I joined politics to serve my people ~ Ogooluwa/Surulere Federal Lawmaker (SMATO)
I joined politics to serve my people ~ Ogooluwa/Surulere Federal Lawmaker (SMATO)
Hon. Makanjuola Smato, a member of the House of Representatives in Oyo State who represents Ogooluwa/Surulere Federal Constituency, has reaffirmed that he joined politics to help his people and not to enrich himself ,saying that his desire to help people led him into politics.
The lawmaker, who made this disclosure on Sunday during an interview on NTA, emphasized that he had been a successful businessman before joining politics.
He declared: “I am a successful businessman and have been helping people before joining politics. There are more than 217 young people employed by my production company.
“I primarily participate in politics to support my people and provide good governance. I was elected to the House of Representatives in 2023. Before then, I had earlier served my people as the chairman of Surulere LCDA. Therefore, this is not my first time in public service. This has really given me the needed experience in a public office.
Smato, the deputy chairman of the House Committee on Solid Minerals and chairman House Committee on Friendship Group to Pakistan, outlined some of his accomplishments in the house, notably his recent involvement regarding the unstable electricity supply in the Ogbomoso zone.
He stated: “I was able to call on Adelabu Penkelemes, the Minister of Power, recently to discuss how to improve electricity with the 133kv at Iganmo to serve the Ogbomoso zone.
“Additionally, as people’s attention is now diverting from crude oil, I was able to urge Alake, the minister of solid minerals, to utilise Nigeria’s solid minerals to their full potential in my capacity as the deputy chairman of the committee on solid minerals. This will no doubt create job employment for the youths. I also led campaigns against illegal mining activities in the country.
When asked about his achievements since the assuming office, the lawmaker stated that, like Governor Seyi Makinde, he has been able to revive abandoned projects for the sake of the constituents and drill roughly 40 motorised boreholes.
Additionally, he highlighted other projects such as a well-equipped library in Arolu ward, a block of classrooms, road construction, the provision of a 500kva transformer, financial support for the ongoing construction of a police station, the empowerment of approximately 208 market traders with N100,000 each, the distribution of fertilisers and sprayers to approximately 3000 farmers, the provision of freezers and generators for approximately 150 constituents, and a youth training program.
The lawmaker disclosed that in 2025, his plan is to build ICT centres to both Ogooluwa and Surulere local government as well as to distribute educational materials to pupils and financial support for farmers, among others.”
He, however, appealed to constituents to keep supporting him for more dividends of democracy.
Below is the full interview 👇👇