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Tag: Ambode

  • Victory affirmation of confidence in APC, says Ambode

    Victory affirmation of confidence in APC, says Ambode

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has described the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in weekend’s local government election as an eloquent affirmation of Lagosians’ confidence in the party.

    The APC recorded a clean sweep, winning all the 57 chairmanship seats.

    In a congratulatory message signed by his Chief Press Secretary Habib Aruna, Ambode said the victory is not just for democracy but for the people at the grassroots, who he said would experience continuity of delivery of dividends of democracy.

    He said: “This victory for us is nothing more than a confirmation of the trust that Lagosians have placed on the party. In that regard, I like to congratulate our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the landslide victory at the Saturday’s election in all the 57 Councils.

    “I particularly note with joy the peaceful conduct of the electorate who came out to exercise their franchise in favour of their preferred candidates despite the heavy rain. This is indeed a welcome development and it will go a long way to strengthening our resolve to push ahead with our vision to transform the Local Government system.

    “I am also happy that we are conducting the Local Government election during my time after almost six years that the election was last held in the state,” the governor said.

  • Ambode applauds peaceful conduct

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode,  yesterday, voted in the local government elections in the state, saying that it was only through such process that Nigeria can make meaningful progress and deepen its democratic values.

    He arrived his polling unit at Ogunmodede Junior and Senior College in Papa Epe by 9:35am, and voted at exactly 9:45am.

    He said, “You cannot stay back at home and just expect that things will work well. Yes, we have tried at the state level but we also need credible people at the local government level and that is the nearest government to our people and all we have been advocating is about participatory governance.

    “If you don’t take part, you will not be part of what is coming up and the whole essence is for you to choose people who will really touch your needs and if you sit down at home and people who are not credible gets there, it will not be their fault when they give you bad result and that is what we don’t want.”

    He said adequate security measure was put in place to ensure that voters cast their votes in a peaceful atmosphere and also forestall any breakdown of law and order, saying that what was left was for people to come out and perform their civic responsibility. “So far so good, from the reports I have received from all the other parts of Lagos State, we are pleased with what is going on.

    “We have done so much to ensure that the security is good and so I just urge people to come out and exercise their franchise. What is important to us is to conduct a free, fair and credible election. Local Government election has not taken place in Lagos in the last five years but we are happy that we are able to do this and also enhance democratic values that we are trying to build up in this country.”

    Governor Ambode also expressed optimism that the election coming nearly six years since the last local government election conducted in October 2011 would engender participatory governance and revive the belief in the electoral process at the third tier of government.

    “I am happy that this election is coming at my own time. The whole idea is for us to evolve a process where the citizens come out and believe in a process that is credible and then when you do this and people are able to see elections that come at the local government level, they will be excited to do it because they know that it’s been credible, peaceful and there is no violence and that is what we as government have been preaching ,” he said.

  • Aregbesola, Ajimobi, Ambode, celebrate Akande’s wife at fidau

    Governors Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo) and Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos) were among dignitaries at the eighth day prayer for Madam Sikiratu Omowumi Akande, wife of the former interim chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande.

    Others at the fidau were: Osun State Geputy Governor Mrs. Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori; Osun State Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Moshood Adeoti; Chief of Staff to Osun Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola; Osun State Head of Service (HoS), Olayinka Sunday Owoeye; former Ogun State Deputy Governor Segun Adesegun and former Osun State Deputy Governor Adeleke Adewoyin.

    A delegation of the state House of Assembly and executive council members of the Aregbesola administration was at the prayers.

    Aregbesola said every mortal must be conscious of the end-time, adding that it was necessary for people to always be reminded of the Day of Judgement in all they do.

    The governor, who described the death of Mrs. Akande as a great loss to the state and Nigeria, said her demise would not only create a vacuum in Akande’s dynasty but the state and the Southwest.

    He said though Madam Akande’s death was personally painful but he was consoled by the deceased’s service God and humanity.

    Aregbesola said: “We are very grateful to God Almighty for the peaceful passage of Mrs Akande ýbecause as mortals we know that an end must come to our existence here on this planet.

    “Though we are pained by this colossal loss and great transition of Mama, but it is our beliefs that her soul will be reposed in the finest Paradise by God.

    We pray God to make her soul find a good location of rest in her new station.”

    Consoling the immediate and extended Akande’s family on the demise of their loved one, Aregbesola prayed God to give Chief Akande and the children of the deceased the fortitude to bear the loss.

  • Osun’s development amazing – Ambode

    Osun’s development amazing – Ambode

    Lagos State Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, on Thursday said he was amazed at the pace of development in Osun State despite its meagre resources.

    Ambode said he would support his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola’s developmental efforts in the state.

    The duo also renewed calls for South-West regional integration.

    A statement signed by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Osun State, Semiu Okanlawon, said the two governors made the call when Ambode visited his Osun counterpart at the Government House in Osogbo.

    The Lagos State governor said was time for the region to fully exploit its potential by standing with Aregbesola’s legacy in Osun.

    He said the Lagos State government is fully committed to the South West regional integration for its economic potential to be fully harnessed and sustained.

    He said: “We have an historic duty to join Aregbesola in championing what he has been clamouring for, which is the integration of the South West.

    “I fully commit myself to the integration of the South West because I believe it is the only way the region can fully explore its potentials for the benefit of all.

    “I can assure you that the South West has all it takes to stand alone and survive without having to depend on any external means of funding.”

    Ambode highlighted Aregbesola’s developmental strides in Osun, saying the governor has laid unprecedented marks of development in the state.

     

  • New landfill sites to replace Olusosun dumpsite, others, says Ambode

    New landfill sites to replace Olusosun dumpsite, others, says Ambode

    • Parnership with Visionscape to end flooding, says Ambode

    The integrated waste management services contract between the Lagos State Government and leading environmental utility group Visionscape, is targeted at ending the flooding and ensuring a cleaner city, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He spoke at a sensitisation workshop on 2017 Water Technology and Environmental Control Conference and Exhibition (WATEC) in  Ikeja.

    The governor said the overall objective of the new environmental policy of his administration encapsulated in the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), was basically to capitalise on the vantage position of Lagos as the world’s highest producer of waste by adopting a waste-to-wealth programme with the view to tackling environmental challenges and growing the State’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

    According to the contract spanning 10 years, Visionscape which specializes in providing turnkey solutions in areas of sanitation, energy and wastewater treatment, will be responsible for door-to-door waste collection services to households in the state.

    Ambode said the Olusosun dump site which had been an eyesore and others would be closed, while Visionscape would build an engineered sanitary landfill sites and transfer loading stations/material recovery sites where the collected waste would be properly managed in line with international best practice, and thereby finally eliminating the issues of dumping of waste in drainages and on the roadsides.

    “You see, I live in Ikeja and each time I have to pass through Motorways, do you think I like what I see? That is not a land fill site in Olusosun, it is a dump site. The place is an eyesore and it is the first thing you see when you are coming into Lagos and that is not what you should see in a city that is globally competitive.

    “The impression that has been given is that Olusosun is a land fill site but the answer is no. It is not scientifically treated; you only allow compactors to go and drop waste in a living neighborhood. Who does that?

    “It has been there for almost 30 years and nobody is looking at it but we are now looking at it.

    The truth is this, with the CLI, we have to shut down Olusosun dump site and part of the contract is that Visionscape will give us new land fill sites that are scientifically treated,” he explained.

    Clarifying issues raised by some of the participants at the workshop,  Ambode expressed excitement at the decision of Visionscape to key into the vision of his administration to revolutionise waste management in the state.

    He said: “Lagos is generating the highest waste per day in the world more than New York. Documented statistics show that Lagos is generating 13,000 metric tonnes of waste every day. New York is generating 10,000. So, if Lagos is generating 13,000 waste per day and you factor in the unmanned areas in Ayobo, Ijede and all that combined, Lagos will be generating maybe 16,000 tonnes per day. The business part of it is that we can easily turn the waste to wealth and so there is an unchartered economy in the waste business in Lagos.

    “From our own vision, we believe strongly that this is one sure bet way to grow our GDP but there has been a total mismanagement of waste which has led us to review our legislation and introduce waste management reform in the state and that is why we have gone into the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI).

    “Through the initiative, one of the best known private sector companies in waste management is Visionscape and they are everywhere in the world. We have attracted them to Lagos and for us to do that in a period of recession speaks volume about how we are managing the state because for them, they believe that if they can conquer Lagos, it means that there is nothing about waste management that they cannot conquer, which is our own selling point also.”

    He said once the waste is properly evacuated, the firm would also facilitate the second level of waste management which is the turning of waste into wealth and other beneficial uses.

  • Ajomale: we’ll win elections for Ambode, Tinubu

    •Governor begs aggrieved party members

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) will sweep Saturday’s local government election, its Lagos State Chairman, Chief Henry Ajomale, has said.

    Ajomale said on Tuesday night that the party’s victory at the polls would be a befitting gift to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and its National leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    During the presentation of flags to the chairman and vice chairmanship candidates, at the Banquet Hall of Lagos House, Ajomale said the party had worked hard in the last few months to ensure victory for its candidates.

    He said it was imperative for the party to maintain its grip so as to complement the governor’s efforts to deliver more dividends of democracy to every part of the state.

    “Nothing is going to stop us. By the grace of God we are going to win the elections. Come Saturday, get ready and use your available opportunities and your leadership role to win for our candidates and we know, for the governor and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu our leader, we must win the election as a gift to both of them.

    “I said it before, we are going to give the governor the whole package, the total package, all the councillors, all the chairmen are going to be handed over to the governor,” Ajomale said.

    Ambode appealed to aggrieved party members to bury the hatchet, noting that any crack would be detrimental to the progress of not just the party but the state in general.

    He said: “All the things that we have done wrong, I want to say sorry, and I want to appeal to all members of the party. If we break the house, there would be no further canopy. So it’s better to call the plumber, the bricklayer, the electrician to come and do repair works, so that there would be somewhere for us to lie our head and sleep.

    “I know there have been a lot of misgivings that have taken place, but what is important is for us to build the house together, thereafter we can do aesthetics to the windows and the doors so that those who are standing would be able to sit.

    “This is like a gathering of peaceful co-existence. Wherever it is that we have had cracks, there are still more than a 1001 positions to compensate and also placate them that left in a negative way,” the Governor said.

    He urged the candidates to go all out and ensure total victory for the party, saying that would ensure the giant strides geared towards moving the state forward remains on course in the years ahead.

    “It is better to cement the next four years through these Chairmen and also complement the efforts of the next two years so that we can get another six years. So if we decide because of disagreement or misunderstanding to destroy just two years out of eight years, there would be nothing left to show for the efforts.

    “A win for the party in all the elective positions would also sustain the virtues which Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands for. This course is a course for the Asiwaju dynasty. So we stand up today to say that we are here to defend that dynasty in totality.”

  • Bolanle Ambode’s passion for less-privileged

    Some pass through life without really making a mark while others struggle endlessly without having much to show. Some wallow in abject poverty which, as much as they try, they couldn’t really get out of. Indeed, one of the most profound tragedies of life is that some are born poor, live poor and die poor. The issue of poverty and the poor is an age long subject. Some experience poverty due to unexpected crisis while others are born into it.

    The Holy Bible aptly underscores the reality of poverty when the Word of God asserts in Deuteronomy 15:11 that: “For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land’’. This amply presupposes that God knows that no matter how prosperous a society is, it will always have a sizeable share of the poor. Poverty is dehumanizing and humiliating. Some are not only poor, but they are helplessly and hopelessly so.

    But then, there is a way out for the poor. According to Deuteronomy 15:11 mentioned earlier, though God had earlier affirmed that the poor will never cease in the land, but He was quick to add that: Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land’’. It is in yielding to the latter part of that Bible verse that wife of the Lagos State governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode has clearly distinguished herself as a ‘friend of the less privileged’.

    Touching lives of the less privilege is certainly her unrelenting passion. She finds all possible means of reaching out to them. There are always rooms for any underprivileged that crosses her path. She makes life easier and liveable for them as much as she could. Whether working with them, part of their household or even being a leader, on her table is several ways to solve the problems of the deprived.  This includes relieving them of their sufferings through several empowerment programmes, scholarship initiatives, offsetting of medical bills among others. She does this because she believes that everyone must have hope for a better tomorrow.

    Hope is an essential component of life. But to the less privileged, hope is a daily necessity. Without hope, life would be an excruciating torment for the downtrodden. Hope has the ability to help people heal faster and easier. Individuals who maintain hope, especially when confronted with enormous life challenges, appreciably boost their chances of recovery. Essentially, people who possess hope and think optimistically have a greater sense of well-being.

    It is as a result of her deep understanding of the power of hope that Mrs. Ambode puts in so much to invest in giving hope to the less privileged folks in the society. In our clime, medical conditions that are considered challenging or complicated could be quick path to untimely death as many lack the financial wherewithal to effectively take care of such illness. This is why Mrs. Ambode has been deploying the platform of her Foundation Hope for Women in Nigeria Initiative, HOFOWEM to intervene in some critical medical cases as it particularly concerns the downtrodden.

    Just a few examples will suffice. When John Akinbo was born into the world, parents, family members and friends rejoiced at his birth. The joy was however short-lived as it was discovered while the boy was barely two years old that he had a hole in the heart. Thus, began the parent’s gradual slide into confusion and pain. But then, it wasn’t long before help came and hope re-ignited. Through HOFOWEM, young John was to get a new lease of life as he was sponsored to India for surgery which hugely turned out to be a success. Now, John has a solid basis to hope for a better tomorrow.

    In same vein, when it dawned on Mrs. Folake Muritala that she needed to undergo a hip replacement surgery, it was like her world was falling apart. This is in view of the enormous financial cost of such operation. Characteristically, HOFOWEM intervened and offset all the medical expenses. Today, Mrs. Muritala could contentedly look at life with eyes full of hope. Thanks to HOFOWEM, the harbinger of hope!

    HOFOWEM also partners with other foundations through financial grants to support various humanitarian causes. For instance, HOFOWEM provided Sebeccly Cancer Foundation with grants in support of cancer cause. Also, it assisted Irede Foundation with grants for the provision of prosthetic limb for children with mobility issues while grants were also provided to Children Development Centre to support children with autism. Lydia Foundation was also supported with grants to rehabilitate prostitutes

    Widows in particular prominently feature in HOFOWEM’s scheme of things.  Recently, HOFOWEM put smile on the faces of 103 widows when it doled out cash and a variety of gift items. The objective was to ameliorate the sufferings they daily contend with as a result of the loss of their bread winners.  A major aim of the programme was to guarantee that the widows were able to live happily and depend more on themselves after the death of their husbands.

    One other crucial area where HOFOWEM is helping to give hope to the less privileged is education. Education has long been recognized as a way out of poverty and ignorance for individuals, and as a way of promoting equal opportunity. Late South African  President, Nelson Mandela once reinforced the power of education when he described it as the greatest engine of personal development through which anyone could achieve his/her dreams, no matter how massive.

    Sadly, however, in the last few decades, the standard of education has drastically diminished in the country. Pronounced poverty, especially, has made it almost difficult for parents to invest in quality education for their wards. Across the country, many children have become hawkers and street beggars, just to make ends meet. A few of them that are interested in education could not actualize their dreams as a result of the inability of their parents to provide seemingly simple school’s accessories such as shoes, bags and books.

    It is partly as a result of this that HOFOWEM came up with the initiative to provide public primary school pupils with shoes and socks. The essence is to ensure that no pupil drops out of school or is denied access to education because of failure to obtain item as seemingly minute as shoes.  Through “Project Bright Steps” for public school pupils in Lagos State, HOFOWEM annually dole out 175,000 school shoes and socks, to children in primary 1-3 in Lagos State public primary schools.

    According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, “the purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate and to help put smile on the faces of others”. If viewed from this perspective, it could be rightly affirmed that Mrs. Ambode is living a purposeful life.

     

    • Omojoye wrote in from Palmgrove, Lagos.
  • Ambode gives 150 first aid boxes to RRS

    Ambode gives 150 first aid boxes to RRS

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday handed over 150 First Aid Kits to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS).

    The kits were received by RRS Commander Olatunji Disu, an Assistant Commissioner of Police.

    Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Chief of Staff, Mr. Oluseyi Whenu, Ambode said the provision of the kits would be continuous.

    He said about 380 RRS officers had been trained by the government on accident scene safety, controlling bleeding, cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and moving accident victims.

    As more training is provided, the state would also provide more kits for the officers to cater for emergencies, he added.

    The governor said training became necessary for RRS officers as first responders to emergencies to enable them save lives and provide first aid before the arrival of medical personnel.

    Disu thanked the government for its gesture training and providing the kits.

    He advised the public to be security conscious and to always use the emergency lines (112 and 767) in times of distress.

  • Ambode kicks off tree planting programme

    Ambode kicks off tree planting programme

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has kicked off this year’s tree planting season in Coker Aguda Local Development Area (LCDA).

    His representative, the Chief Whip in the House of Assembly, Hon Lateef Abiru, reiterated this year’s theme of the exercise: ‘Think green, plant trees and live green’.

    Noting that the event coincided with the 10th Anniversary of the programme, he said so far, the government has planted over six million trees. He thanked corporate organisations and groups, including Ecobank, for their partnership, adding that this would not have been achieved without their  assistance. He called for more support to the programme.

    The governor emphasised the importance of tree planting to humanity, saying that besides providing food and shelter, trees wade off pollution and deforestation. If we must continue to live in good health, he said, then we must embrace tree planting. It is the cheapest way to tackle deforestation and climate change, he said.

    He announced that this year, the government was adding 5,000 more trees and creating more parks and gardens in the local governments to be managed by the Parks and Gardens agency. He warned against the indiscriminate felling of trees or transplanting. He said even if trees would be pulled for development, this must be done legally.

    A representative of the Commissioner for the Environment (Dr Babatunde Adejare), Mr Ayodele Oshifeso praised the government for its giant strides in tree planting last year. He said through the government’s Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), the sector would be revamped and that no fewer than 27,000 jobs would be created for the citizens. He advised the people to cultivate the habit of tree planting during their weddings and birthdays.

    The LCDA’s Sole Administrator Hon Temitope Shamsudeen Yusuf also urged the people to embrace tree planting, saying trees are vital to human existence.

    Pupils of Atara Health Centre Nursery/Primary School, venue of the event, spice the occasion with a Yoruba dance and a poem recitation, which harped on the importance of trees to man and woman.

     

  • Ambode deposes Baale of Shangisha

    Ambode deposes Baale of Shangisha

    •Orders his prosecution

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday deposed the suspended Baale of Shangisha in Magodo, Chief Yusuf Ogundare for faking his abduction, which allegedly took place on July 5.

    Ogundare was suspended last Friday moments after he was paraded alongside his brother, Mohammed Adams by the Lagos State Police Command.

    A statement by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Muslim Folami, said the governor ordered Ogundare to henceforth desist from parading himself as the Baale of Shangisha or discharge any duties attached to chieftaincy matters in the state.

    Folami said: “Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has authorised the deposition and prosecution of Chief Yusuf Mutiu Ogundare, Baale of Shangisha with immediate effect.

    “This is in accordance with Section 38, subsection 1 of the Obas and Chiefs Laws of Lagos State inter-alia. Furthermore, he (Ogundare) is to stop parading himself, purports to exercise or discharge any of the duties attached to Chieftaincy Matters with immediate effect.”

    Folami said the deposition follows the formal confession of the Baale to security services that he staged his own kidnap to blackmail the government.

    Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni, while parading the suspects at the Lagos House in Ikeja, narrated how they conspired to perfect the fake kidnap, all in a bid to implicate the Oba of Magodo, as well as rubbish the government and security agencies.

    Owoseni said six days after the incident, men of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) on patrol in Alausa area at about 10pm apprehended Ogundare after he was dropped in a suspicious manner by a car which sped off immediately.