Encomium
– Asks for raise in allocation
AGEGE Local Government Chief Executive, Hon. Abdulkareem Jubril is spending his second term in office as a thoroughbred Agege, Lagos indigene. The council boss highlighted in this interview with ENCOMIUM Weekly, his achievement and his other dreams for the local council…
How has it been in the last five years, that you have been in office?
Very challenging and encouraging as well because it’s a service to the community. We decided to take the job and God has been on our side.
What has been the challenge?
The challenge is management. You are in a position where people rely on you; to satisfy those depending on us has been challenging. But that notwithstanding, we have been trying to ensure we play our roles and God is on our side. We might not be able to achieve 100 per cent, but to the best of our ability, we have been able to achieve what any government in Agege has not done before. We can beat our chest with pride to that effect.
What is your most challenging period in office?
The only challenging period is when I am faced with a troublesome problem but by the time I am able to solve it, I feel relaxed. You can’t do without challenges. Once you solve one, you create another. There is no life without challenge. We thank God, we have written a success story which will be read at our exit.
When would you consider your best moment in the last five years?
Anytime I solve a problem is a lovely moment.
What will you consider your most outstanding achievement in the last five years?
What I can share is whenever there is any testimony for the public to see, sometimes they applaud us believing it never happened before and God used my humble self to achieve that feat. I feel elated.
In recent times, there have been issues of local government autonomy, which has now become constitutional. Do you think local governments should be given autonomy?
I don’t understand what some people call autonomy. As far as I know, I am autonomous. Nobody is questioning my authority because I was voted constitutionally. I don’t know what people call autonomy, unless they want to redefine autonomy.
Autonomy is a situation whereby allocation that is meant for the local government should come to them directly from the Federal Government, it should not go through the state government?
That cannot be possible. Constitutionally, they have placed the local government under the state Assembly, that is what the constitution says. When you have been under someone, what kind of autonomy are they expecting again? To me, we are still on our own and the Assembly has been giving us guidelines on how we are to operate. It is still okay and we are working within the constitution. As far as we are concerned in Lagos State, we are very autonomous.
How strong do you think All Progressives Congress (APC) can be in Agege, considering the strong influence of CPC?
CPC has nothing in Agege. Before, it’s only in Agege you can see some of them with an input. It’s not that CPC as a party has a structure in Agege. We have been the most active party in Agege (ACN). We have metamorphosed from AD, AC, ACN to APC. You can see the chain, we have never had it bad in Agege.
There are still some bad roads to be rehabilitated in your local government?
It depends on what you mean by bad roads. Even the Federal Government that owns more than 50 per cent of the federation, since the past 14 years, Lagos/Ibadan Expressway is bad, Apapa Expressway is bad, all other federal roads are bad, talk less of a local government that has a small allocation and we are trying to see that Agege roads are motorable. Those saying Agege roads are bad should let me know.
What about the streets not just motorable roads?
Go and see what we are doing on the streets of Agege local government. We have done more than 30 streets since the beginning of this administration. We would still do better, but everything falls back on funds. We don’t want to over task or overburden them to construct a road we cannot spend nothing less than N10 to N20 million and how much is the allocation that we are receiving? What the community needs to do is to appeal to the federal government. The ratio of allocation should be changed to 60 per cent that the federal government gets, and see a miracle.
By next year your second term in office will be over, what is your next line of action in politics, considering the fact that some chairmen who served two-term always go to the House of Reps. Do you want to come back for third term?
It’s only God that can determine that. If God says I am going to the National Assembly, I won’t say no. I’m a Muslim and a sheik as well. I believe by my religion that you cannot do anything without God, without Allah. It is only Allah that can tell you where you are going. If Allah says I should put in for presidency tomorrow, you will see me there.
What do you have to say to the residents of your local government?
I want to thank them for their support for our party and our administration. I believe as they have been supporting us en masse, we will continue to forge ahead and serve them better.
– Ajoke Onitolo
