Tag: Apapa

The Chairman of Apapa Local Government Area, Idowu Senbanjo, has backed calls for more constitutional roles for traditional leaders.

Speaking during an event tagged An Evening with Royal Fathers, Senbanjo said traditional rulers were peace-makers in communities.

She said governments at various levels relied on their expertise to ensure peace and harmony at the grassroots.

According to her, the monarchs have been playing pivotal roles in driving government policies among the masses.

“Going by their germane roles in our community, we thought it wise to celebrate them. This is an avenue where the residents of Apapa interact with our Kabiyesis in a relax atmosphere. We want out traditional rulers to continue supporting our programmes and activities like they always do,” she said.

Senbanjo seized the opportunity of the event to appeal to Nigerians to be patient with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his reform programmes.

Nigerians, she said, will soon benefit from the policies.

Olu of Iwa and Apapa Kingdom Oba Moruf Oyekunle hailed the council boss for organizing the tete-a-tete.

Oba Oyekunle said rubing minds together with residents would aid development in Apapa.

He described Apapa as a mini Nigeria where you have all the tribes.

He promised to deliver residents’ messages especially the traffic gridlock challenge facing the community to the Governor of Lagos State.

The monarch urged Nigerians to continue to pray for the country and President Tinubu.

“I want to appeal to Nigerians to please let us give him (President Tinubu) some time and I’m sure very soon everything will bounce back. We should not listen to people who have parochial,” he said.

An elder statement, Chief Jimi Agbaje, prayed Apapa returns to the good old days.

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Agbaje, who said he has been living in Apapa since 1959, said he used to ride bicycle in those days.

He said his wife nearly divorced him for insisting on staying in Apapa despite the traffic snarl crisis.

While hail Senbanjo for the Get-Together, Chief Agbaje promised to support her efforts in returning sanity to Apapa.

Former All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos State Chairman, Alhaji Babatunde Balogun, described the gathering as a great event.

Balogun said he has been living in Apapa for the past 60 years.

According to him, Apapa was like a London city in those glorious days.

He said it has become more or less a jungle.

He expressed optimism that Apapa would regained its lost glory.

The Ojomu of Ekpoma, Sir Eyinabe Ezekiel, said this year marks his 52 years in Apapa.

He thanked the council boss for bringing them together.

“Your efforts to sanitise Apapa is well appreciated. We’ll support you. I want you to do more on roads’ palliative especially during this dry season,” he said.

Apapa Local Government Area, Lagos yesterday organised a retreat on Procurement plan.

The theme of the event, held at the council secretariat multipurpose hall, was “Impact of Procurement Plan on the Local Government Administration’.

Chairman of Apapa Local Government Idowu Senbanjo said procurement plan would enhance service delivery.

She said: “Virtually everything we do here has to do with procurement, from beginning to the end, how we get the contractors, the different stages of putting their papers together, what is required of them to do, and everything. This retreat will also help us to speed up process, help us to tidy up our books, and it will help even the contractors have more confidence in what they’re doing.”

According to her, procurement basically is steps to take to ensure that whatever processes “we have within the council; we’re doing the right thing. And once people know that we’re following due process, people will be more comfortable with it.

“The public can always come in to ask questions. It’s a public office, and our processes are made public to individuals, organisations, and anybody that is interested in knowing what we do here. The processes are there. They follow it. You see it.”

She advised council officials to take procurement with utmost seriousness because “wherever they go to, it is something that will help them in life, even in their personal businesses. It will help them to understand the processes. A lot of people look at the government and always have one thing negative or the other to say, but they don’t understand these processes that we have to go through, and once they take their time to understand, even some of the contractors, they always try to jump one thing or the other, but it’s for their own benefits. They come in, they understand the processes, they follow the processes, and everything will be good for us all.”

Deputy Director Procurement in the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission, Mr Taofeeq Ambali, said procurement is one of policy of anti-corruption policies.

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He said: “We have two sets of anti-corruption policies; one looks at the preventive measures while the other one look at the political measures. So procurement policy is a preventive measures arm of anti-corruption policy. Procurement is a sustainable acquisition and disposal of goods, works and services with tax payers’ money in an effective transparent profitable manner using external forces. Engaging service providers like consultant, contractor and supplier in the discharge of the assignment given by the government state, local and federal such that you will be able to achieve value for money. “

According to him, procurement policy gives everybody equal opportunity particularly the citizens, artisans and non-artisans. 

Ambali enjoined procurement officers in the state to always follow the due process before spending tax payers’ money.

This, he said, would aid economic growth and proper infrastructural development.

The Chief Procurement Officer of Apapa Lagos Government, Akeem Bankole, said procurement is about due processing.

“You need to be transparent, fair and equity in delivering jobs for the populace because you are just a representative of the tax payers. You are not just to spend the money; it has to be channeled through normal process to achieve effective goals. When due process is followed, community would have a feel of the dividends of because there would be good infrastructure in place.’’

• Encourage candidates to learn soft skills.

• By Ganiyat Mumuni and Muinat Ajibade-Alasela

The Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Idowu Senbanjo, has handed out 200 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) forms to indigent students for the 2024 Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) registration.

The council boss, represented by the Vice Chairman, Ganiyu Ismail, while addressing the recipients, said the administration is dedicated to supporting students in their pursuit of academic excellence.

According to Ismail, the council has made the process seamless for the beneficiaries and created a registration desk in the council where candidates will be provided the PIN and be registered.

He said: “Members of the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) and Local Education Authority are available to guide and counsel the students in making right decisions in choosing their course of study.

“In furtherance of our desire to make them excel, we shall continue the free tutorial class that has been on since the inception of this administration.”

The Chairman of the Council Idowu Senbanjo advised the beneficiaries.

Senbanjo urged recipients to take advantage of the opportunity by being studious and hardworking.

She said: “Not everybody will to go to university. Education has gone beyond the four walls of classroom and in Nigeria now they are looking for certification not just the certificate.

“You just go to the university by the time you finish and you face reality of life you know that life is not the same again and that’s the end of your holidays and that’s the end of your being youthful. You are faced with the challenges of hardlife.”

She also urged the candidates to  read and work towards their passion as it will help them get to wherever they want to be in future.

“It’s always advisable to work with what your passion is about. The era of those that will come and go to the university to just read anything is over because getting a job is difficult. when you have the time now also learn a skill because its that skill that will save you tomorrow. The fact that you don’t go to university doesn’t mean you won’t make it in life.

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“Those who are rich today not all of them have university certificates but because they have passion for what they do. With your passion, you do online courses. Read and read wide so that when talking about your passion and people see you talking, you will be come an expert in what you are doing and what you are talking about,” she said.

A beneficiary, Sherifat Abdullahi, a student of Randle Senior Secondary School, Apapa, thanked the council for being selected.

She said: “I feel so happy and I am grateful to the chairman because the form is now expensive and I am part of the people that got the form for free.

“I would like to encourage those who didn’t get the form this year that they should keep up with their academic work so that next year those that weren’t lucky will have opportunity to get the form.”

Favour Aliu applauded the council chief for the generous outreach in education.

He said: ”I feel really happy, and with this form, the burden has been taken off my parents. I want to say a big thank you to her for making the form free and available for every citizen of Apapa local government, and I pray that God will enrich and strengthen her and give her more grace to do more.”

Aliu further advised other candidates to take their academic serious. “University isn’t a place to play as I’ve been told and this should give them more courage and more zeal to push further and do well in their academic because this is a great opportunity that millions of people couldn’t have,” she added.

Apapa Local Government Area, Lagos State has distrib

 uted education materials to pupils of the United Christian Primary and Nursery School, Apapa.

The council Chairman, Idowu Senbanjo, said the initiative was to provide relief to the parents of the pupils due to the economic situation in the country.

The gesture, she added, would also improve learning among the pupils in public schools.

Each pupil, she said, received 10 exercise books while full Mathematical sets are added to those from primary four to six.

Speaking with The Nation, Senbanjo promised to ensure that from the new academic session,  pupils would have access to textbooks instead of sharing among themselves.

She said the initiative would increase educational standard and enrolment of pupils in the council.

The council chief said teachers in public schools in the area had been provided with tables and chairs.

This, she said, was to complement the laptops they received from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to assist them in class work and impact positively on the pupils.

She announced plans to collaborate with corporate bodies and individuals to turn the United Christian School into a Model school.

During unscheduled inspection of the school environment, the council boss frowned at the unkept surrounding in the school.

She enjoined the school management to ensure tidiness of the school for optimal delivery of learning.

Senbanjo advised the students against peer group influence into social vices while also urging parents to monitor the movement and activities of their children.

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Special Adviser to the Chairman on Education, Youth and Sports Development, Dr Mike Egbayelo, said the council was passionate about the development of education in the area.

He said the council had earlier provided free uniforms, school bags and sandals to the pupils to encourage more enrolment in schools in the area.

Head Teacher of the school, Mrs Esther Nwogu, thanked the council chairman for the priority accorded to education of students in the area.

She, however, solicited more support in upgrading facilities in the school.

Parents of benefiting schools  praised the council chairman and promised judicious use of the materials.

Some of the schools that benefited from the free distribution of the educational materials include Apapa Primary School, Randle Primary School, Ijora-Oloye Primary School, Ladi-Lak Primary School, United Christian Primary and Nursery School, Nanti Primary School, Methodist Primary School, State Primary School and Aranka Barracks Nursery and Primary School.