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Tag: Lagos State government

  • Lagos trains 440 Maths teachers

    Lagos trains 440 Maths teachers

    Lagos State Government has trained 440 secondary school teachers.

    No fewer than 15 teachers had earlier benefited from the Mathematics Clinic.

    The training, the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, was aimed at improving students performance in Mathematics.

    In an interaction with reporters in Lagos, Mrs Oladunjoye said the objective was “to update the knowledge of mathematics teachers in the state public secondary schools and equally improve the teaching and learning of the subject for improved performance”.

    She added: “The objective of the clinic is to improve the teaching skills and competence of the mathematics teachers and expose them to some new topics in the subject. The move will also be complemented by the provision of needed instructional materials in schools for enhanced performance.

    The training focused on different strategies including active learning, effective teaching, use of resource materials, such as, teaching modules and kits to simplify the teaching of identified difficult concepts in Mathematics, alongside practical steps for overall effective teaching of the subject among others.

    Other aims included “enhancing students’ interest in Mathematics, offering effective counselling, setting up mathematics laboratories in schools, use of games and computer for teaching, assessment and grading for effective evaluation procedure, content mastering and innovative teaching and learning skills”.

    The Commissioner expressed hope that the training would support expected improvement in the teaching and learning of the subject; cause discoveries of new ways and methodologies in its teaching.

  • Lagos, Falana partner on human rights day

    Lagos, Falana partner on human rights day

    lagos State government will tomorrow join others to celebrate the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Day.

    The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, said  in a statement yesterday that the theme is: “The rights of the child”.

    A lawyer, Mrs Funmi Falana, will deliver the keynote address.

    The event, he said, would hold at the Adeyemo Bero Auditorium, at the Secretariat in Alausa, Ikeja. The day Ipaye said, is observed by the international community every year on December 10 in commemoration of the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    The day, he said, would also celebrate the fundamental proposition in the Universal Declaration that “each one of us, everywhere, at all times, is entitled to the full range of human rights; that human rights belong equally to each of us and bind us together as a global community with the same ideals and values”.

    Highlights of this year’s event include an essay competition for private and public schools, Ipaye added.

  • Lagos objects to N1b suit by 66 ‘deported’ Igbos

    Lagos objects to N1b suit by 66 ‘deported’ Igbos

    The Lagos State government has filed a preliminary objection to a suit by 76 persons, who were allegedly deported to the Southeast.

    The plaintiffs sued the state at the Federal High Court in Lagos, demanding N1billion.

    Yesterday, their lawyer, Leo Nbu, who held the brief of Ugo Ugwunnadi, said his clients had filed a counter affidavit.

    The government’s lawyer, Olubola Akinsete, confirmed that he received the plaintiffs’ processes.

    The applicants sought an order mandating the state to apologise to them.

    The apology will be published in three national newspapers continuously for 30 days.

    They sought an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the respondents or their agents from further deporting or refusing them free entry to-and-fro Lagos.

    Seven of the applicants sued for themselves and “on behalf of the 76 persons deported from Lagos and dumped/abandoned at Onitsha, Anambra State, on July 24, last year”.

    They are Joseph Aniebonam, Osondu Mbuto, Osondu Agwu, Nnenna Ogbonna, Emily Okoroariri, Friday Ndukwu and Onyeka Ugwa.

    They joined the Attorney-General, Ade Ipaye and the commissioner of police as respondents.

    But the respondents, in their counter-affidavit, said the applicants were neither dumped nor abandoned at Oshodi Rehabilitation Centre or any prison.

    Deputy Director in the Office of the Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth and Social Development Olabode Ajao said the respondents did not deport the applicants as alleged.

    He said it was Lagos’ policy to cater for its residents, irrespective of their state of origin.

    Ajao said the state do not own any rehabilitation centre in Oshodi or  control any prison facility.

    The respondents said the applicants were rescued from different parts of Lagos while they were begging, living under bridges and by roadsides and engaging in other social vices.

    The affected individualswere taken to the state-owned Rehabilitation and Training Centre at Majidun, where they underwent a health screening.

    “The applicants were fed proper and nutritious meals and given adequate treatment by the medical corps at the centre,” the state said.

    The government said after the applicants completed  skill acquisition programmes, it informed their states of the need to reunite them with their families.

    “After three months without any response from the Anambra State government, the respondents decided to assist in getting them back to their state.

    “During my interaction with the applicants, they decided that they would find their way to their families from Onitsha, and this necessitated their transportation to ABC Motor Park, Onitsha.”

    The state said the applicants have filed similar suits in the Awka Division of the Federal High Court, seeking N10millon each; at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja, seeking N10million damages, and two other suits in the Federal High Court in Lagos.

    The applicants said their alleged arrest and detention amount to a breach of their rights.

    They sought an order mandating Lagos to reabsorb and accommodate them.

    A plaintiff, Onyeka Ugwa, who hails from Orlu in Imo State, said he lived in Lagos for five years and sold books in Okokomaiko.

    He claimed he was arrested by policemen and officers of the Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) in January last year and taken to a rehabilitation centre in Oshodi, where he was “dumped and abandoned.”

    Ugwa said he was transferred to a ‘detention camp’, where he met other Igbo.

    “We were treated like animals; people were dying around me daily.”

    He said on July 23 last year, Igbo were ‘bundled’  into buses without being told their destination.

    The plaintiff said: “The bus kept moving through the night until we were ‘offloaded like log of woods’ at Upper Iweka in Onitsha, Anambra State on July 24, last year.

    “The buses drove off towards Lagos. At daybreak, we found ourselves stranded .”

    Ugwa said the Red Cross took care of them in Onitsha, adding that all they worked for and achieved in Lagos were taken from them.

    He said while some of them admitted to being beggars, most of them had jobs in Lagos.

    “I am not a destitute and I fend for myself,” he said,.

    Justice Rita Ajumogobia adjourned till February 10.

  • Lagos to save N12.7b through energy conservation

    Lagos to save N12.7b through energy conservation

    The Lagos State government could save  N12.7billion annually by using energy saving appliances in its ministries,  parastalals, and other institutions soon, its Commissioner for Energy Resources, Taofiq Tijani, has said.

    Tijani, who spoke during the 2014 Edition of the Energy Conservation Month in Lagos, yesterday, said the government has the capacity to save N12.7billion yearly by using energy saving bulbs and appliances in its offices.

    He said the government is saving 978,906 Kilowatts per hour(kwh)  annaully, by switching to energy saving bulbs in its secretariat, adding that plans are underway to conserve energy to its barest minimum level.

    He said the Energy Conservation Month initiative was launched lin 2013  as a Behavioural Change Campaign to enable residents imbibe the habits of conserving energy at homes and offices.

    He said the campaign dubbed  ‘Conserve Energy, Save Money’ (CESM), ran throughout the 31 days in the month to ensure efficient usage of energy in the state.

    He said: “We are persuaded that when people understand the benefits of energy conservation to their own personal finances, it will make adoption of the practice easier.”

    He said this year’s edition will witness the  commissioning of the Energy Academy, the opening of the  8.8megawatts(Mw) Independent Power Plant in Lagos Mainland by Governor Babatunde Fashola, the launch of Improved Lagos Energy Calculator App among others.

  • Bridge repair: Govt urges caution

    The Lagos State Government has urged motorists and other road users to exercise caution during the replacement of the expansion joints of the Eko Bridge.

    The Commissioner of Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, said the advice became imperative since the planned repairs which began on August 23, would last for about 71 days.

    The first phase of the repairs being carried out by Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, Opeifa said, would witness a partial restriction from two lanes to one, at the loop towards Elegbata (Apongbon inter-change) in-ward Lagos, for six days between August 23 and 25, adding that the restriction would not affect inward vehicular movements.

    “To avoid delays, motorists coming from Surulere and Apapa going towards Ebute-Ero and outer Marina are advised to use the connecting road to link Carter Bridge,” Opeifa said.

    He urged road users to obey traffic regulations, adding that traffic officers have been directed to ensure traffic flow throughout the exercise.

    Government, he said, is determined to keep to the timeframe for the project, adding that with what it has in place, there would be no need for total closure of the bridge.

  • Lagos to build Ikoyi, Lekki link roads

    THE Lagos State government has approved the construction of Ijeh road leading to Dolphin Estate, Ikoyi and Igbokusu Road in Lekki.

    The Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, said the  measure would ensure that the roads are made passable before they are accommodated in the state’s budget.

    He added that  it would involve the use of materials that would still be useful during the major road construction. While the Ijeh road is about 735 metres, Igbokusu road is about 2.1km, adding that it would be constructed in phases.

    Hamzat explained that the reason  the state government was focusing on the inner roads was because they help to discharge water from the major roads, adding that construction is not just about building the road but about the fallout where the water will be discharged to.

    “We cannot construct all the roads at the same time. It is just not feasible. We don’t have the resources; we don’t have the capacity of contractors to even do that even if we have the money. Let us even assume that we have all the contractors in the world that can do these roads and we have the money, the truth is we won’t do it because it means we will then paralyse the state,” he said.

    Hamzat warned residents to  stop blocking drainages with refuse to avoid their blocking them. He lamented some people block the drains, which subsequently affect the roads.

    He said:  “Lagos is a coastal city, it’s a flat terrain while most areas are below sea level. The most important thing is how to move water because it may eventually destroy the road if not properly channelled. The need to move water is a critical consideration in what road we undertake.”

    The commissioner said the Ministry of the Environment has also awarded the contract for the replacement of the damaged culvert on the road to ensure free flow of the water and ensure the road is useable.

    As a temporary measure, a wooding bridge constructed by AAA RESCUE has been put in place, while the State government has provided alternative route for the residents pending the completion to compliment the temporary bridge constructed.

  • Lagos budget records 106% performance in Q2

    Lagos State Government has recorded 106 per cent budget performance in the second quarter of 2014, the Governor, Babatunde Fashola, has said.

    Fashola, who made this  known  yesterday shortly after the quarterly budget review meeting held at the state House,  Alausa, said this was an improved performance against the 76 per cent recorded in the first quarter of the year.

    The governor however lamented that except for some payments in the last two months, the allocation accruing to the state from federal transfers, dropped in the past 14 months from about N10billion to N7billion, saying that as a result, the state was forced to rely on its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to execute projects.

    He said: “Some states, regrettably are now borrowing money. So, it was a good thing that Lagos State conceived the idea many years ago to take its destiny into its hand; to get people to contribute to the development of the state.

    “And as I said, if it is a common wealth, then it must be build by common contribution. And that is what our taxes have done for us,” he added.

    Fashola, who commended taxpayers in Lagos for striving to fulfil their civic obligations, noted that no nation in the world can thrive without taxes.

    “70 per cent of what the state has spent on governing Lagos came from a common contribution from the residents of Lagos state. People who come now to appeal to residents to desist from paying tax are the real enemies of the people. If people stop paying tax, the state will go cap-in-hand to collect N7 billion.

    “And people are still asking for the construction and rehabilitation of roads in the state. No economy in the world has developed without payment of taxes; this is because this is what brings participation in democracy. If your money is in it, ones commitment will be stronger,” he stressed.

    On his part, the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Ben Akabueze, said the focus of the government would be on the completion of more than two hundred ongoing road construction and other ongoing development projects.

    “Overall the budget performance is trending in the right direction”, Akabueze said.

  • ‘Channelise waters to curb mishaps’

    Lagos State government has been urged to channelise lagoons to curtail accidents on waterways.
    The Operrations Manager of Metro Ferry Servies, Mr Zakari Dekina, gave the advice in Lagos during a chat with reporters
    Dekina said the channelisation of waterways would guarantee security and safety.
    “There is the need for proper channelisation of our waterways and markings as it isdone on the roads.
    “We expect that this would help guide our boat captains to identify bad spots and tell them where to navigate. They should give us a channel where the commercial boat operators would be operating. If the regulatory authorities do this, it would go a long way to ensuring that accidents are reduced,” he said.
    Dekina added that a situation where various categories of users plied the same route was unhealthy for water transportation.
    “At the moment, boat operators, fishermen, loggers and even dredgers travel the same route on our waterways. This is not safe.
    “On many occasions, when loggers lose logs on the water, they are left to float aimlessly on the lagoon. These pose serious dangers to our boats,” he noted.
    The manager said, however, that apart from being beneficial to boat operators, having dedicated routes could douse tensions between fishermen and loggers.

  • Lagos to domesticate environmental laws

    The Lagos State government has said it will rid the environment of pollution and promote good quality of life.

    The Managing Director of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Mr. Adebola Rasheed Shabi, spoke at the opening of a two-day forum on the domestication of the national environmental regulation and standard in the state.

    Shabi said Lagos State, as the nation’s economic, industrial and financial capital, needs to domesticate national and international environment laws to protect residents.

    He said Lagos would be the first state to begin the process of adopting the 21 federal laws on the environment.

    These laws were made by the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and the Federal Ministry of Environment.

  • Lagos opens access for public bidding of contracts

    The Lagos State Government has created opportunities that would enable the average residents have open access to bid for government contracts.

    The general manger of the state public procurement agency, Mr. Akin Onimole, disclosed this when a delegation from the Niger State government who are in the state to understudy the Lagos procurement reforms, visited the office of the state head of service, Mrs. Josephine Williams.

    Onimole stated that until now, there were limited opportunities for residents to bid for government contracts, adding that with the implementation of the state procurement reforms, the treasure of open bidding will be greatly enlarged.

    “Beginning from April, there will be many advertisements and the average Lagosians will have more opportunities to bid. Prior to the implementation, there were limited opportunities for open competitive bidding, but with the advent of implementation, the treasure for open bidding has been greatly enlarged.”

    Onimole further added that the development would promote accountability, transparency and encourage best practices in the civil service.

    He said the Niger State delegation stand to learn a lot from the Lagos State experience, noting that a similar visit was paid to the Federal Bureau of Procurement by the Lagos State to share from its experiences and challenges.

    The leader of the Niger State delegation, Mr. Siraj Said, said the visit was important considering that the state recently set up its procurement agency.