Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Friday urged religious leaders to support his administration in the fight against indiscriminate dumping of refuse and non-adherence to traffic laws in the state.
Sanwo-Olu, who was in the company of his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, made the appeal at a Special Inauguration Juma’at Service at the Lagos Secretariat Community Central Mosque, Alausa, Ikeja.
He said that religious leaders were important and respected stakeholders in the society as they could influence positive behavioural change among residents.
According to him, their administration recognised the role of religious leaders in government and the society.
He said: “This is a thanksgiving service for the successful swearing-in event held on Wednesday.
“Today’s prayer is also special because our inauguration took place in the Holy Month of Ramadan and it falls within the last 10 days of the Holy month. We believe it is very symbolic and divine.
“We are also using the opportunity to consult with our religious leaders on the issue of waste management because we know the people believe so much in them.
“We will be producing different colours of waste bags for waste sorting. We will be taking them to religious organisations for distribution.
“We also talked about traffic management and the need to obey traffic laws and officials.
“We need our religious leaders to help propagate these messages. Their voices can help drive the message home to our people and we will begin to experience the desired changes in our state.’’
The Governor said that resolving the challenges of the state required the collective efforts of all as government alone could not solely address them.
The Chief Imam of the Mosque, Imam Abdul-Hakeem Abdul-Gafar, who offered prayers for the Governor and his deputy, urged Nigerians to support and pray for the success of their administration.
He said: “Prayers are essential to fight battles and challenges. Being a leader comes with challenges and we will continue to support your administration with prayers.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Babatunde Balogun, Lagos State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdul-Hakeem Muri-Okunlola, Head of Service, the League of Imams and Board of Permanent Secretaries, were also at the Juma’at Service.
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