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Tag: Lagos State government

  • Lagos declares June 12 public holiday

    The Lagos State Government on Saturday declared June 12, 2018 as public holiday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the annulled 1993 Presidential elections  won by the late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO)Abiola.

    This was contained  in a statement  signed by the Secretary to the State Government,  Mr. Tunji Bello. 

    Commending President Buhari’s recent declaration of June as the new Democracy Day, the Governor said the singular act would forever ensure that Chief MKO Abiola and other martyrs of democracy who laid down their lives in the struggle to entrench good governance did not do so vain.

    “On behalf of all Lagosians, we want to commend and applaud Mr President, Muhammadu Buhari for deeming it fit finally against all odds from all other past presidents that 25 years after, we are able to now celebrate our own Democracy Day and also declare that the real winner of 1993 June 12 Presidential election was actually our own MKO Abiola.

    “No matter how long you try to hide history, history will always reveal itself with a true platform. So, we know that is one very important singular step as we go forward to build an enduring democracy. And for all democrats in this country, we are excited that we are moving in the right direction. 

    “It also affirms that Nigeria can get it right if we begin to put things in the right perspective and work for the general good of the greater number of people. That is the true essence of democracy.

    “For us in Lagos, June 12 is not just a day to remember, it is a rallying point for those of us in service that we must continuously strive to entrench true democracy and good governance which is what Chief MKO Abiola totally exemplified,” Governor Ambode said.

  • Anambra delegation understudies Lagos counterpart

    A delegation of environmentalists from Anambra State has praised the “greening initiative” of the Lagos State Government

    Members of the team, led by Anambra State Leisure Parks & Street Beautification Managing Director, Mrs. Ify Atogu, said they were highly impressed with what they saw in the state.

    Atogu spoke as the delegation concluded a week-long tour of Lagos State Parks and Gardens (LASPARK). The visit was to understudy LASPARK’s activities. The delegation also joined its host in planting trees.

    Atogu said the tour was at the instance of Governor Willy Obiano, who directed them to come and study the way Lagos was beautifying its environment with a view to replicate same in Anambra, and improve the performance of their agency. She described Obiano as a man “with open mind to development; lover of beautiful environment”.

    Atogu,  who joined the LASPARK crew in its tree planting exercise in Imota Local Council Development Area, Ikorodu Division, Lagos with her team, said she had learnt so much from LASPARK, especially in the workers’ commitment and passion for the job. She promised to take the experience home and encourage her workers to imbibe same.

    The Imota tree planting exercise was part of the LASPARK’s tree planting initiative to aid the actualisation of the agency’s set target of planting 10 million trees in the state by 2020.

    The exercise, which was led by the Agency’s General Manager, Mrs. Bilikis Adebiyi-Abiola, said the event is part of the activities to usher in the annual tree planting campaign holding next month.

    She explained that the choice of Imota Local Council Development Area for the exercise was borne out of the fact that the area had been a strategic partner in the cause of propagating the culture of tree planting in the state. The LASPARK chief said the same exercise had been successfully launched in Ikeja and Epe divisions, adding that it is also to ensure that the local community takes active part in the state greening programme.

    “This project is vital to our collective survival because trees are life, therefore, the life of every tree planted in this community today counts. We must own them and see them as means to an end,” she said. According to her, the exercise was also in line with the millenium development goals (MDG 7), aimed at ensuring environmental sustainability.

    She noted some of the importance of planting trees to include oxygen production; balancing of eco-system; reducing the effect of flash floods; filtration, as trees absorbs and reduces pollutants, provides amenity, aesthetic value and historical continuity. Trees also increase the value of properties and undeveloped land by more than 30 percent.

    Adebiyi-Abiola therefore, urged  Imota community to take the survival of the trees as a challenge in order to ensure that all the ”efforts of today do not amount to futility’.

    Imota Local Council Development Area Chairman, Wasiu Agoro, assured the Agency that ‘all the trees planted will survive and animals will not eat them”.   He said the founders of the community knew the importance of trees; hence, it has become trans-generational to preserve tress in the community.

    The National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) zonal co-ordinator,  who represented the state co-ordinator, Mr. Charles Obiakolo, urged all Corps members within Ikorodu, especially Imota to protect the trees.

    While the Babaloja of Imota market appreciated the agency for choosing the community for the exercise and promised the co-operation and protection of the trees by all members, the Iyaloja of Imota market, Mrs Saidat Taiwo also commended the agency for the exercise and assured the agency that trees planted within the community will be well protected till maturity.

  • ‘Why FG’s school feeding programme has yet to take off in Lagos’

    The Lagos State Government said on Friday that the Federal Government’s school feeding programme had yet to take off in the state because of some logistics.

    The state government said it was still assessing FG’s N70 feeding rate per pupil which it described as unrealistic, just as it has begun training of environmental officers who would screen the food vendors before the commencement of the programme.

    Dr Idiat Adebule, the Deputy Governor and Commissioner for Education, said this in Alausa at a media briefing to mark the 3rd anniversary of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration.

    She said there was need for proper planning and assessment to ensure adequate meals for the pupils.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had during 2014 electioneering promised free daily meals for public primary school pupils across the country.

    In fulfillment of the promise, the administration in 2016 introduced the National Home Grown School Feeding Programme (NHGSFP) which has commenced in some states.

    The deputy governor said: “’Let me state categorically that the number of students in Lagos State schools is about the students in five to six states put together. We just have to plan properly to ensure no student is left out.

    ‘“The Federal Government feeding rate per student is N70 is not realistic. After thorough assessment, we realised that we will need more than N70 to provide adequate meal per student.

    ‘“I’m happy to announce to you that we have engaged the office in charge at the federal level as well as the State Ministries of Agriculture and Health.

    “Last Tuesday, we commenced the training of environmental officers who will screen food vendors to ensure adequate hygiene and prevent any form of infection.

    “The process that will kick-start the school feeding programme in the state is ongoing and we will commence soon.

    ‘“Lagos State is not known for shoddy programmes and we are gunning for nothing but the best.”

    Reeling out the achievements of the government in the year, Adebule disclosed that the state government had given out N40 million as car loans to 491 teachers, while N30 million housing loan was also approved for 38 teaching staff members.

    On child abuse, Adebule said 57 cases of rape and child abuses were reported and were being handled in different courts across the state.

    Also as part of efforts to promote literacy among adults, she said more than 20, 488 adults had been enrolled as at March 2018 with the centres increasing from 250 to 798.

    “The Gov. Ambode led-administration is targeting to ensure that 95 per cent of residents can at least read and write.

    “Our vision is to be a model of excellence in the provision of quality education for the attainment of self-reliance and the socio-economic development of the state,” she said. (NAN)

  • Ministry harps on environmental law enforcement

    The Lagos State Government has resolved is partnering  the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) for the enforcement of environmental laws.

    The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti made this known when he received the Commandant, Lagos Command, of the Civil Defence Corps, Mr. Tajudeen Balogun, in his Office.

    Durosinmi-Etti said the enforcement was necessary to achieve a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and prevent epidemics in the city.

    He said Lagos had strengthened its regulatory agencies, such as the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) to enforce compliance to standard and regulations, and curb unsanitary behaviour.

    The commissioner said  monitoring, enforcement and compliance of the law had improved. He praised the NSCDC for the deal.

    His words: “Through the support of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, we have achieved a lot over the years and we want to solicit more to achieve cleaner, healthier, safer and liveable Lagos.”

    Balogun assured of his command’s support to the government, saying that the  government and NSCDC in  forestalling environmental disasters through the enforcement of environmental laws.

    He commended the Ministry for  ensuring a healthier and cleaner environment.

  • Lagos to deploy 10,000 CCTV cameras

    …Says Yaba ICT Hub‘ll Produce New Set of IT Entrepreneurs

     

    The Lagos State Government on Friday said arrangements are in top gear to deploy additional 10,000 High Definition (HD) CCTV cameras across the State as part of the comprehensive Smart City Programme designed to provide a 24-hour driven economy.

    Speaking at the annual Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr Hakeem Fahm said the smart city initiative, which is on course, was intended to allow the people and companies operate in a safe and secure environment thereby creating more jobs and increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the State.

    Giving details, the Commissioner said the focus of the smart city programme basically includes provision of security and surveillance, implementation of a metro fibre network and e-Governance, adding that apart from HD cameras with gantries deployed in the first phase, other scope of the project involves integration of the deployed cameras with Centralized Emergency Command and Control Centre (CCC), provision of road signature structure and street lights across the State.

    “In the second phase of the project, we will be deploying 10,000 HD cameras, world class e-Government solution and data centre solution, one key alarm, metro fibre network to serve as backbone for communication and unified communications with smart phones for first respondent agencies such as police, fire service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Vehicle Inspection Office (VIO), among others,” Fahm said.

    He said the initiative would address security, transportation and infrastructure in a sustainable manner, adding that thousands of surveillance CCTV cameras would eventually be deployed across the length and breadth of the State.

    “The security component will deploy thousands of surveillance CCTV cameras through the length and breadth of the State. The transportation component focuses on Intelligent Transport Service (ITS) and the connectivity component with provision of a metro fibre network through a major Internet Service Provider (IPS) that will eventually lead connectivity to various homes, offices and institutions in the State,” Fahm said.

    On activities of the Ministry in the last one year, the Commissioner said it was gratifying to report major portals being developed such as Driver’s Licence Processing and Verification Portals to ease the process of driver’s licence issuance and verification of vehicle registration, Education portals to enhance learning and registration of private schools, while Land Use Charge portal and Citizens Gate app, a platform where residents can engage with government online, were successfully implemented.

    He said through the Lagos State Online recruitment and testing portal, a total of 1,500 Local Government staff were recruited in November 2017, while free Wi-fi were provided at three selected parks and gardens across the State with plans to provide additional Wi-fi access at bus terminals and several parks and gardens in the State.

    On Yaba Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub, the Commissioner said the project was another eloquent example of the commitment of the present administration to truly create another Silicon Valley in the State where new set of entrepreneurs and innovators would be raised to address the challenges confronting the nation in the ICT sector.

    He said upon successful completion of the project, Lagos would become the catalyst for Information Technology (IT) penetration and enablement not just in Nigeria but Africa.

    According to him, “The ICT hub is aimed at boosting innovation and creativity among youths with soft skills knowledge in the State. The hub would create enabling environment for youths to showcase their talents, being future technology leaders and with a burgeoning youth population facing growing employment challenges, Lagos State saw the need to embrace software development and key into vast opportunities available.”

    While alluding to the activities of the Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA), the Commissioner said in line with the mandate of the agency to register and issue residency card to residents thereby providing government with reliable demographic database to assist in effective planning and allocation of resources, over four million residents have so far been captured through deliberate strategies put in place in the last one year.

    Read Also:Lagos Museum project gets $600,000 grant

     

  • “Don’t block roads during prayers” – Lagos Govt. to religious bodies

    The Lagos State Government on Monday urged religious bodies to desist from causing obstruction in public places or blocking roads during worship.

    Dr Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, Commissioner for Home Affairs, said this at the 2018 Ministerial Press Briefing of the Ministry to mark the three years in office of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, at Alausa, Lagos.

    Abdullateef said that causing obstruction or blocking the public road to offer prayers was not proper, as it could endanger lives of worshipers.

    “Let us face the fact; you know I am a chief Imam. There are places where your prayers will not be accepted by God, and this is serious.

    “If you block the road while praying, that prayer is not acceptable to God. Worshiping in the middle of the road and denying other road users is unacceptable and should stop.

    “It has happened before, where people claimed that they were having their prayer and an ambulance was taking a woman to hospital.

    “We fought to disperse all of them, one of them even accused me that I am not a believer, I told him, yes I’m not a believer in obstruction,” he said.

    Abdullateef said religious bodies had no right to block the road during prayers as they did not have survey plan of the road as part of their property.

    “Nobody has survey plan of the road as part of his own C of O. When a Mosque or Church is approved for construction by the Ministry of Physical Planning, you will never see the road as part of your property. So, you have no right.

    “All we need to do is that if you have population explosion, you can pray twice. A group can pray first, the second group can pray later.

    “So, obstruction of public spaces during prayer is unacceptable; even religion does not allow it, and the same thing applies to both Muslim and Christian religion.

    “Whatever we want to do, let us keep ourselves within the ambit of the law,” he said.

    The commissioner urged residents to report Churches or Mosques who constitute nuisance or cause noise pollution during their religious activities.

    “I need to explain the difference between trespassing and nuisance that trespassing is when you carry out what you want to do on a premises that is not yours while nuisance is when you are doing something within your premises and you now extend to somebody else’s premises.

    “We will continue to engage religious leaders in the state because this issue is not about sentiment but the law.

    “The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Lagos chapter, is doing a good job in resolving issues like this at the local level to promote peaceful co-existence among religious bodies,” he said.

    NAN

  • Kidnapping: Evans‘ll not escape Justice, Lagos assures

    The Lagos State Government on Wednesday assured that no effort would be spared in ensuring the logical conclusion of the cases filed in court against kidnap kingpin, Chukwudumeme Onwuamadike popularly known as Evans.

    Evans, who was arrested at his mansion in Magodo area of Lagos last year, is being prosecuted by the State Government in court alongside others for masterminding and executing series of high profile kidnappings and murder in the State.

    The State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem, who said this at the ongoing Ministerial Press Briefing held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa as part of activities marking the third year anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, said the State Government was committed to ensure the logical conclusion of all pending cases in court and serve justice to the people.

    “On the Evans’ matter, the cases filed against him are ongoing in court. The issue is that the lawyer representing him is trying to play some games to delay the matter but in all his games, we have been defeating him in court.

    “We have filed different cases. Some are for kidnapping and some bordered on murder and his lawyer is fighting all the cases but what I can assure the people is that we are committed to ensure the matter is concluded and defeat him at the end of the day,” Kazeem said.

    While reeling out activities of the agencies under the Ministry in the last one year, the Attorney General said the State Government received and treated a total number of 11,451 cases through the Special Task Force Against Land Grabbers, Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) and the Special Offences (Mobile) Court in the last one year.

    He said the government also received 316 inquiries through the recently unveiled first state-owned DNA and Forensic Centre with 71 active cases currently ongoing bordering on homicide, rape, toxicology, child trafficking, serology, among others.

    According to Kazeem, the Anti-Land Grabbers Task Force designed by the present administration to fight the menace of forceful take-over of properties received 1300 petitions out of which 855 were concluded and 530 currently at various stages of resolution.

    “In the period under review, over 35 arrests of suspected notorious land grabbers were effected while 26 criminal prosecution cases against suspected land grabbers are presently ongoing,” the Attorney General said.

    Besides, the Attorney General said in a bid to enhance due diligence in property transaction, the State Government introduced the Real Estate Electronic Litigation Database designed for the provision of access to information primarily on properties which are subject of litigation, adding that since its launch, the portal has recorded over 1,000,000 hits and over 10,000 consistent users from Nigeria, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa and others.

    He recalled that since its inception, the DSVRT had galvanized strategic action and responded appropriately to formal and informal reporting of incidents of rape, defilement, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect and maltreatment in the State through the active support of the Governor and other partners.

    “The Ministry has noted an increase in report of domestic abuse against men. To date, the DSVRT has received a total number of 131 cases in this regard. Overall, a total number of 1771 cases were reported during the period under review. The team also provided free medical services and psycho-social therapy for over 700 survivors of domestic/sexual violence, conducted capacity building trainings with 220 police officers across the State, and successfully secured the conviction of seven perpetrators,” he said.

    He added that through the Citizens’ Mediation Centre (CMC), the State Government received a total number of 47,292 new cases free of charge out of which 25,191 were resolved with others at various stages of resolution.

    “The total value of settlement of debt related matters achieved by the Centre during the period under review from May 2017 to April 2018 as settlement between parties was N1,352,745,391,” the Atoorney General said, among other achievements by the State Government in the justice sector.

    Speaking on Hotel and Restaurant Consumption (Fiscalization) Regulations 2018, Kazeem clarified that it was neither a new law nor an additional tax, but a regulation aimed at ensuring that government gets due revenue.

    “It is a regulation and not a new law. It was made pursuant to an existing law that was already in operation. What this regulation essentially seeks to do is to allow the government to put certain equipment in the restaurant and hospitality organizations to properly monitor the revenue that is coming so we can know what exactly is due to the State Government.

    “It is not an additional tax; it is just to enhance transparency in collection of taxes that are due to the State. So, I want to clarify that carefully,” Kazeem said.

    On other high profile cases, he said it was gratifying to report that the cases were progressing in court, saying the Synagogue Church case for instance on the collapsed building which killed people was progressing well, adding that a no case submission filed by the accused persons instead of defending the case was recently dismissed by the Court, while the General Overseer of the Christian Praying Assembly, Rev. Chukwuemeka Ezeugo, a.k.a Reverend King who is presently on death roll imposed by the court would have his fate determined in due course.

    Read Also: Evans: Lagos court to hear application to quash charge Feb. 28

     

  • Lagos denies involvement in Mayfair Gardens water crises

    The Lagos State government has dissociated itself from the water rate crisis at  the Mayfair Gardens Estate, Lekki.

    The controversial rates did not emanate from the government,  its Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi- Etti said.

    Speaking during a meeting with heads of the state Water Regulatory Commission, Mr. Kabir Abdullahi and Water Corporation, Mr. Munir Badmus, the commissioner urged Lagosians to report any  billing or borehole closure to the ministry. He added that the government did not authorise the closure of any borehole except it was found to be unfit for domestic use.

    Durosinmi-Etti said Mayfair Gardens was built by HFP Engineering.  “Being a private estate, HFP Engineering has been  servicing it with social amenities, such as water. This is an indication that the estate, not being serviced by the Lagos Water Corporation, could not have received bills from the water agency,” he said.

    He said further that by selling water to its residents, the estate could be categorised as commercial users of water, adding that the government would not hesitate to impose charges if need be to promote responsible commercial water usage.

    He said the government had introduced some measures of control for commercial usage of water.

    He said regulation, control and monitoring of water resources was to take inventory of the sources, quality of water produced and consumed by citizens and  prompt identification of any source of pollution of the underground water.

    Durosimi-Etti explained that the government was not unaware of the hardship the misunderstanding between the management and residents of the estate had caused, stressing that the government was prepared to intervene.

    “The environment and well-being of the people is our concern. This is why we must wade into the crisis to stem any form of environmental degradation that could be the outcome of water crisis in that estate,” he said.

  • Lagos launches initiative to improve service delivery

    The Lagos State Government has launched an initiative, Service Charter Initiative with the aim of improving health care services in the state.

    Medical Director, Alimosho General Hospital, Igando, Dr. Adebajo Madewa, said the initiative was expanded to Alimosho, Epe and Gbagada General Hospitals, noting that has increased the numbers of Chartered General Hospitals in the State to seventeen.

    Madewa spoke at the launch/ award ceremony in Alausa.

    He said the initiative was designed by the State Government to encourage continuous improvement in service delivery by promoting transparency, accountability and responsiveness.

    According to him, prior to the official launch of the Service Charter in Alimosho, the Hospital was certified by the Ministry of Health to have met all requisite pre-conditions and also received commendations from patients who seek medical attention from the hospital as a result of noticeable improvement in the hospital’s services.

    He said that Service Charter made it possible for the hospital to reduce the waiting time for its patients to about 20 to 30 minutes, adding that it also decentralize some of its services, including the Laboratory and Registry Services to attend to more patients simultaneously.

    “When the Service Charter was first introduced to this hospital, we conducted a situational analysis where we were able to discover that there was need for the hospital to provide the staff with what would make their services more efficient and effective before we can expect them to deliver quality services to the citizenry and we achieved this through training, recruitment of more personnel and procurement of more medical facilities and tools”

    “Some other improvements that the Service Charter brought to our hospital is that it has greatly assisted in reducing waiting time drastically. The Electrocardiography, ECG initially done two times in week is now done on a daily basis, our X-Ray now operates optimally, and Laboratory tests are now carried out on weekdays and weekends among others” he said.

    He advised the Service Charter should not lose focus, saying that medical staffs should be trained more on medical knowledge to deliver prompt medical care while members of the public especially those at the grassroots should be enlightened more to pay adequate attention to their health and not allow their situations to degenerate before seeking for medical assistance .

    The Service Delivery Director, Alimosho General Hospital, Dr. Rafiat Piponsuhu, said the launch complements the desire of the State Government for qualitative and affordable healthcare services for Lagosians regardless of where they live or who they are.

    She added that one key area that Service Charter addresses is in fast-tracking quick medical attention, stressing that importance of timeliness in healthcare delivery cannot be over-emphasized.

    “The initiative has made our staff to be more patient-centered, their attitude to patients has changed greatly and patients are now well-informed about their rights.” She added.

    The Complaint Management Officer of the Hospital, Pharmacist Ajayi Abimbola, disclosed that before the introduction of service charter to the hospital, members of the public are always reluctant in accessing health services from Alimosho General Hospital, adding that the situation had since changed with the reorientation of staff on attitudinal change.

    She added that the staffs were admonished to always put themselves in the shoes of patients who seek medical services from the hospital and treat them the same way they would love to be treated.

  • Buhari commissions Ikeja Bus Terminal 

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday began his two-day official visit to Lagos State with the unveiling of ultra-modern Ikeja Bus Terminal designed to redefine public transportation in line with the Bus Reform Initiative of the State Government.

    The President, accompanied to the facility by the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode and other government functionaries, lauded the State Government for various initiatives aimed at catering for movement of the growing population of the State and making modern buses available to the people.

    He particularly commended Governor Ambode for his developmental strides in the last three years, saying the projects were indeed laudable.

    “I commend the Governor for development and strides he recorded within the first three years of governance. I recognize the push of the State Government in reforming public transportation especially the Bus Reform Project which will make modern transport buses that are air-conditioned available to the people.

    “I acknowledge the vision of Lagos State Government to revamping the railway transportation system. Presently, we have outlined in new-year message of the plan for a-Pan African Railway Transportation. I commend Lagos State for also developing rail infrastructure to cater for movement of its growing population,” President Buhari said.

    While assuring that the Federal Government’s plan for transport infrastructure especially the ports would be strictly adhered to, the President said his administration remained committed to order the development of the country, and as well further stabilize the economy, create an enabling environment for job creation, tackle security and draw Nigeria to acceptability.

    Earlier, Governor Ambode said the Ikeja Bus Terminal signposts the commitment of his administration to reform public transportation infrastructure and management in the State, adding that the vision remained the provision of a functional, efficient and integrated transport system to support the populace and facilitate commerce.

    He said: “In the last three years, we have committed to revamping and providing a new integrated transport system to support our growing population. We have initiated and completed the provision of infrastructure that are scalable and would support the daily needs of our people to meet their connectivity and mobility needs.

    “The Ikeja Bus Terminal is one of our flagship transport infrastructure under the State Bus Reform Initiative. The first phase of this programme will see 13 new Bus terminals introduced including major terminals at Oshodi, Yaba, Ojota, Agege and the already completed Tafawa Balewa Bus Terminal.

    “We have commenced the introduction of 5,000 new buses into the Lagos economy in the next 3 years. We will inject 820 environmentally-friendly high capacity buses in the first phase of this reform by September 2018, 300 New Bus Stops, 3 Bus Depots, and Intelligent Transport System which will aid Lagosians to plan their journeys on our public transport system.”

    Ambode specifically thanked President Buhari for approving import-duty waiver received on the buses in the Phase One of the scheme, saying that arrangement was now in place for the buses to be assembled in Lagos within the next 20 months, which would in turn create jobs for the people.

    He said aside bus and road transportation reform, the State Government was also promoting Non-Motorised Transport such as walking and cycling paths to give the people modal choices while promoting healthy living, just as he said that the rail transport infrastructure was being put in place.

    “Work is ongoing on the 27-kilometre Blue Line Rail project from Okokomaiko West of Lagos to Marina in Central Lagos. We are in discussions with various investors and stakeholders on our urban rail project, the Red Line from Alagbada to Marina.

    “Mr. President, the success of a highly populated, cosmopolitan smart city-State like Lagos is strongly dependent on the efficiency of its transportation system. We are committed to a functional, efficient and integrated transport system which will support our population and facilitate our commerce and we will continually work till we achieve this objective, Governor Ambode said.

    The Ikeja Bus Terminal, which is estimated to convey about 200,000 passengers daily across 23 destinations, has been fitted with all aspects of public transport operations such as buses, passengers’ insurance, 13 ticketing boots, route licensing, terminal bus attendants and operating companies.

    Apart from eliminating all the previous chaos and difficulties associated with boarding bus to different locations, the facility which is sitting on 10,000 square metres land space, is equipped with Intelligent Transport System (ITS), food court, shops, rest rooms, ATM Gallery, free Wi-Fi, electronically controlled shades, fully air-conditioned terminal, among others.

    The ITS enables would-be passengers to know the arrival and departure time of buses from the comfort of their homes, offices or anywhere and properly plan their journey.

    Statistics show that over 12million Lagosians and 80million Nigerians use public transportation daily without standard facilities and the Ikeja terminal is one of the 13 designed to change the narrative in Lagos by exposing the people to befitting and comfortable environment to commute across the State.

    Read Also:Ikeja Bus Terminal: Buhari applauds Lagos’ giant strides in three years