Hamzat, Afolabi urge stronger citizen engagement, highlight Sanwo-Olu’s achievements

By Adeola Ogunrinde –

Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Political, Legislative and Civic Engagement, Afolabi Tajudeen, have called for continuous interaction between the government and citizens to keep residents informed about government activities and achievements.

Speaking at a one-day programme tagged “Sensitisation on Volunteerism: The Power of Community in Action” organised by the Office of Political, Legislative and Civic Engagement, Hamzat noted that many Lagosians are unaware of the administration’s accomplishments. He stressed the importance of keeping the public informed and gathering feedback to improve governance.

“In everything we are doing, we want a response from the people for us to know whether we are doing well or not because we want to serve our people better. Our citizens don’t know a lot of things we are doing,” Hamzat said.

Participants raised questions on government efforts regarding security, the Light-Up Lagos project, environmental sustainability, drug abuse, and property demolitions. Hamzat highlighted the administration’s achievements, including the improvement of the health sector, with 376 public health centres and 26 general hospitals now operational.

He added that the government had commissioned more roads, invested in human capacity development, built the largest logistics hub in West Africa, and implemented environmental improvements. He urged participants to volunteer in sharing these achievements with grassroots communities.

Afolabi explained that the sensitisation programme aimed to show that the Lagos State government is “responsible and ready to listen to the people.” He said the initiative would help the government connect with communities, understand their needs, and improve its feedback system.

“The government cannot do it alone. Our target is to reach the grassroots to know what they want and improve our feedback mechanism. This programme gave people who complain about the government on social media the opportunity to meet with us in person, ask questions, and get answers,” Afolabi said.

One of the participants, Yemisi Ransome-Kuti, commended the Office of Political, Legislative and Civic Engagement for organising what she described as “one of the most important programmes” by the Lagos State government.