Lagos-Indigenes Reject Bill Proposing-Return To Regional Government (Details)

Lagos-Indigenes Reject Bill Proposing-Return To Regional Government (Details)

Lagos State indigenes have vowed to reject a Bill seeking Nigeria’s return to a regional government. Speaking under the aegis of De Renaissance Patriots Foundation, they insisted that Lagos State will not be part of the Western Region.

In a statement from its Media Office, signed by Adelani Adeniji-Adele, the group expressed strong opposition to the proposed Bill. “This bill that is being proposed or suggested spells an ominous sign to us from Lagos State. It is a further attempt to subsume our aspiration into a larger group that is antithetical to whatever we believe in as indigenes of the state,” the statement read.

The group criticized the lack of extensive consultation on the matter, emphasizing that the desires of Lagosians should not be assumed. “Since Lagos and its environs became a colony, we have always maintained that we prefer a stand-alone status and not be part of any Western Region or Province.”

They cited historical grievances, noting that Lagos has often been marginalized by its neighbors in the South West. “Our various Indigenous groups have always maintained that we as indigenes of Lagos had always been having a raw deal from our neighbors in the South West, who see nothing good in us as they are only for the project to marginalize us and see our state as ‘spoils of war’.”

The statement highlighted that the inclusion of Lagos State in any regional arrangement is unacceptable without a referendum reflecting the true wishes of the people. “We demand a referendum to reflect the wishes of the people. We, the indigenes of Lagos State, do not wish to be part of the regional state as proposed in the Bill returning Nigeria to the regional government. Our leaders and traditional rulers opposed it in 1953, and we gained respite in 1967. We, the offspring of our heroes’ past, will not accept it.”

De Renaissance Patriots Foundation urged representatives in the National Assembly to consult elder statesmen and stakeholders before taking any action on the Bill. “This is beyond the ruling party and state government affairs. Lagos State cannot be brought into nothingness through the South West Region proposal by this Bill surreptitiously. The old cry of our struggle during colonial rule still stands.”