Says: We’ve saved N4.5b from stoppage of pilgrimage sponsorships
Lagos State Honourable Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef has said Lagosians get the best of religious freedom, practice and fraternisation, adding that the state has no record of religious discrimination.He also disclosed that the goverment under the leadership of Mr Akinwunmi Ambode has saved over N4.5billion from the stoppage of pilgrimage sponsorship in the last three years. The Commissioner stated this while rendering the activities and achievements of his Ministry in the last one year, at Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre, Alausa recently.
According to him, “no one suffers religious discrimination in Lagos, as citizens experience the best of religious freedom, practice and fraternization. Lagos is the only state that gives effective operation to the tenets of the Nigerian Constitution on religious freedom, by fully implementing the relevant section 42.
“It is only in Lagos that Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) is functioning. The governor has inaugurated 798 Christian and Muslim members of the body, in a bid to continuously improve the current unprecedented level of peace and religious harmony being enjoyed in Lagos, while also sustaining and deepening the ongoing development, modernization and infrastructural expansion in the state.Lagos has not recorded any religious crisis and will remain crisis-free, as long as Ambode’s initiative on peace and religious harmony subsists, and the regular handshakes of Muslims and Christians prevail.”
He added that prudent management of resources in public finance, has saved the government over N4.5billion in the last three years, adding that this could have been spent on pilgrimage sponsorship alone. “Before this government came in, over N1.5 billion was spent spent annually on pilgrimage sponsorship, but governor Ambode stopped it and channeled the funds on infrastructure development, while also achieving unprecedented level of religious cooperation, collaboration and participation in governance among all religious adherents”, he added while stressing “In the year in review alone, he has approved the release of the sum of N25 million to the Nigerian Legion, Lagos Chapter to strengthen its operation and has also permitted engagement of 3000 Legionnaires for deployments to all the secondary and primary schools in Lagos, to ensure safety and security in schools environment, while creating jobs among the legionnaire”. Still on welfare package to the Nigerian Legion, the Honourable Commissioner said “Gov. Ambode does not joke with the welfare of legionnaires as well as the orphans and other relations of our fallen heroes in the state as he had given lorry loads of rice to the widows, orphans and other dependants of the late service men who had contributed immensely in preservation of sovereignty and unity of our fatherland.”
Responding to a question on closure of roads for religous activities as prevalent in some areas during worship hours, he stated that Ambode would not support closing of roads for religious worships. No one, he said, should obstruct public space, as this “is not only dangerous to everyone; it is not allowed by any religion.In the spirit of religious tolerance and freedom, Muslims and Christians have no right to obstruct the activities of others,just as the traditional worshippers must not obstruct or infringe on rights and dignity of people of other faith”.
He added that politics and religion collaborate in the enlightenment of citizens on benefits of active participation and facilitating informed choices such as collection of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) and sensitization on necessity of electing good, responsible and responsive leaders that will promote their interests and bring advancement to their states.