The 2023 Appropriation Bill recently presented by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has scaled through second reading at the State House of Assembly.

After scaling the second reading, House speaker Mudashiru Obasa committed it to a joint committee on Budget and Finance, with a mandate to report back to the House on December 12.

Governor Sanwo-Olu had on October 29, presented the 2023 Appropriation Bill of over N1.692 trillion titled ‘Budget of Continuity’ to the House.

At plenary on Tuesday, the lawmakers described the proposed budget as achievable, while suggesting other areas through which the government could generate more funds.

Gbolahan Yishawu, chairman of the House Committee on Economic Planning and Budget, gave details of the Appropriation Bill, with some of his colleagues commending the executive for the proposal.

Meanwhile, the House of Assembly has summoned Moruf-Akinderu Fatai, Commissioner for Housing, and Oluwatobi Lawal, Managing Director of the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC), over allegations of a planned demolition of some houses in the Jakande Estate area of Eti-Osa.

Also summoned are the affected residents of the estate.

The issue was raised under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’ by Noheem Adams, Deputy Majority Leader of the House.

Mr Adams told his colleagues that the residents, aged between 70 and 80, stormed his house in the early hours of Tuesday pleading that the government should be stopped from demolishing their houses.

He recalled that the majority of the residents lived in Maroko before their houses were demolished in the 1990s and they were relocated to the Jakande Estate.

He said the residents had lived peacefully until recently when they started facing threats of demolition.

He said the residents had written a petition addressed to the Speaker and that their collective grievance was already being addressed by the House Committee on Public Petitions headed by Victor Akande.

He added that on September 23, some members of the House led by Mr Akande visited the Jakande Estate with officials from the LBIC, who had promised not to demolish buildings in the area.

“However on October 12, officials of the LBIC went to the estate to mark houses for demolition,” he said.

In his contribution, Rotimi Olowo, said the situation with the residents was pathetic, calling for parties to reach mutual understanding since the owners of the estate had invested heavily in the place.

Mr Olowo was supported by his colleague, Adewale Temitope, who urged for an amicable settlement of the issue.

Speaker Obasa, before approving the invitation of the commissioner and the LBIC boss, noted that there was need to understand the position of the government before a decision is taken on the issue.

He also agreed that there should be collaboration and understanding between the property owners and the government.