IKUFORIJI ready for the next level at 56

LATEST UPDATE: IKUFORIJI ready for the next level at 56

Few weeks after becoming a mem­ber of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Adeyemi Ikuforiji started showing the brilliant stuff he was made of right on the floor of the House during debates, particularly on ger­mane issues affecting the state. There was therefore little doubt that he knew what he wanted and he was ready to make his mark as a lawmaker in a state known for its leading role in the struggle for demo­cratic rule.

It would be recalled that he was the first lawmaker in the state that moved a motion in 2003 that resulted in a resolution of the House requesting the Federal Government to accord Lagos a special status, before the issue was taken up at the National Assem­bly by the Alliance for Democracy (AD) fed­eral legislators.

When he became the Chairman, House Committee on Special Duties & Inter-gov­ernment Relations, Ikuforiji organized a historic conference on the relationship be­tween the states and federal government, how it ought to be and how disagreements between the two levels of government can be resolved legally and politically. Lecturers who were invited to deliver papers at the conference included the former External Affairs Minister, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, senior lecturers from the University of La­gos and other eminent personalities, while the programme was moderated by the then Chairman of the Editorial Board of the Guardian Newspapers, Dr. Reuben Abati.

He was the first and only state top offi­cial elected twice into the Lagos House of Assembly from Epe. He was also the first lawmaker elected Speaker thrice from the state. It is unusual for anybody from that part of the state to be elected as a lawmaker and as well assume the post of the Speaker twice. He was elected Speaker for the third time in June, 2011 after being elected into the Assembly from Ikeja Constituency 1 during the 2011 elections.

As the Speaker, he changed the negative perception of lawmakers by the Execu­tive arm to a positive one. From January, 2006, members of the state executive coun­cil were forced to accord the lawmakers enough respect and recognition, either at public functions or private engagements.

To instill discipline as well as maintain corrupt-free records in public finance, the Speaker inaugurated a new standing com­mittee of the House known as Anti-corrup­tion Committee. Besides that, he organized the first-ever Town Hall Meeting in each of the 20 old local councils where honourable members met with members of all the 40 constituencies in the state in 2009.

The Assembly under Ikuforiji realized that people must also be involved in matters that concern them and that the lawmakers needed a feedback forum, hence the hold­ing of the meetings. In other words, since the people are targets of development, con­stituents freely expressed their ideas, feel­ings and opinions on how the state is being governed at the forum.

Lagos lawmakers were able to know the manner in which governance in the state was assessed in the area of road construc­tion, provision of water, free education, health, rural development, etc. and report on the findings was prepared by the Assem­bly and sent to the Governor for the prepa­ration of 2010 budget.

In an unprecedented move, Ikuforiji in 2009 spearheaded the struggle for the im­plementation of the Self Accounting Law of the Assembly and the subsequent passage of the Lagos State House of Assembly Ser­vice Commission bill, thereby making the state legislative arm independent of the Ex­ecutive arm with regards to finance, recruit­ment and discipline of staff.

Added to this is the staff development agenda of the Speaker whereby all Assem­bly members and many support staff now enjoy workshops, seminars and other train­ing programmes, both locally and abroad- an opportunity that was never enjoyed by lawmakers and staff before he became Speaker. The agenda is aimed at developing the legislative institution in the state, believ­ing that democracy and the people will be the greatest beneficiary of the initiative.

The infrastructural development of the Assembly and building a befitting of­ficial residence for the Speaker have been Ikuforiji’s goals for so long. But the dream came true in June, 2009 when the com­pleted edifice was commissioned by the Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). The Speaker’s residence, lo­cated on Joel Ogunnaike Street, GRA Ikeja, is a sprawling building with swimming pool, squash, gym rooms and other modern facili­ties that make the place a befitting home for the third citizen of Lagos State.

Yet another milestone recorded by the Speaker is the new chamber for the holding of plenary sessions. The chamber, perhaps one of the best in the continent, is equipped with modern and sophisticated electronic and communication gadgets to make it easy for members and staff to communi­cate within and outside the precincts of the Chamber and also to the outside world. The new Chamber was commissioned in June, 2012 by the Speaker of the House of Rep­resentatives, Aminu Tambuwal with the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) in attendance.

The construction of new office blocks for lawmakers has been completed and they have moved into their new offices since last year August . The staff’s new office block has reached 90 percent completion and the project is expected to be completed and commissioned before the end of this year.

Improvement of the welfare of the mem­bers and staff could not have been achieved without his ingenuity and insistence that what is good for the goose is also good for the gander. He also created an excellent working relationship between the lawmak­ers and staff, to the extent that the lawmak­ers see the support staff as important in the delivery of legislative service to the people.

In Epe, his home town, he built and com­missioned a block of four classrooms at St. Patrick Primary School in honour of re­tired Supreme Court Judge, Justice George Oguntade, who incidentally was an ex- pupil of the school. He also equipped the science laboratory of his alma mater, Epe Grammar School with scientific materials worth mil­lions of naira. It’s needless to say that he has also contributed in no small way to the de­velopment of Epe and its people.

Ikuforiji never shied away from telling the unwary that the members should be praised for giving him the opportunity to serve the state as the chief lawmaker, add­ing that he would not have lasted a second if they don’t want him there. It is however noteworthy and to his credit, since his emergence, that the Assembly has not wit­nessed any crisis or major disagreement. He has, at critical junctures, demonstrated leadership, both in carrying members along and cementing the symbiotic relationship between the legislature and the executive.

It is also instructive to note that prior to the 2011 general elections when uncer­tainty was hanging in the air and many members of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) were leaving the party in droves, it was Ikuforiji who became the rallying point. And being a pragmatist, it was not difficult for him to be the need­ed “umbrella that did not fold up when it rains”, for members who at that time were in dire need of leadership.

Thus, as Ikuforiji, the longest serving Speaker in the history of Lagos State clocks 56 today, one can only wish him well with good health and continued God’s guidance and blessings. It would also be auspicious to say that given his experience, achieve­ments and leadership qualities, he has more to offer the state in the years ahead.

•Anibaba, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Lagos.

The post IKUFORIJI ready for the next level at 56 appeared first on The Sun News.

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