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Tag: Lagos State

  • LASPARK engages CDCs to promote greening culture

    Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency (LASPARK) has inaugurated the community development tree planting to encourage tree planting in the neighborhood.

    This development is targeted to plant an additional one thousand trees to complement those planted early in the year to meet the target of planting 10 million trees by year 2020, towards achieving the Millennium Development Goal of ensuring.

    Speaking at the event which took place in Ikeja recently, the General Manager, LASPARK,  Mrs Bilikis Adebiyi Abiola noted that aside from the beauty that trees add to the environment they also produce oxygen that we need to keep us alive.

    Read Also: Lagos impounds motorcycles plying roads illegally

    Bilikis lamented that walls and signboards, among others, have replaced the existence of trees in the environment.

    “Aside from planting trees in your various homes purposely as demanded by this programme, each of you could personalize the planting culture, for instance, as community leader and citizens of this state, you could plant trees to mark occasions,” she said.

     

  • Lagos Assembly raise panel to probe Ambode’s 820 buses

    THE Lagos State House Assembly on Tuesday raised a nine-man ad-hoc committee to investigate the purchase of 820 buses valued at N45 billion by the administration of the immediate past Governor of the State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

    Chaired by Fatai Mojeed, the committee has Gbolahan Yishawu; Bisi Yusuff; Afinni Olanrewaju; Rasheed Makinde; Yinka Ogundimu; Mojisola Meranda; Temitope Adewale and Kehinde Joseph as members.

    The House of Assembly said it has become imperative to investigate the acquisition of 820 buses out of the 5,000 buses proposed by the former governor for mass transit in the state.

    According the legislature, the governor went ahead to buy the buses despite objection by the Assembly.

    In a motion titled: Lagos State House of Assembly Motion Number 2, Yishawu stated that the House noted that at the Executive/Legislative parley held at Golden Tulip in FESTAC in September 2017, Ambode informed the House that 5,000 buses would be bought by the government.

    He added that the executive proposed to spend N17 billion to purchase the buses in the 2017 budget, saying however, the House declined approval as it did not follow stipulated terms.

    The lawmaker said: “In the 2018 and 2019 budgets, the state government proposed N24 billion and N7 billion respectively, but these were not approved.

    Read Also: Why Lagos Assembly dropped three commissioner-nominees

    “The state government still went ahead to import 820 buses at N7 billion, and out of them 520 are still awaiting clearance at the ports.

    “The buses were later bought without approval by the state House of Assembly.”

    Yishawu added that the House was worried that 520 buses were still awaiting clearance from the bonded warehouse at the Port and that they were purchased with taxpayers’ money without approval.

    He submitted that the House should set up an ad hoc pane to investigate all the issues relating to the purchase of the buses.

    Besides, he urged the House to investigate the cost of the purchase to prevent a re-ocurrence.

    Speaker Mudashiru Obasa pointed out that the House needed to prevent waste because the deed had already been done.

    He said: “The vehicles are in the ports and they have been there for almost a year. The state will continue to suffer if we allow the buses to stay in the ports.”

    Obasa noted that contrary to the practice in the state, Ambode’s administration delved into operation, when “we should be the regulators of transporters, the state should not operate buses.

    “How much are we giving the buses out should be addressed. We should get the buses to the roads and safe the state from further wastes”, he said.

    The Speaker directed the committee to invite the Accountant-General of the State, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and any other official involved in the purchase to give testimonies on the purchase.

    He also told the panel to invite the current Commissioner for Finance, the Managing Director of LAMATA and others.

    Yinka Ogundimu said: “We need to investigate every transaction that has to do with the procurement of the buses. It would become a bad precedent if we don’t do anything about this. A huge amount of money still needed to be paid on the purchase of these buses. Whoever has erred should be brought to book.”

    Saka Solaja said: “In awarding a contract there should be two parties. The contractor should note if the company is viable and if it is provided for in the budget. Yet, the contractors went ahead to take up the contract.

    “We need to investigate the issue and whoever is culpable should refund money to the government. By getting ISPO without budgetary approval should attract punishment.”

    In his view, Rotimi Olowo (Shomolu I) stressed that the provision of the 1999 Constitution in Section 120 has been flouted with the purchase.

    Olowo noted: “They told us that they wanted to start a pilot project, yet they went ahead with the project. Can we still wait for the vehicles to be in the port and attract demurrage.

    “The incumbent governor of the state should ask for waivers from the Federal Government so that we could retrieve the vehicles from the ports.”

  • Omotoso urges public affairs’ officers to promote Sanwo-Olu’s agenda

    LAGOS State Commissioner for Information and Strategy Gbenga Omotoso has urged public affairs officers to promote Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s T.H.E.M.E.S vision to the state’s stakeholders.

    T.H.E.M.E.S stands for: Traffic management and transportation, health and environment, education and technology, making Lagos a 21-century economy, entertainment and tourism as well as security and governance.

    Omotoso said the ministry has a vital role in making the programmes of government explicit and clear to the populace.

    The commissioner, who spoke during his maiden meeting with the management staff of the ministry in Alausa, emphasised the importance of teamwork in achieving set goals.

    He sought the support of the management and staff in taking the information machinery of the state government to a higher level.

    Expressing confidence in the ability of the civil servants to perform the task ahead, the commissioner said: “From what I have seen and my little interaction with people here, I know that there is nothing that we set out to achieve here, that we cannot achieve if we work as a team.”

    Read Also: Lagos cabinet members fully equipped to deliver, says Omotoso

    He promised to maintain an open-door policy during his tenure of office and encourage the staff to reciprocate the gesture by coming up with suggestions and ideas that would advance the performance of the ministry and boost public acceptance of government’s initiatives.

    The outgoing Permanent Secretary, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, who retires from the Civil Service next month, extolled Omotoso’s virtues, saying the staffers will immensely benefit from his experience as “a multiple award-winning journalist and a professional of repute that can stand tall among his peers in the industry”.

    He expressed confidence that the commissioner will get the required support of the management and staff in meeting the huge expectations of the government to expand the frontiers of information dissemination to Lagos residents and Nigerians in the diaspora.

    Adeyemi affirmed that the ministry has the framework and tools to deploy government information across media channels, noting, however, that an upgrade of the existing machinery is necessary to meet the requirements of the Smart City goals.

    Also speaking at the interactive meeting, the incoming Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Omobolanle Ogunmola, recounted the expectations of government as outlined during the recent retreat Sanwo-Olu held with Exco, Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Agencies themed: “Delivering the Lagos of Our Dream”.

  • Commissioner urges workers to be committed to duty

    LAGOS State Commissioner for Local Government and Community Affairs Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke has urged officials of the ministry to work hard in the discharge of their duties.

    She said they should work in line with the objectives of the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.

    Arobieke spoke on Monday during her first official working day meeting with the workers.

    She said:  “When everyone discharges his or her duties in line with the ministry’s mandate, it is then that the government’s agenda will be achieved. I implore everyone to be hard working and committed to duty. It is only when we are committed that we can help the present administration deliver on its electoral promises to the people that is in line with the government’s agenda which is T.H.E.M.E. i.e. (Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Economy, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism, Security and Governance). This will enable the ministry to attain an enviable height.”

    The commissioner sought the support of the monarchs and over 3,300 Community Development Associations across the state.

    She called for a working relationship with the local governments and community media practitioners, as this would make the ministry to attain an enviable height.

    ‘Let’s work together as a team. I believe in team work, so that we can excel and be sure the best will come from our working together,” Arobieke said.

    The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Taiwo Salaam, assured the commissioner of the readiness of workers to share the vision of the Sanwo-Olu  administration by achieving a greater Lagos through hard work and commitment to duty.

     

  • Lagos urges property owners to perfect title documents

    LAGOS State Government has advised legitimate land and property owners to perfect title documents and other legal documents pertaining to their land and properties.

    It said this will help put land grabbers at bay and ensure easy administration of justice if such properties are forcefully taken.

    The Coordinator of the Special Task Force on Land Grabbers, Mr. Owolabi Arole, who spoke on Monday in Alausa, Ikeja while reviewing the report of the task force for first and second quarter of 2019, noted that undocumented and incomplete transactions as well as untidy property documentation make it difficult for property forcefully taken to be retrieved through legal means.

    Read Also: Lagos group supports Bello’s reelection

    He said: “A large chunk of the land grabbing cases the task force is working on is fraught with issues of improper and incomplete legal documentation and such issues cause delay in getting justice for owners of land.

    “These issues have, however, not deterred us from carrying out our mandate and getting justice for owners of land from unscrupulous elements who forcibly encroach and dispossess them of their property.”

    Arole said the task force has carried out its mandate to reduce the activities of persons or corporate entities who use force and intimidation to dispossess or prevent any person or entity from acquiring legitimate interest and possession of property in Lagos.

  • Wanted: A new transportation roadmap for Lagos

    As the new Transportation Commissioner and his team settle down in Lagos State, experts insist it is time for a new road map, writes ADEYINKA ADERIBIGBE

    You have to read a lot. You can’t do this business without reading. I welcome you to a life of service to your nation and state. Forget about prayers, it is what you do that matters. You have signed up for a difficult job but it is a noble undertaking to serve your people. You have to prove you deserve to be here …”

    These are former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola’s words at the closing ceremony of Lagos exco members’ retreat on Saturday.

    Fashola, like other resource persons selected to charge the 2019 class of commissioners, special advisers and permanent secretaries, reminded them of the huge challenges ahead, and the need to gear up and translate the vision of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of returning a prosperous, smart and healthy state to Lagosians within 48 months.

    With a population of 26.6 million, according to the state Bureau of Statistics, and an economy estimated to be the fifth largest in Africa, Lagos State, which is Nigeria’s financial capital, is reputed to have become a victim of its success story as a ‘working and prosperous’ city-state.

    One of the critical areas in which Lagosians may judge the impact of the Sanwo-Olu-led administration would be transportation.

    THEMES

    The governor, in his inaugural speech, unveiled six focal areas aptly called THEMES with transportation and transport safety and systems topping the list of priorities.

    Barely 24 hours in power, Sanwo-Olu signed an Executive Order declaring zero tolerance on traffic congestion, mandating more efficient traffic management, and road rehabilitation by the state’s Public Works Unit aimed at the removal of potholes, as well as the clearing of all drainage channels of impediments.

    The appointments of Dr Frederic Oladeinde and Mr Oluwatoyin Fayinka as Commissioner for Transportation and Special Adviser on Transportation elicited excitement among stakeholders of the sector.

    Oladeinde, a United States-trained transportation expert, holds a doctorate degree in Transportation Planning. He was until his appointment the Executive Director, Corporate Planning, at the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA). They are to be assisted by a new Permanent Secretary, Mr Olawale Musa, who was the General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA).

    Before their appointments, intra-city travels was a nightmare, with experts saying Lagos had been seized by the worst  of road crisis.

    A former Commissioner of Transportation, Comrade Kayode Opeifa, described the past four years as the “years of the locust”. He said they were years when transportation collapsed.

    The new team will deploy solutions to resuscitate the comatose sector.

    Fashola admitted that the Sanwo-Olu administration was coming at a time the state is most challenged, with transportation  the weakest link in the chain.

    The saving grace, he said, is that the challenges are surmountable, challenging the governor and his team to perform the magic. He advised the administration to prioritise the blue light rail.

    Dilapidated roads

    Almost all the 700 road networks in the state are in various stages of dilapidation with the three asphalt plant production centres at Ojodu, Imota and Badagry abandoned. A Ministry of Transportation official, who craved anonymity, claimed the former governor abandoned road maintenance for legacy projects.

    The change in the transportation masterplan in the last four years saw the delivery of the Jubilee flyovers at Ajah and Abule-Egba, 24 roads and six bridges in Alimosho, and about 171 inner city roads.

    Hanging are the Oshodi interchange and terminals, the six other terminals at Maryland, Yaba, Agege, Ojodu-Berger, Maryland and Obalende, the Agege Flyover Bridge, and the Oshodi-International Airport Road and ramp, as well as the remodelling of the Abule-Egba-Oshodi Expressway with median BRT lane.

    Safety Without Borders Executive Director Mr Patrick Adenusi said though former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s most profound legacies were executed in the transportation sector, the same sector became his nemesis as Lagosians had the worst travel experience.

    He wondered why the government would abandon the Blue Light Rail, despite being at about 70 percent completion stage since the Fashola era. He said the train meant to move on the Mile 2-Orile-Marina corridor would have redistributed traffic.

    Expectations

    Experts say one of the priorities of the commissioner and his team is resuscitating LAMATA and restoring it to its pride of place as the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), coordinating the government’s policies, programmes and interventions in public sector transportation.

    They argued that the blurring of the line of demarcation between LAMATA and the ministry in the past led to the friction that affected the sector.

    “While the ministry formulates policies LAMATA in the past was coordinating the implementation in line with best global practices,” a senior staff member of LAMATA said, expressing the hope that with a former LAMATA staff member in the saddle, a return of that tradition might not be long in coming.

    Former Dean, Lagos State University School of Transportation (LASU-SOT), Dr Tajudeen Olukayode Bawa’Allah, gave the new helmsmen three mandates – infrastructure renewal, policy implementation and professionalisation of the ministry.

    Decrying the absence of alternative routes across Lagos, the nonagerian charged the government to prioritise alternative roads, especially along arterial roads and from the interland or inner cities to link the urban centres.

    Citing the recent shut down of Mile 12 by the Public Works Corporation (PWC) for repairs, he said the absence of alternative roads from Ikorodu shut many people out of Lagos as their only link was shut down for repairs.

    “That chaotic experience was avoidable if the government had constructed alternative roads,” he said.

    Bawa’Allah called for the prioritisation of the Mile 12-Ishawo-Isheri Road, which links the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which was 70 percent completed by the Fashola-led administration, but abandoned by the succeeding administration.

    He also called for the construction of the Fourth Mainland Bridge, which was also abandoned by past government.

    He charged the commissioner and his team to push for the actualisation of the transportation policy, the first by any state government.

    He said the approval of such a policy would change the face of the transportation sector.

    He urged the government to sustain the professionalisation of the ministry.

    “The Lagos State government has professionalised the Ministry of Transportation, just as it has done for the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Justice. Instructively, this has been adopted by the National Council on Transportation and other states are copying it.

    For the Dean LASU-SOT Prof Samuel Odewunmi, the first critical task for the commissioner should be the sustenance of efforts to palliate all road networks in line with the zero potholes policy of the Sanwo-Olu administration.

    According to him, the maintenance of the state transport infrastructure should be statutory and not ad hoc or episodic. He called for yearly budgetary allocation for road maintenance.

    For Odewunmi, his second priority for the government should be the completion of Lagos State portion of the Badagry Expressway up to Okokomaiko, with the federal portion up to Agbara and Badagry addressed, in collaboration of state government.

    Describing the corridor as the spinal cord of road travel in Lagos, up to Epe, Odewunmi said as the only international highway into the state through the West coast, it is strategically important to make the corridor attractive, especially for local and foreign tourists.

    Also important, according to Odewunmi, is the sustenance of the drive to clear Apapa of its age-old gridlock. He said a decongested Apapa is in the utmost interest of the economy of the state and the country.

    He called for the speedy completion of ongoing road projects, including the Abule-Egba-Oshodi Expressway as well as the Agege flyover bridge and roads.

    The don also wants completed the Oshodi Interchange and Ikeja terminal as well as the roll out of the Bus Reform Initiative (BRI).

    “All the 850 buses delivered to the government for the BRI project must be put to the roads systematically and not just packed and abandoned by the government,” he said.

    Odewunmi charged the government to build on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority and the government on the waterways to ensure the enthronement of stiff regulations for craft operators on the waterways.

    He called for more steps at intermodality of the road-rail, water and air transportation, arguing that the state has comparative advantage to make success of all the modes of transportation if appropriate parameters are in place.

    Conclusion

    Odewunmi challenged the commissioner to “a matter of urgency develop implementation roadmap for the Transport policy document.”

    He said: “Fortunately, the commissioner is aware of the policy document and was there at several stages of the formulation of the policy. I am aware he may have reservations about some aspects of the policy but he should not jettison it. He could get whatever amendment he deemed fit to improve the policy and implement it, as it was put together by experts who have the best interest of the state at heart.”

    Activating some, or all of these, is the least, Oladeinde and his team could do to prove that their choice at this time is not a a mistake. Lagosians earnestly look forward to a new, reinvigorated sector.

  • Lagos State Governor’s wife to fight sexual, domestic violence

    Lagos State Governor’s wife, Mrs Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu has said she has an onerous task of curbing domestic and sexual violence menace in the state.

    She said the First Lady, Mrs Aisha Buhari has directed her to confront sexual and domestic violence frontally in the state.

    “I have the directive of the First Lady of Nigeria to work towards the curbing the menace of domestic and sexual violence in the state,” she said.

    Mrs. Sanwo-Olu disclosed this when members of the Joint Legal Clinic of the Ministry of Justice visited her at the Lagos House, Ikeja.

    The team included the Directorate of Administration-General and Public Trustee; Citizen’s Mediation Centre; Community Service Sentencing; Directorate for Citizens Rights; Office of the Public Defender; Public Advice Centre and Coordinator of Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team.

    She pledged to support them to preserve and protect the rights of citizens of the state, assuring that her office will intensify efforts at protecting the rights of victims of domestic and sexual violence.

    Mrs Sanwo-Olu urged the Joint Legal Clinic Team to improve on its public enlightenment and sensitisation campaign of the agencies charged with the responsibility of protecting the rights of the citizens of the state.

    While acknowledging the First Lady’s passion for Justice especially for children, Director, Public Advice Centre (PAC), Mrs. Omololu Adesina, who spoke on behalf of the team, said the visit was aimed at seeking partnership with the office of the First Lady in protecting citizens rights.

    “We have seen your passion and drive for a better health care for the children of the state. We are here to seek the partnership of your office with the Ministry of Justice in reducing the rising cases of social vices and anti-social behavior, particularly among the youth in Lagos State,” she said.

    She assured the first lady that the team will double its efforts in sensitising the public on their Rights and create better awareness on the directorates within the Ministry of Justice to consult for support which they can access for free.

  • Fashola gets Works as Ngige, Amaechi, Lai retain portfolios

    FORMER Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola is minister of works and housing as President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday inaugurated his second term cabinet.

    The ministry of power which he supervised was carved out and assigned to Sale Mamman as minister and Goddy Jedi-Agba as minister of state.

    Dr. Chris Ngige (Labour & Employment), Geofrey Onyeama (Foreign), Chibuike Amaechi (Transportation), Lai Mohammaed (Information), Hadi Sirika (Aviation) Adamu Adamu (Education) and Zainab Ahmed (Finance) retained their portfolios. The Finance minister got an added assignment of running Budget and Planning.

    Former Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola got the ministry of Interior while Mr. Sunday Dare is the minister of youths and sports.

    The southwest zone also holds the ministries of mines and steel headed by Mr Olamilekan Adegbite and Labour (State) Senator Tayo Alasoadura.

    The second Kwara state representative in the cabinet, Gbemisola Saraki, is minister of Transportation (State).

    The ministers unfolded their plans  after President Buhari constituted his second term cabinet

    Forty three ministers including seven women were inaugurated and assigned portfolios.

    Many of the ministers were at their ministries after taking the oath of office.

    Dr. Ngige, promised to clear the cloud over the implementation of the new national minimum wage.

    He said: “We have so many outstanding issues to be addressed, some of them urgently too. As we speak, SSANU, NASU are on strike and the university system is not bubbling, but going comatose. So, we have to address that issue urgently.

    Read Also: Be relentless, Buhari tells ministers

    “We also have the issue of minimum wage consequential adjustment. My Permanent Secretary is handling it and they have made some progress. By tomorrow (today), we will get the hand over note from him and myself and the Minister of State will study it and know how to key in.”

    Aregbesola pledged to work with the staffers and Service Chiefs to ensure internal security of the country.

    He noted that the issues of insecurity, economic development and the fight against corruption remained the policy thrust of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

    Aregbesola said security would be given the highest focus, adding that he would support the staffers to be more efficient in their duties.

    The minister expressed happiness for the rousing welcome from the staffers, saying “they gave me the best African welcome ever”.

    Minister for Police Affairs Mohammed Dingyadi pledged to work with staffers to fight insurgency and other forms of instability in the country.

    He promised to work in line with the cardinal objectives of the Buhari administration.

    He expressed optimism that the ministry would give priority to fighting insurgency in the Northeast and other parts of the country, noting that nothing positive could be achieved without peace.

    Inspector General of Police Muhammed Adamu expressed joy for having the Police Affairs ministry re-introduced by President Buhari.

    “It is a great joy for me that the Police has its own ministry out of the ministry of Interior. We are very happy today,” he said.

    Minister of Mines and Steel Development Mr Olamilekan Adegbite promised to lift Nigerians out of poverty by developing the nation’s endowed natural resources.

    “I intend to learn the robes quickly with the Minister of State, so that we can contribute our quota to the development of the country, especially with regards to lifting people out of poverty.

    “Mr President has promised to lift 100 million people out of poverty in 10 years, at the end of tenure of this administration which is four years. We want to at least achieve 40 per cent of that,’’ he said, adding: “I intend to learn quickly from all of you. I have been following the progress of Dr Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past minister of this ministry who did a lot of work.

    Adegbite expressed optimism that the administration would achieve a lot at delivering the dividends of democracy.

    The minister said he would stamp out corruption in the sector in line with the agenda of the Buhari administration.

    He said: “Corruption fight begins with all of us, if we can be disciplined in the little things we do in our privacy, it will be easier to fight corruption in the country.

    Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, the Minister of State for the ministry said: “We will all work as a team to take this ministry to an enviable position.’’

    Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, promised to work with aviation unions to advance the sector and position it to meet emerging challenges. .

    The minister commended the unions and staff for welcoming him warmly into office, declaring their support and solidarity as “amazing”.

    “I promise that there will be good understanding between you and me to drive the activities of our industry towards enhancing national development.

    “I will do everything possible to make the ministry grow up.

    “This task, I think, is for you as well; not for me alone. It is for all of us.

    “We will continue to hold stakeholders’ meetings with the unions, staff and the management.

    “We will make what you are doing better. The roadmap is there; we will make things better including your welfare,” Sirika said.

    According to him, Nigeria will work together with other countries to promote the aviation sector globally, pointing out that the sector contributes much to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of any country.

    He also said that efforts would be made to improve safety and security in the sector.

    Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) advised the staff of the ministry to consider how they could reduce cost and  wastages.

    The minister said he expected all departments, agencies and parastatals under the ministry to evolve ways of cutting costs during project  implementations.

    The minister said the measure would assist the government to ensure utmost prudence in handling projects.

    Fashola also advised the staff to always ensure thoroughness while preparing the ministry’s annual budget to boost efficiency.

    “For this reason, members of staff will need to make their travelling   and going on annual  leave falling within  October and November very flexible to ensure successful budgeting,” he said.

    Minister of State, Abubakar  Aliyu, said  he had a long working relationship with Fashola, adding: “ I pledge to work harmoniously with him and the staff of the ministry.”

    Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio pledged his commitment to ensure effective development of the Niger Delta region, especially  infrastructure.

    “I love leaving marks wherever I visit, it is a great privilege on our part being selected to work with you, to see how we can turn around the fortunes of the Niger Delta region.

    “Of course you know why this ministry was set up, specifically that region would have been like a golden egg but has been neglected for long.

    “If not because we’re just coming for the first time, I would have asked for your achievements so far,  especially in the areas of construction of bridges,  employment and others.

    “Being a Niger Delta person, I will ensure that things are better for further and effective development of the region.”

     

     

     

     

  • Lagos Assembly screens commissioner-nominees Igbokwe, Arobieke, five others

    THE Lagos State House of Assembly ad hoc committee screening Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s commissioner-nominees and advisers resumed the exercise yesterday with the final batch of 13 nominees it received over the weekend.

    On Thursday, the 16-man committee chaired by the Chief Whip, Rotimi Abiru, screened seven of the 13 nominees.

    The remaining six will take their turn today.

    Among those screened on Thursday was the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe.

    Despite being the party’s publicity secretary and the good work he had done projecting the image of APC, Igbokwe was subjected to questions by the committee members.

    He confessed that as a loyal party member, he had expected that he would just be told to take a bow and go by the committee members, but to his surprise, he was drilled even more than the nominees who appeared before him.

    Answering questions from reporters after his screening, Igbokwe said: “The screening was quite excruciating. I was asked about 15 questions, which I answered.

    “I thought they would just ask me to take a bow and go, having served the party for a number of years, because all of them are party members, but I met a different thing. I thought it was just to go and take a bow and go but I ended up spending more time.”

    Igbokwe said it is difficult for him to disengage from the image-making job, which he has been doing for the party over the years.

    “I have been doing the job for too long. It is almost a part of me, but you know we must move on. I am happy about my nomination; it is a call to service,” he said.

    Though a trained mechanical engineer, the APC image-maker said he can fit in anywhere because “I had an all-round training in my undergraduate days at the university and I can fit in anywhere.

    “My idea about life is that you must add value where ever you find yourself; I will have to continue to work and to continue to render service to the people.”

    He also explained that why his kinsmen had issues with APC in Lagos in the last election was because the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) fielded Peter Obi, an Igbo man, as its vice presidential candidate, saying the people felt naturally drawn to their kinsman.

    He ascribed low Igbo votes in the state for President Muhammad Buhari at the 2019 general elections to ethnicity.

    He explained that there was no way the APC could get much votes from the Igbo concentrated areas in the state during the last presidential elections as the PDP was smart to have picked the former Anambra State governor, as Alhaji Abubakar Atiku’s running mate.

    As at the time of filling this report, five of the seven nominees slated for screening yesterday had been attended to and they are  Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke, Mr. Oluwatoyin Fayinka, Mr. Oladele Ajayi and Arc. Kabir Ahmed.

    The remaining are: Mr. Olanrewaju Sanusi, Mr. Bonu Solomon Saanu, Mrs. Lola Akande, Prince Anofi Olanrewaju Elegushi Mrs. Solape Hammond, Mr. Moruf Akinderu Fatai, Mrs. Shulamite Olufunke Adebolu and Mr. Tokyo Wahab.

  • Sanwo-Olu urges FG to open up Badagry for commerce,business, tourism

    Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday said the reason the State Government has been appealing to the Federal Government to open up Badagry was to boost commerce, businesses and tourism potentials of the axis.

    Sanwo-Olu disclosed this when the Chairman, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, led members of the organizing committee for the annual ‘Door of Return’ to pay the governor a courtesy visit at the State House, Marina.

    He stressed that ‘Badagry’ has become a brand that has been recognized globally over the years as a tourism destination in Nigeria.

    Sanwo-Olu said:  “The potentials in the tourism sector are enormous and that is why we have included it as part of our agenda to take Lagos to enviable heights.

    “That is why we have continued to tell the Federal Government that we need to open that corridor for commerce, business and tourism”.

    While justifying Badagry as a brand, the governor argued: “No matter how people take tourism to another location, if you have historic presence somewhere, no matter how they take it away, they will still come back to the historic base”.

    He assured that the state government would provide both operational and logistic supports for the event scheduled for October to assist Africans in Diaspora reunite with their ancestral home, adding that the traffic and other infrastructures aimed to be completed in Badagry would be fast tracked.

    “I can assure you that I will get my people to work immediately because the time is less than two months to the event. I can assure you that all the logistics required would be provided”.

    Sanwo-Olu, however, said that his administration would work with Diaspora Commission and residents of the community “to further boost the potentials that could be gotten from the community.”

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    Earlier, Dabiri-Erewa hinted that this year’s event was designed to mark the 400th year since slave trade started and ended in Africa.

    She noted that aside boosting the tourism of the state, the event would afford participants the opportunity to reunite with their ancestral root, saying, at the inception of the programme three years ago, we had about 25 returnees from Brazil, Jamaica and others.

    The chairman said: “The guests have the opportunity to walk through the door of no return where their ancestors were shipped out of the continent. They will also have the opportunity to have experience of how their fore fathers were taken out of the continent then. They will have the opportunity to see the different artifacts.

    “From the point of no return which was the practice over 400 years ago, we open the door of return to the continent of their ancestors. And Lagos serves as the door that has helped them to return to their ancestral root.

    “There is a spiritual and emotional connection attached to the exercise; many that have passed through the process often com