Chairman of Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Mr. David Olusegun Odunmbaku, has expressed his administration readiness to tackle the menace of multiple taxation.

The council chairman, who promised to partner with the private sector to achieve this goal, said he remains focused in spurring economic growth amid the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Odunmbaku was speaking while recently interacting with captains of industry in the Council.

He noted: “There’s need for us to reach out to the public sector. Gone are the days of doing it alone, where the council chairman sit in the office and expect magic to happen, particularly against the background of scarce resources.

“Inflation is going through the roof, we are just coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and it’s time to bring the community together. We need each other. I'm also aware that the private sector is going through a rough time. However, we can work together and make this easy for all of us.

“Our IGR [Internally Generated Revenue] has been decimated, we are not even been able to get 50% of what we used to have and the public expect us to still carry on with our statutory duties. In our feasibility study, we found out that you are also key. Therefore, we cannot do much without you. We must set up partnership that will work. By so doing, issues that affect the private sector, such as multiple taxations, documentation and some others can be tackled.

“We need your expertise, we need your experiences, we need your resources to help us get to the Ojodu of our dream. I'm pretty sure with this administration and this move we have taken, it will be a reality to the upcoming generation.”

He also highlighted some of the projects his administration has worked on within the last 100 days.

“In our short 100 days, we have been able to do some road projects. Currently, we are working on Muibi Street, which will connect and decongest Ogunnusi Road, Sonala Street is there and Ayo Alabi Street, we’ll continue working on others too,” Odunmbaku said.

“We have been identifying the core needs of the community, with my team and our campaign manifesto which stands for health, education, youth and women empowerment, social services and infrastructure. It’s my pleasure to let you know that the HEYS agenda is in tune with the T.H.E.M.E agenda of the Lagos State Government. This was intentional, I was privileged to be part of the campaign team of the governor, I was the Deputy Director ICT, so most of the programs that were rolling out especially the Fiber-optic internet, I was part of the plan.”

He also said his administration is working rigorously to make sure Apata and Aguda Primary Health Centres (PHCs) work 24/7. His words: “Talking of our facilities, all our PHCs need upgrades, presently we are at Apata and Aguda PHCs, when I say upgrade I don’t mean the regular whitewash, I mean we want to make them 24 hours facilities.

“The grassroots benefits also include scholarship, grants, soft-loan, for our market women and SMEs and so much more, the important aspect of the program is to have a database of our people, as am talking to you, we started last week and we have gotten close to 700 people in our database and it’s growing.”

On the ban on Okada riders, Hon. Bunmi Oluyadi, Vice Chairman Ojodu LCDA, said the council is curtailing the excesses of the Okada riders within the council area, adding: "We are aware that the State government has placed a ban on the Okada riders within the State capital, so we as government, for the past few years make sure we address and curtail their excess."

Some businessmen who participated in the meeting with the council boss included, among others, Mr. Tayo Orekoya, former Director, LAMATA & APC chieftain Ojodu LCDA; Mr Koye Adejumo, Chairman Empowerment Team; Mr Joshua Ayodele, SME Officer, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF); Olapeju Bello, ME Officer LSETF, representative of United Bank for Africa (UBA); Managers of Jover Hotel and Hubmart Stores.

PHOTO: Ojodu LCDA Executive Chairman, Mr David Olusegun Odunmbaku (middle), in a group photograph with captains of industry, during a breakfast meeting with Odunmbaku at the council secretariat on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. Photo: DOS Media Team