Kunle Adelabu
Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, the Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly (standing), speaking as the Chairman of the interactive session at the second edition of the ‘Ikorodu Business Community Breakfast with the Ayangbure’, which held at the Ayangbure palace on Wednesday. With him, His Royal Majesty, Oba Kabir Adewale Shotobi, the Ayangbure of Ikorodu, Sir (Otunba) Ayodele Elesho, the Agbaakin of Ikorodu and other dignitaries.
The Chairman, Nigerian Majority Leaders Forum and The Majority Leader, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Sanai Oyeniran Bolanle Agunbiade, has stated that the acknowledgement of Ikorodu as the third largest city in the Southwest, Nigeria, has vindicated his stance on his opposition against merging it with Shomolu and Kosofe.
The fourth term lawmaker, who said that he ran into problems regarding his stance, said that he took the position because he was aware that the division is big enough to stand on its own.
Hon. Agunbiade spoke when he chaired the interactive session of the second ‘Ikorodu Business Community Breakfast Meeting with Ayangbure’, at the Ayangbure Banquet Hall, Ikorodu, on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.
A privately initiated bill, which sought to repeal the 1972 Administrative Divisions Law of Lagos State, was vehemently opposed by Hon. Agunbiade who is representing the Ikorodu Constituency I in the Lagos Assembly.
The bill, which was allegedly sponsored by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, had sought to amend the Administrative Divisions (Establishment) No. 7 of 1972 with the aim of delimiting the five administrative divisions in the state.
Under its schedule, the bill proposed that Ikeja Division, “shall now comprise Agege, Ikeja, Ifako-Ijaiye, Mushin and Oshodi; Badagry Division – Alimosho, Ojo, Amuwo, Badagry and Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Ikorodu Division – Kosofe, Somolu and Ikorodu; Lagos Division – Lagos Island, Yaba, Apapa and Surulere as well as Epe Division – Epe, Eti-Osa and Ibeju-Lekki.”
A Town hall meeting was called in Ikorodu in February 2021, to that effect, where Hon. Agunbiade restated his opposition to the merger.
“I am happy to be an indigene of Ikorodu. I am happy to be Omo Eluku ‘gangan’ (original Eluku son). I am happy because some months back, I ran into troubles somewhere when I opposed a bill to join Kosofe and Shomolu to Ikorodu Division and I did that because I believed Ikorodu alone is bigger than most towns in the state”, Hon. Agunbiade said.
“They said we are too small to be a division, but we have now been declared as the 3rd largest city in Southwest Nigeria.
“I have been vindicated and I thank God for that. I am still suffering from the problem for saying that lkorodu is sufficient in population and that they shouldn’t add to our problems. Now, a place they feel is too small to be a division has been declared as the 3rd largest city in Southwest”, he said.
