The member representing Surulere II Federal Constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Lanre Okunlola, has urged Nigerians to remain united and committed to building a prosperous nation as the country marks its 66th Independence Anniversary.
Okunlola who made the call while addressing journalists during an exclusive interview ahead of the anniversary, said Nigeria’s diversity remained a strength and urged citizens to work together to protect the country’s unity and support efforts aimed at improving its economy and security.
“Nigeria is ours, and we must do everything humanly possible to guide Nigeria’s philosophy and ensure that our unity in diversity makes us who we are,” he said.
The lawmaker described Nigeria as a “work in progress,” saying the country had continued to record progress despite its challenges.
He said the National Assembly had a critical role to play in shaping the country through legislation capable of strengthening the economy, improving security and promoting good governance.
According to him, the Tax Reform Bills and the proposed State Police legislation are among the critical reforms before the National Assembly aimed at addressing some of the country’s economic and security challenges.
“Part of our mandate is to make laws that will govern this country, put the economy in the right perspective and help the security architecture of the country,” he said.
Okunlola expressed optimism that the proposed state police legislation would strengthen community-based security, stressing that security challenges required solutions that were responsive to local realities.
He also highlighted some of his constituency interventions, saying they were based on needs assessments conducted among constituents.
The lawmaker said his interventions had focused largely on youths and women, with additional support provided for senior citizens and retirees.
He said the objective was to empower vulnerable groups to become economically productive and contribute to the development of their communities.
“From our needs assessment, we found it imperative to focus more on youths and women and see how we can empower them in life so that they can build prosperous communities,” he said.
Okunlola said his office had also facilitated interventions for senior citizens and retirees as a temporary relief measure to address some of their challenges.
He added that his legislative interventions and constituency projects were guided by feedback from constituents and the need to address identified gaps in education, infrastructure and economic empowerment.
The lawmaker urged Nigerians to celebrate the Independence Anniversary with renewed faith in the country and commitment to national unity.
He said citizens had a collective responsibility to contribute to the development of Nigeria and ensure that the country remained a place where future generations could thrive.