that leads to Badagry. The Badagry Expressway is the worst thing that can happen to us. If that road is constructed, Badagry will never be like this. Some years ago, from Mile 2 to Badagry was 30 minutes and at most 40 minutes and on Saturdays people from Lagos come to our beaches here and they return by evening. This is no longer possible”. He said.
Hon. David further stated that the 1999 constitution is not in the interest of the citizens thereby necessitating the change people are clamoring for.
According to him, the House of Assembly is saddled with three responsibilities which are: making the law, representing the people and playing oversight functions. This according to him does not give room for members to execute projects as it is not there primary responsibility.
“Another thing is government policies. It’s not easy to get a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) in Badagry and who will invest where you can’t actually own a land. The system of Government we run in this country is absurd and that goes to the constitution. The 1999 constitution is not in our interest. That is why people are clamoring for change and until that change come we cannot develop and explore our potentials.
“I am a legislator in the House of Assembly. Basically, we have three functions as legislators: we make Law, we represent the people and we do oversight functions. None of those functions enable us to do project, but we have to understand the system we run. The expectation of people is so enormous and we must try to manage the challenge we have to solve our problems. We are not relenting; we are doing our best to ensure our voices are heard and the road is constructed”.
He therefore, stated that Badagry is the future of Lagos State as many development projects are coming to set the coastal city on a edge. He therefore implored citizens to ensure that the potentials inherent in the land are not wasted.
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