The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, on Tuesday urged government across levels to prioritise citizens engagement in governance for the benefits of the people.
Obasa made the call at a workshop for the Media and Public Media Officers of the Assembly in Lagos.
The event tagged:”Legislative Communication and Citizen Engagement – An Integrated Approach” was held at Centre for Management Development (CMD) in Ikeja.
The Speaker, who was represented by Hon. Tunde Braimoh, Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security said people needed to actively participate in governance.
“People must matter in government that will succeed. Citizens should regulate the activities of their leaders.
“People need to be involved and informed as power remains with the people. They have the mandate to choose who will govern them.
“We (government) are the arms, the people are the body and we must not disregard them in whatever we do. Citizens are the reason for government,” he said.
The Speaker said it had become imperative to involve the people as a way forward for the nation.
He said that the importance of citizens’ engagement had informed the state government to prioritise Town Hall meetings and public hearings.
The lawmaker added,” It is the government’s interest to engage the people and it’s very important for citizen to engage the government.”
Obasa, who lamented that people did not know much about the function of legislators, urged media practitioners to educate the people.
He also urged the media to shun every tendency to mislead the people for whatsoever reason.
According to him, he remains an advocate of training and retraining of workers to bring the best out of them.
Meanwhile, Miss Bose Lambo, Director, Public Affairs at the Assembly lauded the leadership of the House for its commitment to improve the skills of its staff to enhance better service delivery.
In his remarks, Mr Boye Akintola, Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Correspondents Association (LAHACA) commended the leadership of the Assembly for its support and commitment in organising training for its media men.
