Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa, has stated that the federal government’s N-Power and the TraderMoni micro-credit programmes cannot solve the many problems bedevilling Nigerians.

Mr Obasa stated this in a tweet on Tuesday. The message was also tweeted by the parliament’s Twitter handle, @lshaofficial

In the tweet titled, ‘Matter of urgent public importance,’ the speaker, tweeting via @mudashiru_obasa, stated, “Government policies should be given a human face.” 

Explaining his point, Mr Obasa specifically stated, “The hardship Nigerians, especially our youths, are going through is unbearable. Dolling out N10,000 N-Power or Trader money cannot empower anybody. We must do more persuasive things to encourage our people.”

The TraderMoni scheme is President Muhammadu Buhari’s social intervention programme executed through the Bank of Industry to provide interest-free and collateral-free loans ranging from N10,000 to N100,000 to petty traders and artisans, while the N-Power scheme is a component of the National Social Investment Programme aimed at providing a structure for skill acquisition and development.

During Tuesday’s plenary, Mr Obasa had made the same point.

Mr Obasa’s statement came on the heels of the recent rising crime rate in Lagos and the worsening insecurity in the country.

On Tuesday, the U.S. consulate issued a security alert to its citizens residing in Lagos regarding the rapid increase in crime in the megacity.

It warned them to be more aware of their surroundings, especially as they drive around the affluent neighbourhoods of Ikoyi and Victoria Island, which it said had experienced an influx of armed robbers who engage in “smash-and-grab” of belongings of their victims.

Advising Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr Obasa said, “We should have CCTV around to prevent what we don’t want in the state. We must be ahead of every situation in our state.”