Jare Babatunde
The Lagos State Government has announced that the review of the process for the issuance of the State of Origin documents would commence soon.
Honourable Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations in the State, Engr. Tayo Bamgbose-Martins, disclosed this during a meeting with the members of the Federal Character Commission in his office at Alausa, Ikeja.
In a release, Engr. Bamgbose – Martins called on those issuing letters of indigeneship to non-indigenes and those procuring same to desist from such untoward acts, as it is a disadvantage to the real indigenes of the State.
Bamgbose-Martins expressed his displeasure over the rate at which some government functionaries arbitrarily issue the State of Origin document to non-indigenes in order to secure Federal appointments.
“There have been verified reports that non-indigenes procure State of Origin documents from different unauthorised sources in Lagos, sometimes at the Local Government level or even from some traditional rulers as attested to by the Federal Character Commission. This is quite unfortunate that people can descend so low to commit such despicable acts,” Bamgbose-Martins declared.
The Commissioner assured that, henceforth, the Ministry will work more closely with the Federal Character Commission to appropriately address the issue and ensure that indigenes of Lagos State are no longer deprived of their place in Federal appointments and placements.
“The Lagos State Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations is ready to collaborate with the Federal Character Commission to curb this impropriety. We will review the process of issuing State of Origin documents and map out specific steps to ensure that due process is followed before the documents are issued”, he asserted.
Earlier, the Commissioner representing Lagos State at the Federal Character Commission, Alhaji Abdul Wasiu Kayode Bawa-Allah, stated that the focal point of the meeting was to strengthen the collaborative efforts of the State and Federal Governments so that indigenes of Lagos State can have equal representation they deserve for federal appointments.
He disclosed that the survey carried out by the Commission indicated that most of the candidates, who presented State of Origin documents during recruitment, are non-indigenes of Lagos State but had procured such documents from dubious sources, hence, there is a need to call the attention of the State Government to it.
Bawa-Allah maintained that the Commission will no longer accept documents that do not emanate from the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, adding that Traditional Rulers and Local Government authorities who issue such documents should be duly informed and educated on the implications of such actions.
“We will work with the State to educate the traditional rulers, through the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs, so that whatever they are issuing comes with the conscience and consideration of the future of Lagos. From now on, there will be a need to obtain final clearance from the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations.
“The final papers must come from the Ministry of Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations. Whatever paper we see from the Ministry is what we will recognise as the State of Origin document for any Federal position”, he asserted.
