Governance Is About Catering To People’s Welfare, Not Self-Interest – Wale Raji

Hon. Wale Raji, the Member of House of Representatives for Epe Federal Constituency, has said governance is about catering to the welfare of the entire populace and not about leaders satisfying their self-interest.

The lawmaker was responding to criticisms that he did not fix the road to his home until now after the contractor in charge of the upcoming construction of the road met community stakeholders on Saturday.

The contractor is handling the construction of Babatunde Bakare, Edatomola Ogundipe, and Halima streets in Epe Local Government, Epe, Lagos State. The streets include Raji’s residence.

Before he facilitated the intervention, the untarred road to his home had been used to score political points against him but he maintained that other streets with higher population needed the help more, forcing him to prioritise them over his own community.

In an interview with an Eko Hot Blog correspondent on Sunday following the meeting between the contractor and community stakeholders, Raji said it made more sense to concentrate on roads with more than 50 houses with more inhabitants and in a more deplorable condition than a street with 6 houses.

He explained that there was no rush to construct the road leading to his residence because other areas needed the intervention more.

The lawmaker, therefore, stated that governance is to serve the generality of the populace and institute programmes meant for the public good rather than a few selected groups.

He noted that the criticisms he had received displayed self-centeredness that must not be encouraged if citizens truly want a positive change in Nigeria.

Raji added that the decision to move to the sites to work on that particular street and all the adjoining streets is more timely than a politically inspired decision.

Meanwhile, property owners and members of the Ajumoni Ojota Community Development Association (CDA), where the roads will be completed, have commended the lawmaker’s intervention.

The Secretary of Ajumoni Ojota CDA, Mr Bakare Lateef, who spoke on behalf of the CDA members, expressed delight at the eventual delivery of the project.

‘MORE DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY FOR RESIDENTS OF EPE FEDERAL CONSTITUENCY’

The upcoming road construction is only the latest in a slate of developmental projects and welfare programmes that Raji has facilitated.

Also, on Saturday, the lawmaker broke ground for the building of a block of six classrooms for UPE Primary School, Akodo-Ise, Epe, Lagos State.

The laying of the foundation kickstarted the relocation of the school to a new site, a move that was met with excitement by the people of Akodo-Ise, Okun-Ise and Imedu in Ward B1 of Epe Federal Constituency.

The school had been threatened by the ocean surge in the area.

Additionally, he hosted students of the Bethseda School/Home for the Blind on June 28 for the 2023 Eid-el-Kabir festival.

He donated food items and cash gifts to the students who visited for the celebration.

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