Community chiefs, religious leaders, political stakeholders, students and other indigenes of the Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State, on Thursday, protested the alleged exclusion of their indigenes in the government of Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The protest by the indigenous people of Eti-Osa is coming days after a group, Eti-Osa Heritage Organisation, alleged that outsiders had been listed as indigenes of their local government among the 39 commissioner-nominees sent to the Lagos State House of Assembly for screening and confirmation.
The protesters, who spoke at a press conference on Thursday, decried “a grand deceit where people not related to Eti-Osa would take their slot.”
The President, Eti-Osa Heritage Organisation, Adewale Sanni, lamented that out of the 39 nominees for commissioners and special advisers, none of them is from Eti-Osa.
“Ours is an indigenous community with over 500 years of history and our local government is constitutionally recognised as a major constituent part of Lagos State.
“We consider this as an anomaly and, therefore, call upon the governor to redress the same as a matter of political and constitutional imperative by ensuring that Eti-Osa indigenes are adequately represented.
“We recall that even in the last administration, only one of our indigenes was appointed as commissioner while so many total strangers, just like the current list, were used to fill the Eti-Osa quota in utter contempt and disregard for legal and constitutional principles. This development has sparked feelings of continuous neglect and disillusionment among our people.”
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