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Tag: Lagos State House of Assembly

  • Rivers rerun crisis:  Lawmaker blames INEC, stakeholders

    The Lawmaker representing Epe Constituency II in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Segun Olulade has blamed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and stakeholders in Rivers State for the lingering electoral violence which has left the electoral process in a comatose.

    Olulade said the crisis that has engulfed the state is a sign that INEC under the new Chairman on one hand has showed incapability of the commission to conduct free and fair elections following the Bayelsa and Kogi debacles.

    He also noted that party men in Rivers State on the other hand have demonstrated lack of political maturity, fair play and genuine concern for Rivers people who are usually at the receiving end in the long run.

    The lawmaker explained that the idea of preparing for election like war is unfortunate for the nation’s democracy, just as he pointed out that Rivers people are the innocent victims in this circumstance considering the number of lives lost and properties destroyed in the process.

    While noting that other states have started enjoying governance, Olulade lamented that the people of Rivers State still suffer from the ego of major actors in the contest.

    “I suggest that the Federal Government through the National Orientation Agency and INEC should review voters’ education to ensure the electorates do not allow themselves to become constant tools of violence during elections.

    “I also appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari to consider mop-up of arms and ammunitions currently domiciled in the entire Niger-Delta areas, which was caused by illegal arms deals and activities of the militants in the area”, Olulade said.

    He also appealed to all warring factions to consider innocent residents and indigenes of the state that are dying each time there is crisis in the state, “and they should prove to the masses that they are not only vying for their selfish interests by eschewing violence in the State.

    “The current development in Rivers State is a setback to Nigeria’s democracy as it has continued to portray the nation’s democracy in bad light before the entire world. The era of do-or-die politics should be forgone and that decisions of electorates should be allowed to prevail. That is true democracy,” Olulade added.

  • Lagos Assembly urges Buhari to resuscitate WAI

    Lagos Assembly urges Buhari to resuscitate WAI

    Lagos State House of Assembly Thursday at plenary called on President Muhammadu Buhari to resuscitate War Against Indiscipline (WAI) to restore orderliness, sanity and discipline in the country.

    This call followed the joint motion moved by Hon. Lanre Ogunyemi, the Chairman, House Committee on Education and seconded by Hon. Yinka Ogundimu, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance.

    The lawmakers decried the breakdown of law and order, good behaviour and sanity in the society.

    Ogunyemi said the programme would help build the culture of cleanliness, humility, dutifulness, honesty among others in the country.

    “There is no more sanity in the society; people don’t see anything bad in evil and indiscipline again. Abnormal things have become normal in our society,” he said.

    The lawmaker highlighted some of the indiscipline acts to include, defecation in open space, street fighting, disobedience to traffic lights, littering roads, blocking of drainages with waste, failure to use pedestrians bridges, beating of security operatives among others.

    Ogunyemi called on the Federal Government to support the security agencies to ensure that Nigerians behave responsibly in the society.

    Also speaking, Ogundimu said, “Indiscipline has taken over the society, what were considered abnormal before are regarded as normal. We are now indisciplined.”

    Another lawmaker, Hon. Abiodun Tobun, the Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure said, “There is no more fear in the heart of our people and this makes everyone to be indiscipline.”

    Tobun called on all the security operatives to lead the discipline campaign and be alive to their responsibilities.

    The Speaker, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa described the loss of orderliness as ‘shameful’ and called on Buhari to resuscitate the programme.

  • Lagos Assembly condemns neglect of model colleges

    Lagos Assembly condemns neglect of model colleges

    Chairman, Committee on Education of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Olanrewaju Ogunyemi has condemned the state of infrastructure in the state’s model colleges.

    He then advised the state government to urgently address the issues in the colleges to sustain the visions of their founders and restore the lost glory of the schools.

    Ogunyemi, who led other members of the committee to Lagos State Model College, Igbonla, Epe on Wednesday lamented in an interview with journalists that the school has been cut off from the society, and that the facilities in the hostels and the school generally have been overstretched.

    “We don’t want to assume that things are right, which is why we decided to go round all our schools in the state to be sure that we are really doing what ought to be done.

    “Our tour so far has been extremely revealing about the dilapidation and retrogression of our model colleges. There is need for us to improve the situation. Since much is being given to education in the budget of the state this year, we should seriously improve the facilities in our model schools. We would go back to the drawing board and advise the executive to ensure that we give the children in model schools a new lease of life,” he said.

    According to him, a trip round the school revealed that the students were being subjected to inhuman condition in their hostels, which he said were over-populated and unkempt.

    “The facilities in the hostels are inadequate, we see a lot of cramping of beds and we saw that it is not conducive. There is a hostel there that has been abandoned since the school was established, if the building is completed, it would go a long way to improve the hostel facilities.

    “The feeding of the students should be improved upon, also some of the children could not take care of themselves because they are under-aged. So, the government should apply age restriction and we feel that the model schools in the state should be model in their outlook,” he said.

    Ogunyemi described as worrisome a situation, where the students have to keep their luggages outside the hostels due to congestion and over-population, defecate in the open, while some of them that are under-aged have special rooms because they bedwet.

    He also condemned the conversion of the school library to examination hall without an alternative location for library, where he said the children could do researches.

    “The school should have improvised a room for library because without a library, the students cannot research. The vision of the founders of model schools in Lagos State needs to be sustained and we need close and adequate monitoring of our model schools to ensure that we get it right. We will go back to let the executive know that we have an urgent and critical need in our model schools.

    “We have asked the school authority about their security, the number of security men they have and advised them to ensure that they relate with the community to handle emergency situation,” he said.

    He also condemned the state of the road leading to the school, stressing that it is terrible and that the schools in the state should be accessible to the public.

    Addressing the students in the dining hall, Ogunyemi said that the committee decided to pay an unscheduled visit to the school to see how they were faring.

    “Though you cannot vote due to your ages, but some of your parents voted for us and we promised them that we would protect their interest. We came to see where you sleep and where you are learning and what you eat.

    “By the grace of God, your situation would change. We want you to continue to be good children and keep good hygiene, nobody would take care of you better than yourselves,” he stated.

    He told the students that some of the things that the committee members saw in the hostels were irritating, adding that some of the students were defecating in the open spaces.

    “The odour around your hostel was bad. We have seen the condition under which you live and we could see that the facilities are overstretched. By the grace of God, the government would do something about it and we are happy to be here,” he said.

    The Principal of the Junior Section of the school, Mr. Bolaji Oyesola, who led other staff to receive the committee members, said that a room has actually been converted to a library for the students.

    Oyesola added that the school management is trying to make do with what they have within their limited resources.

    “We take care of their feeding very well and give them water. We make sure that the students are comfortable. We have been managing what we have since the school was established in 1988. The facilities were meant for below 200 students, but now we have over 1,000 students,” he said.

    The committee later visited the Education District 3 of the state in Falomo, Ikoyi, Lagos that is controlling the college, where they met with the Tutor General/Permanent Secretary of the District, Mr. Olayinka Gbemi Olaniyi and other top management staff of the district.

    Ogunyemi intimated them of the findings of the committee in the school and urged the district to ensure that they are conversant with the condition of the schools within their jurisdiction with a specific reference to the model college in Igbonla and its challenges.

  • Crime: Lawmaker urges Lagos residents to provide useful information

    The Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Information, Strategy and Security has urged automobile dealers, hoteliers and nightclubs owners to assist government in gathering intelligence towards preventing crime.

    The Chairman of the committee, Mr Tunde Braimoh (APC-Kosofe II), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.

    He was reacting to the people’s appeal for the state government to take necessary measures to improve the security of lives and property in the state.

    “What criminals spend their money on is cars, women, and drinks.

    “So we need our car dealers to assist us with intelligence; they can know when somebody comes around gallivanting and behaving as if on top of the world without any reasonable means of income.

    “We should know and we should be able to make up intelligence immediately.”

    According to him, Lagos is one of the most secure cities in the world regardless of current security challenges.

    “Yes, there may be pockets of crimes here and there, but we must know that there is no big city anywhere in the world that does not have such problems.”

    He stressed the need for all stakeholders to assist the government in tackling the spate of insecurity.

    He said, “We cannot leave everything to government alone as all of us have to be our brothers’ keepers.”

    Braimoh noted that Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode has earmarked more than N23.5bn for security in the 2016 budget and more than N4 billion on the same issue towards the end of 2015.

    The lawmaker urged the residents to show concern about security issues, stressing that criminals will not cease from terrorising the society.

    “We should work on intelligence gathering which in most cases will help prevent crime from occurring in the first place, because the system we use now is reactionary in nature like we have the Rapid Response Squad.

    “But responding is not the best, because that will be like medicine after death.

    “Even prosecution of criminals is still reactionary in nature, but when we focus on preventing crime, we save ourselves from the rigor of responding to crime.

    “Prevention is always better than cure.”

    He argued that it is imperative for anybody caught sharing part of the proceeds of crime to be prosecuted as an accomplice.

    Braimoh said ladies indulging in harbouring criminals or frolicking of them should not be spared when they were found in the midst of these criminals.

    He advocated that markets must be secured from activities of criminals, saying all markets must be locked up at nightfall.

  • Ambode signs N662.588bn 2016 Budget to Law

    Ambode signs N662.588bn 2016 Budget to Law

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode Monday signed the N662.588bn year 2016 Appropriation Law with a promise that the budget would be faithfully implemented in line with the determination of his administration to make Lagos work for all irrespective of age, gender, tribe or status.
    The Appropriation Bill, presented to the Lagos State House of Assembly by Governor Ambode on December 17, was unanimously passed into law by members of the House on December 31, 2015.

    Speaking at the ceremony held at the Banquet Hall, Lagos House, Ambode said the 2016 budget was the article of faith of his administration with Lagosians and it was in line with delivering on the promises made to the people.

    He said: “The 2016 budget of N662.588bn will enable our government focus on the present challenges of security, traffic gridlock resolution including physical and social infrastructural developments which have thrown up new challenges quite different from our past experience.”

    The Governor thanked the House of Assembly for speedily ensuring the passage of the bill, saying it was no mean feat considering the long hours spent and meticulous scrutiny provided by the House Committee on Appropriation.

    While recognizing the expeditious attention given to the passage of the Bill into Law by members of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Governor Ambode said the lawmakers deserved to be commended considering the long hours spent and meticulous scrutiny they provided on the budget.

    Governor Ambode said he was not oblivious of the current challenges brought about by the dwindling federal allocations due to falling crude oil prices, but that the budget would be driven by Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    He, however, appealed to all Tax Payers to fulfill their civic obligations by promptly paying their taxes, just as he assured that his administration would leave no stone unturned in delivering value for every Kobo spent.

    “In conclusion, I will commend this Budget to all Lagosians and enjoin them to continue collaborating with us in building the Lagos of our dreams,” Governor Ambode said.

    Giving a breakdown of the 2016 budget, tagged “The Peoples Budget”, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Akinyemi Ashade said it will go a long way to promote massive investments in Security, Transport/Traffic management, Physical and Social Infrastructural development in addition to enhancing job creation/opportunities.

    He said the 2016 budget with estimated total revenue of N542.873bn with the balance of N119.714bn expected to be funded through a combination of internal and external loans included World Bank DPO 3 loan which could not be accessed in 2015.

    He said the Lagos Internal Revenue Service is expected to generate N300billion equivalent to 78 percent of the total IGR, however adding that while the state government does not intend to introduce new taxes, efforts will be made towards bringing more citizens into the tax.

    Giving a breakdown of the expenditure plan, Ashade said N89billion will be spent on construction, rehabilitation and maintenance of roads and public buildings, while N48.9billion will be expended on various Transportation initiatives including the completion of the Blue Rail Line and expansion of BRT Corridors (Mile 12-Ojota).

    The Commissioner also said that N86billion will be spent on the education sector, which according to him, will cover the state government flagship programmes including A-Meal-a-Day initiative to be partly sponsored by the Federal Government, Ibile tablets for Secondary Schools as well as the development of the E-Curriculum initiative.

    He gave the expenditure breakdown of other sectors to include, Health (N46.9bn) Agriculture and Food Security (N2bn), Tourism (N2.2bn), Commerce and Industry (N6.2bn), Environment (N27bn), Pensions (N6.5bn), Science and Technology (N9.6bn), Water (N17.6bn), Housing (N25.3bn), Sports Development (N2.3billion), among others.

  • Ambode presents N662.58bn budget proposal for 2016

    Ambode presents N662.58bn budget proposal for 2016

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State on Thursday presented a 2016 budget proposal of N662.58 billion to the Lagos State House of Assembly for approval.

    Ambode, who tagged the budget “The People’s Budget”, said that it would promote massive investment in security, transport/traffic management, physical and social infrastructural development as well as enhance job creation.

    The budget is made up of capital expenditure of N383.678 billion and a recurrent expenditure of N278.909 billion in the ratio of 58:42 respectively as against 51:49 in 2014 and 2015.

    “This represents an improvement of 26 per cent over the budgets of 2014 and 2015 respectively, which stood at N489.69 billion,” Ambode said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the N489.69 billion year 2015 budget was later reordered and signed into law on Sept. 23, 2015.

    The reordered budget comprised N19.7 billion capital expenditure and N5.7billion recurrent expenditure within the initial budget size.

    Ambode said that the total revenue estimate for 2016 fiscal year was N542.87billion.

    He said that this showed that the balance of N119.71billion would be funded through deficit financing that would be 0.41 per cent of the state GDP based on 2016 budget alone and a cumulative debt to GDP ratio of about 3 per cent.

    The budget breakdown revealed that Economic Affairs had the highest allocation of N211,04 billion followed by General Public Services, N120,50 billion.

    Education and Health had N113.37 billion and N64.67 billion respectively.

    Housing and Community Housing and Community Amenities got N62.71 billion while Environment got N53.04 billion and Public Order and Safety N28.55 billion.

    Others are Recreation, Culture and Religion, N4.63 billion and Social Protection N4.02 billion.

    Ambode said that the 2016 budget would be used to strategically build new infrastructure, while existing ones would be maintained.

    “Wealth and employment creation will receive a lot of attention as we commence the implementation of the Employment Trust Scheme which will set aside N25 billion over a four-year period for job creation,” he said.

    Ambode pointed out that the Federal Government still owed the state N50 billion expended on federal roads in the state.

    “Fiscal federalism and according Lagos a special status will benefit the state as we implore the Federal Government to look into this as soon as possible.

    “We look forward to an early refund to enable us utilise the fund on other infrastructure that require attention,” he said.

    “To say that the dwindling oil revenues is affecting the revenues of the state and the nation is to state the obvious.

    “Our Internally Generated Revenue has been our saving grace in Lagos State, but that does not imply that we are immune to the crisis rocking other states,” Ambode said.

    He, therefore, implored residents to make it a point of duty to pay their taxes appropriately as and when due.

    “On our part, we promise that this budget shall be implemented faithfully and in the best interest of Lagosians,” he said.

    Receiving the budget, the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, said the presentation was necessary to obtain legislative consent for the amount of money to be spent in the coming financial year.

    “We have all listened with rapt attention to how the wealth of our state will be utilised for our common good in year 2016.

    “The responsibility is now on the members of this honourable house to do the needful; and I assure you that we will meticulously perform our constitutional duty.

    The speaker, who commended the governor on road infrastructure and procurement of mass transit buses, urged him to do more to ensure traffic flow.

    NAN reports that the speaker handed over the demands of the residents collated from the town hall meetings held by the lawmakers across the 40 constituencies to the governor.

  • Lagos Assembly confirms Ambode’s cabinet nominees

    Lagos Assembly confirms Ambode’s cabinet nominees

    Lagos State House of Assembly at plenary Thursday confirmed the 37 cabinet nominees of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The confirmation, which took place during plenary  was preceded by the presentation of the report of the 15-man committee set up by the House penultimate week to screen the nominees, which was presented by the Chairman of the committee, Hon. Wasiu Sanni Eshinlokun.

    In presenting the report, Hon. Eshinlokun revealed that all the nominees were invited by the committee and that they all submitted copies of their CVs and certificates, which were thoroughly verified by the committee, which sat for one week from Monday 5 to Friday 9 October, 2015 at the Lateef Jakande Hall within the premises of the Assembly.

    The Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, subsequently ordered the Clerk of the House, Mr. Segun Abiru to send a letter to the Governor indicating that the nominees have been confirmed by the House.

    It will be recalled that the House had invited the nominees to appear before it on Tuesday 13, October, 2015, where they were requested to speak about their background and their experiences with the committee.

  • Lagos Assembly re-orders 2015 budget

    Lagos Assembly re-orders 2015 budget

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has approved the re-ordering of this year’s  budget of the state government as requested by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

    The House at plenary yesterday approved N19, 743, 164, 323 for capital expenditure and N5, 697, 089, 009 for recurrent expenditure bringing the total sum approved  to N25, 440, 253, 332.

    The House also admonished the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget to henceforth do a quarterly review of approved budget to enhance effectiveness and determine level of compliance by the ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

    The total budget size for year 2015 however did not change, it remains N489.690billion; while N241,977billion is for recurrent expenditure and N247,713billion is capital expenditure

    The House transferred budgetary allocation that may not be fully utilised by some MDAs before the end of the year to other MDAs that are in need of the funds.

    The House, among others, approved N3.5billion for the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure for special building projects and an additional N1.1billion for the completion of on-going projects for the defunct Ministry of Rural Development.

    It also approved N3.9billion as special expenditure while a total sum of N3.8billion was approved for security and emergency intervention and N2billion was approved as contingency fund.

    Other MDAs that received additional allocation include Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment, Office of Chief of Staff and others.

    The House also said the take-off grants of the newly created MDAs be defrayed from the special expenditure votes and general overhead cost.

    Ambode had last week presented letter to the House titled: “Re-ordering of priorities under the 2015 Budget” in which he requested for re-ordering of the budget.

    According to the letter, the governor listed the reasons for the re-ordering to include construction of a pedestrian bridge at Ojodu Berger, construction of fly-over bridges at Ajah Roundabout and Pen Cinema, Agege.

    The letter added that the budget re-ordering proposal would cater for the continuation of the construction of blue light rail project, continuation of the construction of the Lekki-Epe Expressway and acquisition of emergency/rescue helicopters and heavy duty equipment (cranes and forklift) and for Employment Trust Fund and Wealth Creation Programmes.

  • Lagos Assembly approves N59.3b budget for 57 local councils

    Lagos Assembly approves N59.3b budget for 57 local councils

    The Lagos State House of Assembly yesterday approved a budget of N59, 287,974,102 for the 20 local governments and local council development areas (LCDAs).

    The House gave the approval, following a debate on the report submitted by the ad-hoc committee headed by the Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru.

    The House observed that most councils and LCDAs performed poorly in the area of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), among others.

    It, therefore, recommended the need to shore up their revenue generation drive to meet the needs of the people.

    A breakdown of the budget showed that Ifelodun LCDA got the highest vote of N1,632,880,355.48, followed by Apapa Local Government with N1,624,051,414.28.

    Agege Local Government got  N1,459,916,003; Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government, N1,557,825,411.00; Ikeja N1,001,105,683.16; Lagos Mainland N1,589,879,806.22 and Mushin Local Government Area, N1,139,863,539.33.

    Submitting the report of the committee,  Abiru said  the decision to scrutinise the budget of the councils was in consonance with Section 3 of the Local Government Council Committee Law, 2007.

     “Most councils and LCDAs  performed poorly in the IGR, hence their reliance on Federal Allocation.

    “Their overhead estimate was  bloated to the detriment of Capital  Expenditure.”

    In passing the budget, members urged the councils to explore all revenue sources and block leakages.

    They also urged them to give priority to capital expenditure so as to ensure physical development at the grassroots.

  • Funmi Tejuosho set to join the golden club

    Funmi Tejuosho set to join the golden club

    For Princess Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, turning 50 is a big deal, and should be celebrated with a lot more than a dinner or a get-together. The beautiful Lagos lawmaker has been anxious to join the golden club for a while now; and she gleefully quivers as she gears up to turn 50 on Wednesday, March 25. According to those who should know, Princess Funmi is going all out to make her 50th birthday a memorable one. In preparation, the well-dressed politician has contacted a top Nigerian music star to thrill her guests at the event.  Funmi Tejuosho has proved time and again that she is more than a pretty face.

    In addition to being a progressive politician in a male-dominated environment, she is a gender activist and an author. Passionate about women empowerment in Nigeria, Funmi has collaborated with other Non-Governmental Organisations in raising the awareness of women about their social and political rights. When she was the Deputy Chief Whip and Chairman, House Committee on Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Princess Funmi Tejuosho sponsored the passage of the Domestic Violence Bill, which was passed into Law in the 5th Assembly. Her book, ‘Overcoming Domestic Violence’, vividly captures her views on domestic violence and ways to eradicate this menace.  Her 50th birthday celebration is expected to be a lot more than a mere birthday party, but a celebration of a woman with outstanding accomplishments.