By Olumide Adeyinka
Tough times may be ahead for Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) as the Lagos West Senatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator Olamilekan Adeola, vows to raise a motion compelling the DISCOs to provide all their customers across the country with prepaid metres.
The motion would put an end to the regime of estimated billing, as any DISCO who refused to meter Nigerians should not expect revenue. “We shall empower Nigerians to resist the payment of any estimated bills from any DISCO,” the senator said.
He said the Senate would not continue to fold its hands while those who bought the nation’s national asset continue to fleece Nigerians.
He was speaking at the NUJ Lagos Council’s Meet the Press Forum, which held at the Council Secretariat in Ikeja, where he flagged off his second term re-election campaign into the Nigerian Senate. He said Nigerians look forward to quality representation from its representatives.
Adeola whose senatorial district, with a population of 14 million people, is the biggest in Nigeria, also promised to champion the media enhancement bill that would raise the welfare of media practitioners in the country.
Rendering account of his stewardship, he said he had sponsored 15 bills out of which two had been assented by the President, and has carried out several empowerment programmes ranging from scholarships to indigent but brilliant indigenes of the district, the purchase of JAMB/UTME admission forms to equally indigent students and empowerment and skills acquisition programmes for thousands of his constituents.
Adeola disclosed that his lobby and advocacy also recently led to the award of the repair of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway by the Federal Government. He assured that the project which would address the entire stretch of the project would begin at Mile 2 and terminate at Badagry.
On media welfare, Adeola said; “I am going to work with the NUJ to get a bill instituted at the Senate to ensure that media owners make the welfare of their employees sacrosanct. “All I need is for the NUJ to engage with me and let us see how we are going to get this done. Truly Lagos west houses the headquarters of majority of the media houses in Nigeria and getting a bill to redress the neglect of the welfare of this critical segment of our society is possible and I shall do it.”
While urging Lagosians to vote him again to represent the Lagos West district, Adeola said his wealth of experience as a ranking senator would be deployed to ensure that more federal presence is felt across all the 10 local governments and 17 LCDAs that makes up the entire district.
Describing the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as party of wasters has nothing more to offer the people of Nigeria. “The PDP has nothing to offer. That is why they are politicizing everything that our party is introducing to make life more abundant for the people. For instance, the Social welfare Fund being personally supervised by the Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, for which nobody needed any collateral other than applying online, but for which the PDP is accusing the ruling party of including beneficiaries phone number as well as PVC as prerequisite in the form being filled.
“To those who are likening this to SURE-P, Adeola said, SURE-P, a fund created to reinvest on infrastructure but ended up in private pockets.”
He said contrary to naysayers, all the monies the party has recovered are being used for the development of the nation.
Adeola, who is the pioneer Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content said his committee is ensuring that majority of all contracts and jobs being carried out especially in the oil and gas industry are given to Nigerians.
“We want to ensure that by 2027, we have achieved 70 percent of local content in all sectors especially in the oil and gas and construction industry and to see that in all critical sectors of the economy, Nigerians are given the option of first refusal,”Senator Adeola said
He also disclosed that the party is not fragmented over his choice for the senatorial district adding that though he had earlier had his eyes on the Ogun State gubernatorial ticket, he dropped the idea after wider consultation and never contested for any office outside the Lagos West Senatorial district.
He thanked the leadership of the party, especially the National Leader of the party Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who reposed confidence in him and gave their backing for him to return for another term at the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.