The Nation Newspaper

Tag: bridge

  • Bridge urges more training to support teachers  

    Bridge urges more training to support teachers  

    Bridge Academies, an organisation providing education in  underserved areas, has advocated professional development to support teachers as it joins the world to celebrate Teachers’ Day in its 46 schools in Lagos and Osun states.

     The academy is a network of community schools providing access to quality, affordable education to underserved communities in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and India.

    Managing Director in Nigeria, Foyinsola Akinjayeju, said the celebration of teachers is just one of the windows of appreciating remarkable roles teachers/educators play in shaping future of the country.

    Akinjayeju said: “World Teachers’ Day serves as a reminder of the pivotal role teachers play in nurturing young minds and building the foundation for a brighter tomorrow. At Bridge, we are committed to ensuring our teachers  support.

    Read Also: Jankara, Bombata, Pelewura markets to be demolished

    “Every teacher is equipped with a tablet, which we also call ‘teacher computers.’ This resource allows our teachers to download teacher guides for over eight hours of engaging lessons a day—up to two weeks in advance. This approach liberates our teachers from demands of extensive lesson planning, enabling them to channel their passion into eaching.”

    Director of Schools, Bridge Nigeria, Omotola Francis-Akinlolu, said the institution has  explored professional development as  one instrument to support teachers.

    Francis-Akinlolu said :  “We believe in the power of training, improved resources, and support. Our teachers benefit from professional development opportunities before they are assigned to the classrooms, workshops, and access teaching resources. We are dedicated to helping our educators grow and excel in their profession.

    “World Teachers’ Day is an occasion to honour the unsung heroes who mould future leaders. Our teachers are the heart and soul of Bridge Academies, and we are proud of the dedication and passion they bring to the classroom.

    ‘’Through their efforts, our students are learning and thriving. We stand shoulder to shoulder with our teachers as they inspire, educate, and shape the future of Nigeria.

    “As Bridge celebrates World Teachers’ Day, we salute the teachers who dedicate themselves to this noble profession. Their commitment in nurturing young minds is an inspiration to us.’’ he said.

    “ Since 2015, when Bridge Nigeria opened its first school , it has delivered life-changing education to pupils in underserved communities through 46 schools presently operating in Lagos and Osun States.

    “ The institution leverages technology to deliver quality education; efficient monitoring and evaluation programs for teachers and efficient monitoring and evaluation of pupil performance. “

  • Fed Govt re-opens Ijora bridge

    After five months of closure of a section of the Ijora Seven Up bridge, the section has now been opened to traffic.
    At exactly 6:10pm  on Friday, the Federal Controller of Works , Federal Ministry of Works, Power and Housing, Engineer Adedamola Kuti, cut the tape to declare the bridge open for public use.
    The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Hallekem Limited, the contractor that handled the project, Engineer Haim Halle, said the firm completed the repair of the 325 meters stretch of the bridge in five months, instead of the one year contract period.
    Details later.

  • Rain washes off bridge, cuts off community in Ondo

    One of the bridges along Oba Akoko – Ikun – Afo – Idoani road in the Northern part of Ondo state has been reportedly washed off by an all night heavy down pour of several hours.

    The development had caused confusion in the Akoko and Ose local government axis of the state as prospective travelers have been stranded because of no access road.

    Sources said the next bridge to this collapsed one is also about to go the same way any moment from now as the sand by its side had also been eroded.

    The road has been in a deplorable state since,while armed robbers and kidnappers have been having a field day with impunity because of the poor state of the road.

    Read Also: Ondo youths rally support for Buhari, Boroffice

    According to a former Councillor in Ose local government, Isaac Obiniran,who spoke to ‘ The Nation’ there is hardly a week that travelers will not be robbed or kidnapped along the road.

    According to him, the other Ipele- Idoani- Isua road which is federal highway that would have been a good alternative to Oba – Akungba -Oka road is also in a very bad state.

    He urged Ondo state government to quickly come to the rescue of numerous travelers passing through this impassable road.

  • Death on the bridge: A wake-up call

    Tuesday’s bridge collapse in Genoa, Italy, is a wake-up call for urgent repairs and regular maintenance of bridges in Nigeria. Experts caution that with Lagos bridges now converted to parking lot by articulated vehicles, and the dilapidated state of some of these bridges, disaster may be lurking if urgent steps are not taken, writes MUYIWA LUCAS.

    The Morandi Bridge in Genoa, Italy, built between 1963 and 1967, was at the time of its construction a masterpiece of technology. It has a maximum span of 219 metres, a total length of 1.18 kilometres and concrete piers of 90 metres in height. The technology of pre-stressed reinforced concrete used in the construction was the hallmark of its designer, an Italian engineer, Riccardo Morandi.

    Morandi would have celebrated the wisdom in using such technology in construction over 50 years ago, but he is not alive (having died in 1989) to witness the pains and agony his work has caused a race.

    Last Tuesday, a section of the bridge spanning about 200 metres caved in, killing over 35 people.

    The fears for the Genoa Morandi bridge had lived with the residents and commuters for a long while. The fears, according to the experts, were rife because since its construction, the Morandi bridge had been riddled with structural problems, which authorities say, led to comprehensive maintenance and severe criticism from engineering experts.

    Lending credence to this position is an engineering website “Ingegneri.info” which published how the bridge had always presented “structural doubts.” The website dubbed the bridge “a tragedy waiting to happen.” This position was buttressed by a professor of Reinforced Concrete Construction at the University of Genoa, Antonio Brencich, who noted the constant maintenance the bridge needed.

    Giving an insight into the cause of the collapse, the Prof Brencich explained: “It was affected by extremely serious corrosion problems linked to the technology that was used (in construction). Morandi wanted to use a technology that he had patented that was no longer used afterwards and that showed itself to be a failure.”

    Experts and stakeholders in the country have however spoken with one voice, warning of the looming danger the continued mis-use of bridges in the country pose. According to these professionals, if a country like Italy, with impressive maintenance culture of her infrastructure and technology, could experience such magnitude of disaster, then it is a warning bell to Nigeria.

    A former Lagos chapter Chairman of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Olatunde Jaiyesinmi, told The Nation that although, Nigeria is trying in maintaining its structures, and it is a wake-up call to further improve on our maintenance culture. He explained that bridges, especially those that are built across oceans and lagoons, are the most susceptible to incidents like that of Genoa. This, he further said is because of the usually high beams and concrete piers that supports the bridge which are usually very high.

    He said: “Now is the time for our government to commission experts and professionals to take a comprehensive assessment of our bridges across the country – the Niger Bridge and Third Mainland Bridge, among others. This will help us to know their state and avoid disaster,” Jaiyesinmi said.

    The Third Mainland Bridege in Lagos would have been shut to vehicular traffic between July 27 and 30 for repairs but for the traffic confusion on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway.

    The planned repair was put on hold following an outcry by the state government that the bridge’s closure as scheduled by the Federal Ministry of Works would cripple business in the Centre of Excellence.

    A structural engineer, Joseph Muagba, observed that a major challenge to bridges in the country is their use by overweight vehicles and those parking on them indiscriminately.

    An overweight vehicle crossing a bridge, he explained, may affect both the short-term behaviour of the bridge and also its long-term performance and life-cycle. However, special permits are issued by state DOTs to overload vehicles without factoring in these cumulative and long-term effects.

    Muagba said that while no two bridges are the same, yet, their foundations, road alignment, workmanship at construction, age or condition all affect the bridges’ integrity, hence, the need for restriction of movement on bridges.

    He noted three parts of a bridge deck that will be affected by a heavy vehicle to include the beams, the deck and the cantilever.

    Muagba said: “All of these elements affect the load carrying capacity of the bridge. The beams are the main load carrying element. They are the strongest part of  the  deck and  transfer  the load from the bridge deck down into the foundations at either end of the beams.

    “The length of the beams, or the span, affects the amount of load the bridge can carry-the longer the span, the longer the vehicle that will be able to fit on it, so the higher the load it will have to be able to carry.”

     

  • Ebonyi community gets new bridge

    A MORE solid bridge has replaced the old one that has since outlived its uses on Umubo-Onicha Road in Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo  area of Ebonyi State.

    The old Bailey Bridge had claimed lives and caused many injuries because its decades-old structures had dilapidated and were not really designed to be permanent.

    A member of the House of Representatives representing the area Linus Okorie built the project.

    Okorie while conducting reporters around the site said he fell into the river in 1978, and that many others have suffered similar or worst fate as a result of the poor state of the bridge.

    He said the situation forced him to build a new bridge for the people.

    He said, “As a young boy in 1978 I fell into the river there.  It has remained a Bailey bridge till recently when I intervened constructing a new bridge.”

    A resident of the area, Mr Rowland Ogbonna corroborated Okorie’s statement.

    According to him, he and his sister nearly lost their lives in 2011 on the bridge when an iron on the old bridge caused his brake to fail, plunging them into the ditch beneath.

    ”On 10 November, 2011, this bridge in question nearly claimed my life and that of my cousin, Ezeh Chinenye. I took her to the local govt headquarters to collect her local govt identification certificate after she gained admission into the university”.

    ”As we approached the bridge, I applied my brake, little did I know that my brake pedal will come in contact with the iron on the floor of the bridge and my pedal cut off immediately”.

    ”We fell through the rough and sharp iron blades into the ditch. People that came to our rescue thought that we were dead but thanks to Almighty God who through His infinite mercy preserved our lives to witness today (the construction of this bridge). Though the scar of the broken clavicle I sustained during the accident still remains but I am happy because the construction of this bridge will always give me succour to the wound”.

    Meanwhile, over 2000 persons in Okposi have received free medical treatment in the ongoing free medical health outreach by the lawmaker’s CaringHeart Foundation.

    The programme which began in Januray has treated over 10,000 persons free of cost in 6 town in the constituency courtesy of Mr Linus Okorie the sponsor of the programme.

    Speaking at the occasion, Mr Okorie said the programme is to augment the good works of Governor David Umahi in the health sector.

    ”What we met here is a record setting situation. One is concerned that so many people need health intervention.  Everybody is ill and we are very pleased that this call for intervention is yielding the kind results and the kind of response from our constituents. We will find a situation where the enlightenment will also linger and build a habit of getting closer to health facilities to attend to their needs”.

    “There is a general hospital in this Okposi area and it is one of those being renovated by the state government. If you go there now, you will find out that it is almost like teaching hospital. The government has also rightly put in place a manpower improvement scheme where they are going to not just build modern facilities, equip them but they are bringing also the necessary medical staff that will take care of it”.

    “What we are doing here is just a peg to support what the state Governor is doing to improve the lifestyle and living standard of our people”.

    Dr. Agu Martins, the Medical Doctor heading the Medical Team at the function said the Medical Team made two referrals to the General Hospital whose condition were very serious.

    ”So far, we have done two referrals in this Okposi outreach. One is a woman that we discovered in the scan that the baby is dead and she is bleeding. The other one is another woman that needs urgent attention”.

    “We discovered that she has a low line placenta and her blood pressure is also high. So, what we decided to do is to refer them to nearest hospital where they can get the right care, the general hospital here and we gave some money so that they can take care of the treatment”.

    “Our target is to make sure that we identify those with emergency care and treat the ones we can here. Then those that are not emergency that needs urgency, we plan their treatments at a better referral centre”.

    Meanwhile, a kidney failure patient from the community, Mr Ogonnaya Okoro who was at the health outreach has appealed for help from Mr Okorie to save his live.

    According to him, he was a business man in Edo state but the sickness has led to the folding of his business as all his money have gone into treatment and still it still persists.

    He said he needs money to continue his dialysis treatments which he has been unable to do which has worsened his health condition.

    Mr Okoro, whose body was swollen up called on the lawmaker and Ebonyi state government to come to his aid.

    ”I have a problem since five years ago. I have treated it before in a hospital in Abakaliki. I went there and they told me I have kidney problem. After treating me that time, I got myself. But it has been coming back every year. I went to hospital  in Oshodi, Lagos last year and did dialysis but I don’t have money to go back there for treatment”.

    “I don’t have money again to treat myself. I don’t have mother, I don’t have father, I am the only son. My mother has died, my father has died. I am begging government at all levels to come to my aid. I am also calling on Hon. Linus Okorie and public spirited individual to come to my aid”.

    “I am a trader. I am doing business in Benin Edo state. Since this sickness started five years ago, I am no longer doing the business; I no longer have strength to do something. I am 34 years, I am not married”.

    Okoro’s Elder sister, Ntasiobi Samuel appealed for support as the family has spent all they have in trying to get him cured to no avail.

    “He is my younger brother. Since five years when this sickness started, we have been moving from one hospital to another. It has cost us lots of money and we have borrowed a lot to ensure he gets better. My younger sister later took him to hospital last three years and he was given treatment”.

    “Last year, the sickness started again and we went back to Lagos. This year, it worsened and we started moving from hospital to hospital again and we don’t have money again to continue moving him to the hospitals”.

    MORE solid bridge has replaced the old one that has since outlived its uses on Umubo-Onicha Road in Ohaozara/Onicha/Ivo  area of Ebonyi State.

    The old Bailey Bridge had claimed lives and caused many injuries because its decades-old structures had dilapidated and were not really designed to be permanent.

    A member of the House of Representatives representing the area Linus Okorie built the project.

    Okorie while conducting reporters around the site said he fell into the river in 1978, and that many others have suffered similar or worst fate as a result of the poor state of the bridge.

    He said the situation forced him to build a new bridge for the people.

    He said, “As a young boy in 1978 I fell into the river there.  It has remained a Bailey bridge till recently when I intervened constructing a new bridge.”

    A resident of the area, Mr Rowland Ogbonna corroborated Okorie’s statement.

    According to him, he and his sister nearly lost their lives in 2011 on the bridge when an iron on the old bridge caused his brake to fail, plunging them into the ditch beneath.

    ”On 10 November, 2011, this bridge in question nearly claimed my life and that of my cousin, Ezeh Chinenye. I took her to the local govt headquarters to collect her local govt identification certificate after she gained admission into the university”.

    ”As we approached the bridge, I applied my brake, little did I know that my brake pedal will come in contact with the iron on the floor of the bridge and my pedal cut off immediately”.

    ”We fell through the rough and sharp iron blades into the ditch. People that came to our rescue thought that we were dead but thanks to Almighty God who through His infinite mercy preserved our lives to witness today (the construction of this bridge). Though the scar of the broken clavicle I sustained during the accident still remains but I am happy because the construction of this bridge will always give me succour to the wound”.

    Meanwhile, over 2000 persons in Okposi have received free medical treatment in the ongoing free medical health outreach by the lawmaker’s CaringHeart Foundation.

    The programme which began in Januray has treated over 10,000 persons free of cost in 6 town in the constituency courtesy of Mr Linus Okorie the sponsor of the programme.

    Speaking at the occasion, Mr Okorie said the programme is to augment the good works of Governor David Umahi in the health sector.

    ”What we met here is a record setting situation. One is concerned that so many people need health intervention.  Everybody is ill and we are very pleased that this call for intervention is yielding the kind results and the kind of response from our constituents. We will find a situation where the enlightenment will also linger and build a habit of getting closer to health facilities to attend to their needs”.

    “There is a general hospital in this Okposi area and it is one of those being renovated by the state government. If you go there now, you will find out that it is almost like teaching hospital. The government has also rightly put in place a manpower improvement scheme where they are going to not just build modern facilities, equip them but they are bringing also the necessary medical staff that will take care of it”.

    “What we are doing here is just a peg to support what the state Governor is doing to improve the lifestyle and living standard of our people”.

    Dr. Agu Martins, the Medical Doctor heading the Medical Team at the function said the Medical Team made two referrals to the General Hospital whose condition were very serious.

    ”So far, we have done two referrals in this Okposi outreach. One is a woman that we discovered in the scan that the baby is dead and she is bleeding. The other one is another woman that needs urgent attention”.

    “We discovered that she has a low line placenta and her blood pressure is also high. So, what we decided to do is to refer them to nearest hospital where they can get the right care, the general hospital here and we gave some money so that they can take care of the treatment”.

    “Our target is to make sure that we identify those with emergency care and treat the ones we can here. Then those that are not emergency that needs urgency, we plan their treatments at a better referral centre”.

    Meanwhile, a kidney failure patient from the community, Mr Ogonnaya Okoro who was at the health outreach has appealed for help from Mr Okorie to save his live.

    According to him, he was a business man in Edo state but the sickness has led to the folding of his business as all his money have gone into treatment and still it still persists.

    He said he needs money to continue his dialysis treatments which he has been unable to do which has worsened his health condition.

    Mr Okoro, whose body was swollen up called on the lawmaker and Ebonyi state government to come to his aid.

    ”I have a problem since five years ago. I have treated it before in a hospital in Abakaliki. I went there and they told me I have kidney problem. After treating me that time, I got myself. But it has been coming back every year. I went to hospital  in Oshodi, Lagos last year and did dialysis but I don’t have money to go back there for treatment”.

    “I don’t have money again to treat myself. I don’t have mother, I don’t have father, I am the only son. My mother has died, my father has died. I am begging government at all levels to come to my aid. I am also calling on Hon. Linus Okorie and public spirited individual to come to my aid”.

    “I am a trader. I am doing business in Benin Edo state. Since this sickness started five years ago, I am no longer doing the business; I no longer have strength to do something. I am 34 years, I am not married”.

    Okoro’s Elder sister, Ntasiobi Samuel appealed for support as the family has spent all they have in trying to get him cured to no avail.

    “He is my younger brother. Since five years when this sickness started, we have been moving from one hospital to another. It has cost us lots of money and we have borrowed a lot to ensure he gets better. My younger sister later took him to hospital last three years and he was given treatment”.

    “Last year, the sickness started again and we went back to Lagos. This year, it worsened and we started moving from hospital to hospital again and we don’t have money again to continue moving him to the hospitals”.

  • Bridge collapse: Mokwa-Jebba road back to use in 72hrs – Fashola

    The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, has attributed the collapse of Mowo Junction bridge along Mokwa-Jebba road to forces of nature.
    The Minister however said that, temporary measures were being taken to put the Mokwa-Jebba road back to use within 72 hours.
    Fashola stated this while speaking with newsmen in Zaria, Kaduna State, on Sunday evening shortly after commissioning a giant transformer at TCN power station in Zaria.
    According to him, the ministry has deployed its personnel and those of relevant agencies to make alternative but temporary measures around the collapsed bridge for motorists to start using the road within the next 72 hours.
    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) had on Sunday morning alerted motorists over the collapse of the bridge after Mowo Junction on the Mokwa-Jebba road, due to heavy rainfall.
    “The bridge collapse is part of the hazards that come with weather changes. All over the world we see them, mudslide, horicane, volcano, windstorm, damaging public infrastructure. So, Nigeria is not exempted. We know this will cause some discomfort to commuters, for which we apologise for. It is an emergency and we are treating it as such. We are responding.
    “A year ago, I think also on the 10th of June, Tatabu bridge also collapseed as a result of rising water level and heavy rainfall and we responded. We have fixed and recontructed a new bridge, which is bigger and better that the box cover that was there. We will do the same thing for what has happened in Mokwa.
    “We have gained some experience, from our contractors to our staff, we know what to do and by the time I got aware of it early this morning, all our staff had started responding. It is very encouraging to me that we have built a team and a system that works.
    “We have given instruction to our Director in charge of North Central zone to move to the place and work with the Controllers in Niger and Kwara state. We have also given instruction to the Federal Road Safety Corps, the Corps Marshal is on top of that, helping to manage the traffic on the Federal High way and divert traffic, especially heavy duty trucks carrying fuel, food items to North and South through that road.
    “There would be discomfort without a doubt, but we will manage it and make it better day by day and in a couple of days, it should be better.
    “We have also contacted the leadership of NUPEND and tanker Drivers to explain to their members of what has happened and what we are doing, so that they will bear with us during this period discomfort.
    “Within the next 72 hours, I am sure, we will bring some stability and control to the place. The Zonal Director has our mandate to report to the Headquarters every 12 hours what is going on, so that we can measure progress. So, there is nothing to panic about. This is an incident that has happened as a result of forces of nature. Rainfall destroys our infrastructure, but it is also a blessing to our farmers and fishermen,” the Minister stated.
  • A view from the bridge

    A view from the bridge

    We are talking Nigerian elections here. Never mind that we have borrowed the title from a 20th Century classic by ace American playwright, Arthur Miller, on immigration challenges that could well be the case in today’s Donald Trump era.

    There is a pressing need for massive involvement of credible and non-partisan volunteers in Nigerian elections to boost the integrity of the process. So says former Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega, in his overview of volunteerism in the conduct of elections in the country.

    Jega spoke in a public lecture titled ‘Volunteers in the Nigerian Electoral Process: Challenges and Prospects,’ delivered at the University of Lagos under the auspices of that institution’s Muslim Community in collaboration with Muslim Ummah of South Western Nigeria. The lecture was in honour of Unilag’s immediate past Vice Chancellor, Professor Rahaman Bello, and former Bursar, Dr. Lateef Odekunle.

    The former electoral chief offered a ‘bridge elevation’ insight from his experience in INEC and what obtains as global best practice to make submissions for the Nigerian process. Basically, he said, integrity of elections is a core requirement for good governance, hence “imbuing elections with integrity should be the preoccupation of all citizens and all stakeholders in a country, not just the election management body and/or other governmental institutions and agencies… especially in transitional democracies (like) Nigeria with a bad history of poorly conducted and fraudulent elections.”

    According to him, whereas volunteers typically undertake crucial roles and add tremendous value to the integrity of polls, especially in so-called mature democracies, volunteerism in transitional democracies like Nigeria poses a huge challenge, which if not addressed would end up undermining rather than enhancing the integrity of elections.

    Jega noted that the motivation for volunteerism should be the late John F. Kennedy’s famous admonition, namely to consider what one can do for one’s country rather than what the country can do for one. In that regard, “the case for the involvement of volunteers in the electoral process globally has been based on the assumption that liberal democracy requires citizens engagement and involvement – individually and (through) civil society associations – for its sustenance, deepening and consolidation. Public institutions, even when strong, need their work to be supplemented and/or counter-balanced by contributions from citizens, civil society and other forms of organised interests. When (state) institutions are weak and/or dysfunctional, as is the case with Nigeria, greater involvement of citizens is required to defend rights and popular choices, and to advocate for responsible conduct by governmental organisations.”

    No election management body in the world has all the hands it needs for all aspects of the polling process on its regular workforce and, invariably, ad hoc workers get enlisted. In Nigeria, citizens engage with the process as volunteers in areas including political campaigns, community mobilisation, voter education, conflict resolution and peace-building, as well as polling day activities – either as observers, political party/candidate poll agent, or as polling unit ad hoc staff.

    In past elections, namely before 2011, teachers and civil servants joined regular INEC staff for election day duties. But “given the weakness of public institutions, threats to job security of civil servants, lack of neutrality by public officials and corruption, the integrity of elections were systematically undermined at the polling unit level,” Jega said.

    He added: “One of the key reforms introduced by INEC beginning with the 2011 general election, and improved upon subsequently, was the removal of civil servants and permanent INEC staff from core election day duties – especially management of the polling stations/units (and) counting and declaration of results. These were replaced with volunteers drawn from the National Youth Service Corps as Presiding Officers (POs) and Assistant Presiding Officers (APOs), students of federal tertiary institutions as supplementary polling officials, and university academic staff as collation and returning officers…

    “The youth corps members, being young men and women on one-year national service in states other than of their origin, (and) imbued with enthusiasm and patriotism, generally conducted themselves creditably. Of course, the fear of any misbehavior resulting in the withholding of their (discharge) certificates served as additional motivation… The vetting of students by registrars of their tertiary institutions similarly motivated them to act responsibly. As for the academic staff and vice-chancellors who volunteered for election duties, few would contemplate risking their careers and hard-earned reputation to perpetrate fraud in elections.”

    But the involvement of volunteers in Nigerian elections is not without challenges, which the former INEC chief highlighted to include:

    Ø Youth corps members being intimidated, assaulted and even killed in the course of doing voluntary election duties. “The loss of the lives of youth corps members due to electoral violence, especially the death of nine of them in the post-2011 general election violence, not only threatened the NYSC policy, but also resulted in many parents discouraging their wards from volunteering for election duties,” he noted.

    Ø Corrupt politicians finding creative ways to compromise election volunteers, and

    Ø Discontinuity in ad hoc election service, constituting a drainpipe on training expenditure. Jega explained: “Because the NYSC scheme is just for one year, corps members who previously performed (election) duties and have gained experience, but have now left the scheme, are ‘lost’ to election duties, resulting in huge expenditures on training new sets.”

    He urged that the identified and other emerging challenges be carefully interrogated and addressed by authorities concerned, so to extend the gains towards improving our Nigerian elections. Among others, he specifically proposed that some means be devised to track ex-youth corps members who were trained and had participated in election duties, to assess their suitability and harness their experience for subsequent poll.

    While applauding the growing civic interest in volunteerism for elections, Jega admonished that “urgent reforms are needed leading to 2019 general election to reposition the continuous role of (youth corps) members and academics; open avenues for additional groups of professionals like engineers, doctors and journalists to join the academics; and steadily set up measures in the direction of recruiting volunteers using a database of those who have done election duty before, even when they have finished serving in the NYSC or have graduated from tertiary institutions.”

    The chair of Unilag Muslim Community and a former INEC National Commissioner, Professor Lai Olurode, in his opening remark said the focus on volunteerism was to address huge costs associated with the Nigerian electoral process, because “the more funds are expended on election costs, the more violence the elections are likely to trigger (and) the less quantum of funds will be available for social service delivery.”

    One of the sidebars to the event was Jega’s response to an off-context question on what informed his restrained response to former Niger Delta Minister Godsday Orubebe, who infamously attempted to disrupt the 2015 presidential election results declaration process.

    He explained: “My colleagues and I had done our best in very difficult circumstances… So we were resolved to ensure that the process came to successful conclusion; and that, by the grace of God, if it was going to be truncated, we would not be liable. Luckily, we knew that everything was being televised live. And so, we just sat there biding our time and allowed him to speak. And when we spoke, it was only to respond to specific allegations.”

    The public lecture, without doubt, offered helpful insights for improving the Nigerian electoral process.

     

    • Please join me on kayodeidowu.blogspot.befor conversation. 
  • Amazing Tsaragi-Bacita ‘bridge’ that Buhari must see

    Amazing Tsaragi-Bacita ‘bridge’ that Buhari must see

    TSARAGI and Bacita are two towns in Kwara State. Everyday, people, vehicles shuttle between the two communities, using the rickety bridge above.

    They are hoping that one day, President Muhammadu Buhari and Power, Housing and Works minister, Raji Fashola,  will see the bridge and order its rebuilding as a proper bridge.

    There is the fear that the bridge will collapse any time from now, because of over use. And then, Tsaragi and Bacita communities will be cut off from each other.

  • Residents hail governor on Pen Cinema bridge

    Community leaders and residents of Agege have expressed gratitude to Lagos State  Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for the  construction of the Pen Cinema bridge.

    Addressing reporters  at Pen Cinema, their leader, Rasheed Osanyinpeju, said Ambode  always ‘’delivers  on his promise’’.

    “We are happy at this project and we’re telling the governor that we support him in his desire to ensure even development across the state,” he said.

    He hailed some leaders of the community including House of Assembly Speaker Mudasiru Obasa for their  efforts  in ensuring that the  project became a reality.

    Agege Local Government Chairman Ganiyu Egunjobi e said the government would deliver on its promise to pay compensation to owners of demolished properties.

    The Leader of the Legislative Arm, Anigbajumo Akolawole, urged the road users to bear with  the traffic challenges caused by the project, noting that  is part of the sacrifice to pay for development.

  • Monarch hails Ambode, Obasa on bridge

    Monarch hails Ambode, Obasa on bridge

    The Ologba of Ogba-elect in Lagos State, Chief Abdul Rafiu Olanrewaju Alabi, has hailed Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and the House of Assembly Speaker Mudashiru Obasa for the building of a flyover at Pen Cinema in Agege.

    The monarch described the development as a laudable achievement by the governor to ensure free flow of traffic in Agege and its environs.

    He said this would further boost economic development.

    Oba Alabi said: “It is one of the things we are expecting from our governor. He has shown his commitment to people’s welfare and well-being. It is no doubt a good development and the beginning of good things in Lagos State.

    “We must praise the governor for this achievement. Our Speaker, Obasa, also deserves commendation.”

    The monarch described the Speaker as a true and worthy representative of the area.

    He said: “The construction of Pen Cinema bridge is a confirmation of Obasa’s worthy representation. Ambode has done well for us by approving and starting the bridge.”