Fashola Begs Doctors: 'Please, Resume Duty to Save Lives'
LAGOS, Oct 13, (THEWILL) - Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) today openly begged striking medical and dental workers to resume duty in order to save lives of those who are dying on their sickbeds.
Fashola made the call at a stakeholders’ meeting organised by Women in Management and Business (WIMBIZ) at City Hall, Lagos while urging them to end the two-month industrial action.
The governor told a gathering of professional women that the present administration "is engaging the striking doctors, and both parties will find lasting solutions to their grievances after the strike.
"We are talking to the doctors, and they are talking to us. I am using this forum again to renew my appeal to them that the issues that stand between us can be resolved without a strike. Therefore in the interest of those we serve, I want again to use this opportunity to implore them to put an end to this strike so that we can talk and resolve this matter,’’ the governor said.
Fashola said the state government was involved in collecting multiple taxes from corporate organisations and having ripple effects on charges from the services such organisations rendered to the public.
According to him, the federal, state and local government collects taxes as stipulated in the constitution and that is what is applicable in the state. Residents need to raise alarm where they feel that levies and taxes required by officials of the state government were not amongst the published rates and fees for levies.
On complaints about the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) operations, Fashola said Lagos residents should cultivate the habit of showing respect to the officials of the agency rather than castigating them always.
He said: "We demilitarise ourselves by the way we relate with them. We need to re-examine this by showing care, love and courtesies to LASMA officers who are our brothers and sisters.
He added without LASTMA, the traffic situation "will be horrendous. Indeed, there are more good men in LASTMA than the bad eggs and more good things are coming from it than bad ones".
The governor also urged citizens who find LASTMA officials without name tags on their uniforms and on duty to report such to the police saying such might be fake LASTMA officials.
On infrastructural development, Fashola said state government first embarked on the rehabilitation of the expressways in the state because they "serve a greater number of the citizens while plan is on for the rehabilitation of network roads."
Fashola said the Island Power Project (IPP) "will generate 15 megawatts of electricity to serve such areas as Lagos Island General Hospital, Lagos Island Maternity, Lagos State High Court, Lagos House-Marina, Lagos City Hall and 30 streets in Lagos Island."