The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Lagos State chapter, has taken a swipe at the recent renaming of some streets in some local governments areas of the state.
DAILY POST reports the recent renaming of streets and public landmarks in the state has sparked intense public debate and protests,
Reacting in a statement on Thursday in Lagos, the PDP Vice-Chairman (Lagos Central), Mr Hakeem Olalemi, who advised the ruling party to tread carefully, alleged that the renaming targeted a section of society.
“The Lagos PDP is hereby rejecting in totality the renaming of streets by some council chairmen. We should never erase history because of politics.
“It is against the spirit of unity in diversity and it will certainly affect the image of the state as a cosmopolitan state.
“We should be seen to be promoting unity and not to give the wrong impression to non-indigenes in the state.
“We have various ethnic nationalists in our state, who have contributed immensely to the development of our state, hence the reason why some streets were named after them initially.
“This current action by some council executives should be reconsidered. Most of the streets affected were bearing Igbo names before and this leaves so many questions in the heart of non indigenes,” Olalemi said.
He described the street renaming as totally unconstitutional, adding that the decision and consequent reactions showed that some leaders failed to consult widely.
Recall that human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, also recently condemned the change of street names as unconstitutional.
Similarly, residents of Ilaje community in Bariga Local Council Development Area (LCDA in the state had staged a protest on Wednesday, rejecting the recent renaming of their street ‘Ilaje Road’ to ‘King Sunny Ade Road.’