Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat has said that the State Government would continue to engage, interact, and communicate with the youth believing that this would enable them to collaborate and partner with the government in achieving the set desired goals and programmes. Speaking today on Arise TV Programme, “The Morning Show” Dr. Hamzat added that the Lagos State government has been engaging the youth across different sectors to get them involved in how things are done and run in the country. He said Lagos is committed to providing the youth with ‘cutting-edge’ facilities and technology, thereby, empowering them to reach their full potential, including the desire to drive innovation and growth in the state. The Deputy Governor highlighted some of the initiatives the current administration has put in place to ensure that the youth are engaged and unleash their potential for prosperity, noting that some of the youth in the state are been sponsored to different countries to see how things are done. Speaking further, Hamzat stated that the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu administration will be remembered for laudable projects that the administration has embarked upon which will be a legacy of the administration. The Deputy Governor reeled some of them out including road infrastructure; agriculture and food security, and transportation comprising the three major means of transportation, namely: road, water, and rail, among other projects. In addition, Hamzat stated that there is no local government in Lagos that the present administration is not doing tangible projects on a regular basis. He reiterated that Lagos is the only sub-sovereign in the world to build rail on its balance sheet, adding “We think that we cannot be a metropolitan state without a rail and finishing the blue and red line is our target. Let us be able to move our people conveniently”. He, therefore, encouraged the private sector to participate in the different projects the state government is doing, that are aimed at developing the state economy, adding that “Now we are moved from conveying 70,000 people per month to about 288,00 people. We are also building jetties among others”. Speaking further, he stressed the state’s commitment to enhancing local agricultural production, which will foster economic growth, address food price inflation, and promote food security. According to Dr. Hamzat, in Badagry the state is producing enough tomatoes that will feed over 20 percent of Lagosian, and the government is keen to scale up the production further, aiming to make this essential commodity more widely available to consumers across the state. While condemning the comment made by “Lagospedia” on X formerly known as Twitter, with the hashtag #Igbomustgo#, Hamzat said there is no room for ethnic bigotry in Lagos State, adding that such a comment has no place in the policy direction of the present administration in the state as Lagos is a place where people of divergent tribes coexist peacefully and the government will not allow faceless people to divide them. The Deputy Governor said that though some people are trying to do whatever it takes to divide the state, but the government will never allow that to happen, noting that sometimes, some of the people who put this type of thing out on social media are not even in the country. According to him, the unwavering commitment of the present administration to protecting the lives and property of all Lagos residents, is not negotiable, emphasising that the government under the leadership of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu is working with security agencies to fish out the people behind the tweet and assured the citizens of their safety. His words, “These faceless people just came up and said the Igbo must leave, this is absolute nonsense. which is why the Governor immediately denounced it. Lagos is accommodating and that is who we are. Even when we were young, we’ve all lived together peacefully and there is no need for people to become ethnic bigots”.
