The Lagos State Public Works Corporation (LSPWC) has assured Lagosians of its commitment to maintaining the roads during this rainy season.

LSPWC General Manager Lateef Somide gave the assurance during the tour of some maintenance sites such as Itire-Lawanson Road, Surulere, Orishigun Street, Ketu, and Agbowa-Itoikin Road, Ikorodu.

Somide noted that that Lagos experienced heavy rains recently, which slowed down  the   corporation’s intervention on bad portions of roads.

This, he said, has also resulted in an upsurge in the emergence of pot-holes on roads, especially those that are due for total reconstruction.

He, however, said under the  administration, the agency would maintain its presence on the roads in all seasons.

His words: “That is why you would see our men fixing roads even in the rain, with interlocking paving stones as the hot asphalt premix normally used is not suitable for wet season.”

He said further that to minimise the challenges posed by bad roads, to free movement of persons and goods during the wet season, the agency carried out palliative interventions with boulders placed on portions haf almost degenerated into craters   while cold-mixed asphalt and interlocking paving stones were used to fix some roads, depending on the terrain.

Somided said the corporation deployed its men to many parts of the state immediately the rains abated to fix pot holes.

“We are taking full advantage of the dry weather witnessed in the past one week to treat many defective portions day and night,” he added.

Reflecting on some roads the agency had worked on in the last one week, Somide said over 20 were maintained using hot asphalt premix, 25 were treated with boulders to provide temporary relief while about eight had been fixed with interlocking paving stones.

Some of the roads where bad sections were fixed are Ikorodu Road, inward Ketu; Lekki-Epe Expressway  by Ogidan Bus Stop; Oke Afa-Ejigbo Road by NNPC Bus Stop; and Ijegun Road by Abaranje Street, among others.

BATN Director, External Affairs, British American Tobacco (BAT) West and Central Africa, Odiri Erewa-Meggison, in this interview with OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE, speaks on the company’s commitment to its environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities and the corporate culture that has put sustainability at the centre of operations.

What is the importance of sustainability to British American Tobacco Nigeria Limited?

Sustainability has been central to our business and ethos for decades, starting in 2001 when we established our first group-wide environment, health and safety systems, the BAT Nigeria Biodiversity Partnership and a programme of independently facilitated social dialogue. Last year, we were recognised as a sustainability leader for the 20th consecutive year and the only tobacco company to be included in the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). That speaks a lot about the priority we have placed on sustainability over the years. Sustainability is integral to our evolved group strategy and reflects our commitment to the principal focus area of reducing the health impact of our business. This is underpinned by excellence across our other Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities. We are committed to reducing our climate impact, taking care of biodiversity, and rethinking our means of consumption. For us, sustainability is front and center in everything we do.

You mentioned that sustainability is the front and centre in all that you do as a company. How is that playing out in your Nigeria and indeed West Africa operations?

In Nigeria and indeed across our operations in West and Central Africa, we are very proud of the success we have registered on our sustainability journey. In 2021, we achieved 100 per cent recycling of waste generated at our Ibadan factory with zero waste evacuated to landfill. We set up a Sustainability Show corner at our factory where you will find some of the end products of the recycling process on display. It shows that beyond repurposing waste material, the initiative is also creating new capacities among implementation partners and employment in the local community. In addition, we have recorded an impressive 23.7 per cent reduction in scope 1 and 2 emissions, compared to the 2017 baseline, on our journey to carbon neutrality. We have also recorded 26.2 per cent reduction in water drawn and four per cent water recycled. Moreover, we have also attained the ISO140012015 environmental certification for the Ibadan factory, among others.

How has the pursuit of this principle impacted your company’s performance?

For instance, on areas like safety, efficiency of your operations or productivity of your workforce? The impact has been very positive, even for our performance as an organisation. For example, one of our ambitions, which is reflected in our 2021 Group Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Report, is zero accidents group-wide. We are proud that in Nigeria and the West and Central Africa Area, we achieved zero lost time incidents throughout 2021 at our Ibadan Factory, despite hundreds of people walking through its gates daily. Supported by myriads of trucks and equipment and over three hundred cars on the road daily across our commercial operations, we’ve similarly recorded significant reduction in road accidents when compared with the previous years.

With the increased clamour by environmental activists and governments across the globe for companies to reduce the environmental impacts of their activities, how would you score your company’s efforts in reducing the negative environmental impacts of your operations?

On this year’s World Environment Day, which was marked in June, the world celebrated 50 years of the initial Stockholm Conference with the theme ‘Only One Earth’. It was once again an opportunity to reiterate the need for mankind to live sustainably in harmony with nature; and for us at BAT Nigeria, we are proud of the achievements we have made so far and are committed to continuously push for new ways to reduce our resource use, preserve the natural environment, improve the lives of farmers and communities, and uphold robust corporate governance standards. So, I will say quite confidently that we have done very well in driving for a sustainable planet and reducing negative environmental impact of our operations.

Could you please throw more light on this ‘zero waste to landfill’ you mentioned? How were you able to achieve it this quickly?

In 2019, we began partnering local recyclers to implement the recycling of waste material such as paper, plastics and cigarette waste. One of such local partners is  Skaj& U, which started off as a waste paper aggregator and paper recycling years ago, but is today, able to recycle such diverse products as plastic waste, spent oil, tyres, metal waste, carton waste, pallet waste, packs and label waste, waste water, canteen waste, nylon waste, tow waste, foil waste, used kegs, used drums, cable waste and sludge, among others, from our factory in Ibadan. Hence no waste material goes to any landfill in Oyo State, from our factory. Our model of partnering local partners has also led to their empowerment. For example, the project with BAT Nigeria has catalysed Skaj& U’s growth. They employ up to 150 skilled and unskilled workers in addition to the expansion of its recycling capacity with the acquisition of new machinery and the introduction of new recycling processes. Most multinationals are switching to renewable energy sources as the next phase of the drive to reducing the emission of greenhouse gases.

 Do you have plans to transition to renewables in the near future?

Certainly. Indeed, one of our ESG targets is to achieve 100 per cent renewable electricity in operations sites by 2030 and we are well on our way to that. In 2020, we commenced the transition from diesel-powered electricity generating plants to an independent power plant (IPP), utilising cleaner natural gas as a fuel source. The IPP also incorporates heat recovery capacity and the recovered heat is used to drive the factory cooling systems. This further extends the energy efficiency of the factory and helps the environment as noxious fumes are not released along with steam into the atmosphere. These initiatives have enabled the company to achieve up to 23 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. More recently, we announced the implementation of a 1 MW Solar Panel renewable energy solution (without backup battery storage) that would complement the existing gas engine-powered supply at our factory. This project, which will consist of the installation of 1,900 polar panels, will generate a cumulative energy of 1,400,000 KWh yearly, representing about six per 1cent of the factory’s annual power requirement, which would be injected directly into the company’s energy mix. To achieve this, we are making a significant investment of about £1million over the next two years on the project,which will reduce our carbon emissions by the equivalent of 992 tons yearly, thus taking us closer to our target of 100 per cent renewable energy source and being carbon neutral by 2030.

 Can we say that you are satisfied with your company’s sustainability achievements or milestones?

For us, we see ourselves as being on a journey to build ‘a better tomorrow’, and we have a clear road map with set milestones leading up to 2050. While we are proud of our  achievements, we are not prepared to rest on our oars. We are focused on our targets and will continue to implement various initiatives that help us achieve our targets in our region.

Are there any policy initiatives you think the government can introduce that will improve environmental conservation and accelerate Nigeria towards a greener future?

I believe the Federal Ministry of Environment, and importantly, the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) have been doing a lot of work, in recent times, around embedding good environmental management practices in Nigeria and holding corporate organisations to task in fulfilling their obligations in ensuring good environmentally practices in their operations. But I think we need a lot more public awareness on the importance of protecting the environment and the consequences of our actions on the planet. This should be engrained even in our educational system so that young ones grow up they have a sustainability mindset acquired in the formative years.That way we build a society where these issues are top of mind for private citizens, businesses and, of course, the government. At BAT Nigeria, we want to be the catalyst that gets other companies in Nigeria to take environmental issues very seriously; making sure that we are giving back to the society from which we derive our livelihood. We are nurturing our environment in such a way that there is sustainability into the future.

The Lagos/Ibadan Expressway has become a major problem to the Federal Government. Successive administration‘s promised failed to deliver. Works ministers merely visited the highway and made promises they could not fulfill. May 29, last year was reportedly announced as the road’s delivery date. But it never came to pass. Now residents on the axis are going through hell since the construction firm returned to site. OKWY IROEGBU-­CHIKEZIE reports.

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is vital in many ways. It is the major route to the northern, southern and eastern parts of the country.

The oldest expressway in the country, it was inaugurated in August 1978, during the military era. Sadly, its expansion has been delayed over the years.

One thing constant occurence on the road is that as early as 4am daily, most commuters, who barely had a good night rest, are already on the road to avoid its perenial gridlock.

Daily interruption of sleep, experts say, is not healthy for the body, but that is what commuters experience because of the twin problems of laxity on the part of the contractor and government which, from all indications, has lost control of supervising Julius Berger, the contractor handling the road.

It has become normal for the contractor to narrow the road anytime without putting a sign or notice to inform millions of commuters. Professionals say Julius Berger is supposed to develop the alternative roads by Mikano and Warewa, leading to the cattle market, to make for easy movement but nothing has been done.

Commuters, who spoke to The Nation, wondered if the contractor could do this in its home country, Germany, and get away with it. They berated the Federal Government for allowing a foreign firm to punish her citizens against international best practice.

The 127.6-kilometre-long expressway connecting Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, and Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, observers say, has become synonymous with delays running into hours, lone and fatal accidents, fuel tankers tipping, fire outbreaks and craters on the road. Commuters also contend with highway robbers and petty thieves because the perennial traffic provides a cover for them.

President Goodluck Jonathan kicked off the reconstruction of the expressway 10 years ago, but it was later abandoned. Even in its  records, this must be the longest job for Julius Berger, which is losing its reputation as a giant in roadworks.

The Muhammadu Buhari-led government inherited the road in 2015, but could not complete it as promised, until its first term expired.The government is relying on the Sukkuk Fund and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority fund (NSIA) to complete the road. Menwhile, motorits suffer such that travelling from Lagos to Ibadan has become nightmarish, with the attendant dangers to life and property. The construction has been described as one of the most-expensive in the world, with periodic variations by the contractors with government’s nod.

The expressway has become a death trap for many, with long travelling hours experience for motorists and road users alike. We have heard of heart-rending stories of how a one-hour journey from Lagos to Ibadan turned to several hours of sufferings.

The gridlock on the expressway got worse penultimate Friday as travellers struggled to leave town for the holidays. From the Old Toll Gate to Magboro, Ogun State, was blocked and vehicular movements were at a standstill after impatient motorists and commercial drivers drove against traffic.

On Thursday, The Nation noted that the traffic on the expressway resurfaced after the resumption of construction at the Otedola/Secretariat end of the road. At OPIC and Kara cattle market of not more than 100 metres, motorists spend about an hour and half to scale through.The situation has been compounded by the heavy rainfall in the last few days, which affected some sections of the road; as vehicles slow down to avoid potholes.

Commuters wondered why the government was not showing concern for the plight of the road users as there has been reported cases of head-on collision.

A civil engineer, Afolabi Olatunde, berated the government for punishing the citizens through the contractor.

He said Julius Berger’s action on the road was a sign of compromise by the supervising ministry as alternative routes, laybys, towing vehicles for broken down trucks and tankers were nonexistent. According to him, until there is a real cleansing in the public service, Nigeria is doomed.

A motorist, Kazeem Adeoti, said he left Mowe at 4.20am to get to his office at Ajah but the traffic trapped him for four hours.

A passenger from Arepo, Sadiat Salako, pleaded with the government to get the contractor to put all their might in the construction to alleviate their suffering. According to her, the stress commuters go through can lead to serious health implications. She advised fellow commuters to do checks to ascertain their health status.

Another motorist, Onwudiwe Innocent, who drove against traffic, said he took the decision because he “had no other choice”.

“I can’t afford to stay for longer hours in the traffic. The traffic officials have no choice than to allow us to pass,” he added.

Some commuters, including children, on Tuesday at Arepo end of the expressway,  heading towards Lagos, resorted to walking, as they could not find a bus to convey them.

Meanwhile, the gridlock got hawkers excited, as they made brisk business as most of them sold out their products. Some of them had to deposit their phones with distributors of soft drinks, water and other snacks to have access to the products as a result of the high demand by commuters.

A man hawking sausage, Uche Ndukwe, claimed he sold three cartons on Tuesday, adding that without traffic, he might still be struggling with a carton.

Every other day there are reports of robberies and accidents with lives lost as a result of craters and non-power supply on the road, still nothing concrete is done.

Responding to inquiries by The Nation as to why the contractor was not working at night to speed up the construction of the road, a senior officer who pleaded anonymity, cited insecurity. He added that the government did not have money nor were provisions made on the contract to pay ransom for kidnapped workers.

“Right now, nobody is sure of anything except that the construction will last for six months but residents on that axis and commuters are wondering how they can tolerate this insensitive contractor and government for six months at the scale as there is a sense of urgency from them,” he said.

Another common feature is that every other day, is that sometimes vehicles break down and take long hours or days to be towed off the road because the firm does not have a ready­to­go towing vehicle which is embedded in the contract.

To stem the tide of partial or total collapse of buildings under construction in Lagos State, the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development,  Dr. Idris Salako, has called on site supervisors to pay adequate attention to propping while carrying on their building projects.

He made the appeal, following a review of construction activities in various parts of the state and the need to reduce to the barest minimum incidents of building collapse, especially buildings under construction.

According to the commissioner, preliminary investigation into why buildings under construction often collapse revealed that most of the propping used during construction works were often not properly placed or, in most cases, experiences failure.

Salako underscored the importance of proper placement of props, especially at the stage of casting, to avoid errors that could ultimately result into collapse.

He urged site supervisors, owners/developers of buildings and other relevant stakeholdersto pay attention to propping and observe the appropriate timing for casting to avoid building collapse.

Apart from this, the commissioner added that projects board must be properly placed on every site, noting that a typical project board must contain the name of the owner/developers, proposed number of floors and use, names of professionals on site as well as their addresses and phone numbers.

Salako maintained that names of artisans working on site, including iron benders, welders, bricklayers, carpenters and others, must be provided on demand with their passport photographs appropriately attached.

Salako, who commended officials of Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA) for efforts to avert building collapse by removing identified distressed and defective structures across the state. He pledged that adequate measures would be taken to ensure that Lagos buildings were safe and habitable for present and future generations.

The Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) plans to celebrate this year’s Tree Planting Day on Thursday.

Its General Manager, Mrs. Adetoun Popoola, while unveiling the plans at her office in Ikeja, stated that July 14 is observed yearly as the Lagos State Tree Planting Day, adding that the theme for this year’s is: “In harmony with nature”.

According to her, the theme is inspired by the need to take steps to build a sustainable relationship between humanity and nature.

“We will continue to emphasise to the public that trees are a vital part of our natural environment and an immense contributor to human life. In addition to providing shade, trees produce oxygen and purify the air we breathe by removing harmful particles from the atmosphere. We must, therefore, learn to co-exist in harmony with nature,” she said.

Mrs. Popoola added that the event would be commemorated with planting of trees across the 57 Local Governments (LGAs) and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of the state.

She confirmed that the exercise would be kicked off by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello.

She added that tree seedlings would be given to the local authorities as well as interested individuals, private organisations and NGOs at no cost to encourage them to plant in their homes, offices and communities as is the usual practice of the agency.

Read Also: Rotary, LASPARK promote tree planting

“We are well aware of the importance of environmental education to children and young adults. They must understand how their decisions and daily activities affect the environment. We must also help them build the knowledge and skills necessary to address complex environmental issues, identify simple, day-to-day actions to improve the environment for a sustainable future.

“We are, therefore, pleased to announce this year’s Art Competition for children aged three to 16 where we expect them to use any art form to interpret their understanding of this year’s tree planting day theme,” Mrs. Popoola added.

She said each participant would receive a digital Certificate of Participation and winning artwork would be displayed at the Dr. Oluyomi Abayomi Finnih Recreational Park, Oregun.

In addition, they will receive exciting prizes like tablets, smart watches and school bags.

Mrs. Popoola urged parents, guardians and teachers to encourage their children and wards to participate in the competition to showcase their creativity and talent.

Reiterating LASPARK’S commitment to landscape and beautify Lagos, plant and nurture trees to fight the negative effects of climate change, promote recreation and leisure through establishment of parks and gardens in the state, the General Manager admonished residents to see tree planting as a civic responsibility and be devoted to its nurturing and management, calling on everyone to partake in the forthcoming Lagos State Tree Planting Day.

The Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Suleiman Adamu, has called for support in implementing the National Water Resources Bill, saying it is not targeted at grabbing states’ land and waterways.

Adamu made the call at the advocacy and sensitisation workshop on implementation of the 2013 Water Resources Masterplan in Abuja.

He explained that the bill would give direction to effective water resources development and management.

The Nation reports that the Bill, which triggered controversy in the National Assembly between 2017 and 2020, has been reintroduced to the National Assembly.

The Bill had sparked outrage as many Nigerians interpreted the proposed law as a plot to grab the waterways and hand same to Fulani pastoralists.

Adamu blamed the rejection of the bill on vested interests, saying the bill was reworked and returned to the National Assembly for passage.

Read Also: Why represent the National Water Resources Bill?

“This Bill has nothing to do with issues of land grabbing or so, all grey areas have been addressed and we are confident that the National Assembly will address the issues.

“Although there are some people that have some vested interests, like regulation especially for commercial use of water, this is something they do not want to do.

“Some of them do not want to pay the necessary taxes to government for mining these water, as they are mining the water illegally.’’

He said not much progress was achieved in implementing the national water resources masterplan due to poor coordination from the tiers of government.

The minister said the workshop was an opportunity for participants to re-strategise and be detailed, saying projects and programmes must align with the plan.

Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Didi Walson-Jack, said the knowledge gained at the workshop would enhance service delivery, which, would in turn, help the nation’s socio-economic development.

Walson-Jack, was represented by Mrs Alice Ojowu, Director, Water Resources Planning and Technical Services with the ministry.

The workshop is the last lap of the National Advocacy and Sensitisation workshop carried out in the six geo-political zones