11th May, 2015
Eromosele Ebhomele
As part of preparations for the commencement of the eighth session of the Lagos State House of Assembly, the 40 members-elect of the House have begun a one-week induction exercise.
The exercise is holding in Abuja and would last between Monday and Friday.
Twenty new members are joining the House with 20 old members. The new members would be taking over from lawmakers who lost at their party primaries and during the general elections.
The eighth Assembly which commences in June would have eight members from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
The House is expected to resume plenary after the induction exercise.
Some of the lawmakers who confirmed it Monday morning, told P.M.NEWS that they were in Abuja while some of their colleagues are on their way to the capital city of the country.
Apart from training on legislative activities, the week-long exercise is meant for the lawmakers-elect to familiarise themselves, one of the lawmakers said.
“It won’t just be nice for us to commence the next Assembly as strangers. We must know one another, study our strengths and know where each of us can play roles when we commence sittings.
“Remember we are going to have opposition in this next session. We must therefore prepare.
“This exercise could also be an avenue for those seeking the position of the Speaker of the House to lobby their colleagues even though the ultimate decision lies with party that has majority seats,” a lawmaker told our correspondent on phone on Monday morning.
Meanwhile, a socio-political group, the United Action for Equity and Good Governance, UAEGG, has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure that there is equity in the distribution of positions in Lagos State.
As a result, the group is demanding that the position of Speaker of the state House of Assembly be zoned to the Lagos Central Senatorial District.
Currently, three members of the House from the district are vying for the position. They include Moshood Oshun, a ranking lawmaker who would be in his third term by June, Gbolahan Yishawu, who would be in his second term by June, and Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, a former council chairman who is returning to the House after serving as member between 1999 and 2003.
In a communique issued at the end of one of its meetings, the group said since the governor-elect is from Lagos East Senatorial District and his running mate is from the Lagos West Senatorial District, it was just that the position of the Speaker should go to the Lagos Central, adding that the Lagos Central has capable hands who have been in the House consecutively, that could effectively run the House in the next four years.