By Miftaudeen Raji

The candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC for Lagos State House of Assembly, Somolu Constituency 1, Hon. Abiodun Orekoya has reaffirmed his determination to prioritize youths in his constituency, based on their needs.

Orekoya made this reassurance while addressing some youths under the platform of Orekoya Youth Vanguard in a town hall meeting held in Somolu during the weekend.

The former commissioner in the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission said if elected to represent Somolu in the Lagos House of Assembly, he will lobby government to provide enabling support for the youths to help drive innovation.

He noted that the motivation behind his political ambition is to engage the youths for productivity and development.

Orekoya, who expressed his readiness for youths, noted the youths and young people are the ones who have ideas that can change the world and make significant change in the society.

He said, “This is the time for the youths. This is the only opportunity I have to work with the youths and I’m making myself available to work with the youths.

“I am for the youths. I am coming out to engage the youths. I believe in them because their approach to issues is dynamic. I want to work with the youths and their ideas to see things from their perspective and see what possible development we can bring to our people,” he added.

Read also: Disability Day: PWD urge LAHA to pass inclusive education policy into law

Orekoya promised that he will explore avenues to end youth restiveness and crimes by facilitating empowerment for them through the Lagos State government intervention programmes.

He said, “I will work with the youths at state government, local government, and ward levels to identify their problems and needs. The grassroots is the foundation and this is where the problem lies and that’s what I’m setting out to address,” he said.

The APC Lagos Assembly candidate, who lamented that Somolu has been lagging behind in the State, noted that 2023 is the only opportunity to make Somolu better.

He however, said, “Politics is not fight to finish nor do-or-die. The era of killing in politics is gone. What we have now is healthy competition based on ability, capacity, track record of what you have done for your community.”

Orekoya added that his goal was to develop the youths and retire from politics early to cater for other things in life.