Lawmaker representing Surulere Constituency I in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Desmond Elliott, has urged residents to hold their local government chairmen accountable by questioning how funds allocated to grassroots development are being utilised.
Elliott made the charge on Thursday during the 10th Constituency Stakeholders’ Meeting of the Lagos State House of Assembly, held at the Methodist Church Hall, Small London, Surulere.
The meeting, themed “Governance in Action: The Gains of the Renewed Hope Agenda,” provided a platform for interaction between the lawmaker and members of the community.
“The federal government has done well so far by ensuring direct allocation to the local government areas; it is now the responsibility of the people to ask their various local government chairmen what they are doing with the allocation given to them,” Elliot said.
He stressed that governance at the grassroots is critical to national development and must not be left solely in the hands of elected officials. According to him, citizens must take an active role in demanding accountability and tracking how public resources are being used in their communities.
While acknowledging the hardship Nigerians are experiencing, the lawmaker also urged patience with President Bola Tinubu’s administration, assuring residents that better days are coming. “I recall that upon the inception of Tinubu’s administration, we were told to brace up because the beginning of the journey to better living wouldn’t be easy. However, we have started seeing improvement, and the suffering stage will soon be over,” he said.
He added that the country had already realised its budget for the year, suggesting that the economic indices are gradually turning in favour of the people. “We will begin to see certain improvement as a people,” he said.
Elliott pointed to several key achievements of the federal government, including progress in agriculture, infrastructure, education, and health. He also praised ongoing reforms that are making Nigeria more attractive to foreign investors. “Tinubu’s administration has improved foreign partnerships where investors can easily come from various countries without having to go through cumbersome immigration processes,” he said.
Highlighting education as a priority, he said scholarships are now available to Nigerian students regardless of tribe or gender. He also mentioned the coastal road project as a major infrastructure effort that would drive future development.
He described town hall meetings as vital tools for gathering feedback and fostering communication between elected representatives and the public. “They create an avenue for reaching out to the people, gathering feedback from them, and improving areas that need attention,” Elliott added.
