WE ENGAGE RESIDENTS TO ENSURE HARMONY, PEACE – LASG

Lagos State Government has said it will continue to engage residents on issues and policies that border on their socio-economic wellbeing as a way of ensuring a peaceful environment for good governance and harmonious relationship among the numerous stakeholders.

The Special Adviser on Civic Engagement, Mr. Benjamin Olabinjo, who stated this while meeting with members of the civil society in Alausa, declared that the Office in the last three years, had undertaken engagement activities which cut across individuals, groups, communities, civil organisations, volunteer groups, non-governmental organisations and political stakeholders, to deepen public knowledge on the laws of the State.

According to him, engagements with members of the public and organisations had led to resolution of requests for infrastructure, petitions, complaints and other issues of public concern.

He said the office also conducted regular sensitisation programmes to encourage individuals, youths and Community Development Associations (CDAs) to embrace volunteerism as a way of tackling development challenges and social issues in their respective communities.

Speaking further, Olabinjo stated that efforts of the Office to make State’s Laws handy and available to citizens led to the translation of eight laws into Pidgin English, Yoruba and Egun languages to facilitate easy understanding and voluntary compliance.

He said the translated laws include the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission Law 2008; Road Traffic Law 2012; Special Offences Court Law 2015 and Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law (Now part of the new Environmental Management and Protection Law) 2015.

Others are Lagos State Property Protection Law 2016; Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps Law 2016; Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law 2016 and Kidnapping Prohibition Law 2017.

The Special Adviser enjoined civil society groups to ensure that they clarify issues with appropriate MDAs on the State’s programmes and urged them to mobilise youths of voting age who have obtained their PVCs to participate in the forthcoming elections.