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  • Lagos: Ambode commends party members

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has commended the peaceful process members of the Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) conducted its ward congresses across the state.

    The governor, who participated in the exercise at his Ward A6 in Epe Local Government Area, said the party had displayed high level of maturity in the conduct of party activities.

    He added that members of the party, who turned out in large numbers to exercise their civil responsibility, had shown that the APC is a cohesive party.

    He said: “All our great party members in Ward A6, you have done well for turning out in this number to be part of the APC ward congresses. I want to use this medium to thank you all for the orderliness and peaceful way you conducted yourself.

    “We are members of the same family and that is why we are doing it in line with our constitution.

    The party agreed that it is either we do election or we vote by way of consensus. And that is what we have done peacefully today.

    “I want to use this opportunity to say a big thank you to all our members across the state that performed this electoral process across the 337wards in the state.

    We know that the APC can get stronger if there is always peace and consensus among all our members. Like in Epe division, elections have been conducted peacefully in all other divisions. This is the most beautiful ward in Lagos State presently.

    I commend all our newly elected officials. We are very lucky to have observers from INEC who have just witnessed the process of the ward congress here.

    Chief Lanre Razak, speaking on the ward congress, said APC was a disciplined party, where rules are followed.

    “Some people expect that we would have crisis-riddled congress but you can see for yourself that the whole process is peaceful.

    ‘The APC has showed that it is the party to emulate. Again there is no party that is devoid of crisis. We have a good crisis management mechanism in place.

    “Our National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has been given an assignment to reconcile the party. I have every confidence that he will achieve the task given to him by President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.

  • Ban on codeine: Lagos unveils strategy to address mental health

    The Lagos State Government on Friday, revealed comprehensive plans to address drug abuse under the mental health policy of the state, adding that a law to that effect has been updated.

    The Federal Government had on Tuesday directed the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to stop further issuance of permits for the importation of Codeine as active pharmaceutical ingredient for cough preparations, to curtail its abuse in the country.

    Speaking at the annual Ministerial Press Briefing to mark the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, held at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Commissioner for Health, Jide Idris, said the state government had been engaging with key stakeholders to address mental health issues and affiliated matters, before the ban was announced.

    “I must tell you that the Drug Control Unit in the Ministry is very active. We are also operating in conjunction with NAFDAC. The ban principally is a NAFDAC initiative but as a State Government we did not wait; we are more proactive and ever since this issue came into light, the Ministry has been engaging and very soon, we will come out with a more comprehensive programme.

    “This is because we will not look at Codeine alone. We are going to look at it under drug abuse. Codeine is just one substance out of many that are being abused.

    “In line with this, we have updated our own mental health law as against what is happening at the federal level; we have a mental health policy and we are currently now implementing our mental health programme to cover all tiers – primary, secondary and tertiary health care systems. This is a comprehensive thing and there is no doubt about the fact that there is a major mental health problem in our country and this Codeine is just a tip of the iceberg,” the Commissioner said.

    Idris enthused that the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) successfully performed its first open-heart surgery on a 32-year-old patient, solely by an indigenous cardiac surgery team, as well as its fourth successful cochlear implant and kidney transplant surgeries.

  • We are ready for ward congresses – APC

    The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is fully prepared to hold congresses in the 366 wards in the state this Saturday.

    Mr Abiodun Salami, Assistant State Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC) , gave the assurance in an interview with our reporter in Lagos on Thursday.

    He said that all necessary arrangements have been concluded for the successful conduct of the exercise across the state.

    “We are 100 per cent ready, everything has been put on place.

    Read Also: Lagos APC has no preferred candidate for national chairman, says Olusi

    “The ward congress electoral officers for all the wards have been selected and the men of the party’s national election committee are already in Lagos.

    “The forms have been on sale and people are obtaining them and returning them to meet the deadline of Friday.

    “All the other necessary things are ready. We are fully prepared for the congresses “, he said.

    He said that no fewer than 20,000 party members across Lagos were expected to seek offices in the exercise.

    Salami told The Nation that each ward would produce 27 executive members at the end of the exercise.

    He said that a position had been reserved for people with disabilities out of the 27 offices in each ward in order to ensure inclusiveness.

    Salami added that five delegates would also be elected by each of the wards at the congresses.

    “The five delegates that will be elected at each ward would not be party executive members in their wards.

    “They would just be elected so that they would be the ones to elect leaders during the local government congresses.

    “After the local government congresses, they cease to exist,’’ he said.

    He said that the congresses would be transparent as the party had put the necessary measures in place to achieve that.

    “One of the measures is that ward congress officers cannot conduct the congress in their ward and local government.

    “We have ensured people coordinating the congresses are neutral people from other places. This is to ensure that the whole process is transparent,’’ he said.

    He urged party members to contribute to the success of the congresses by abiding by the guidelines and rules.

    The Nation reports that the local government congresses would hold in the state on May 12, in line with the general timetable of the party, while the state congress would be held on May 19.

    NAN

  • Lagos to address waste challenge before rainy season

    The Lagos State Government yesterday said all hands are on deck to holistically address the challenges being experienced in waste management with the implementation of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI), assuring that the issue would be addressed before the rainy season.

    Speaking at a briefing to mark the third year anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s administration, Commissioner for the Environment, Mr Babatunde Durosinmi-Etti, said the CLI was introduced last year to foster broad reforms in solid waste management, saying that the scheme remained the panacea for delivering efficient, effective and sustainable environment with its attendant benefits such as job creation, cleaner, safer and healthy environment.

    Responding to question on state of refuse in public places, the Commissioner said the government, in partnership with all stakeholders, was working hard to address the challenge, just as he assured that it would soon be a thing of the past.

    “Very soon, Lagos will be very clean. We are working hard in partnership with all stakeholders to ensure we address the challenges. Both the government and the residents will jointly address the challenges and with Visionscape and the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators working together, and the cooperation of the people, the challenges would soon be over.

    “We know that our population is increasing as available statistics indicate that 85 people enter Lagos every hour and very few of them go back, and as more people come in, the waste generated in the State is also increasing but we are working to put the right infrastructure and equipment in place to address waste management.

    “However, one thing I can assure the people is that we are working and in another one month before the raining season, it will be over. We know that the raining season is fast approaching and we are also preparing but I like to assure that soon, the challenges will be surmounted,” Durosinmi-Etti said.

    He said 13,958 Community Sanitation Workers (CSW) have so far been employed to sweep inner streets in the 377 political wards in the State, with recruitment exercise still ongoing, adding that under the new arrangement, the sweepers would be directly supervised by the Ministry, while mechanized sweeping would be managed by three companies – Avatar, Wastercare and Corporate Solutions.

    He said the PSP operators have now been charged with the responsibility of managing residential and general waste collection, while Visionscape now has the mandate of implementing waste management infrastructure development across the State, in addition to intervening in public waste collection to cover any service lapses that may occur.

    On infrastructure, the Commissioner said the retrofitting of Transfer Loading Stations in Agege, Oshodi and Lagos Island had attained over 80 per cent completion with plans for more, while Epe Landfill under construction had achieved remarkable progress with completion of the weigh-in bridge, adding that government in partnership with the private sector would soon commence another engineered hazardous landfill in Erikiti, Badagry.

    He also said the responsibility for maintenance of drainage infrastructure across the State had been ceded to the Lagos State Public Works Corporation, while based on ongoing efforts, the challenges to residents following the fire at Olusosun dump site would soon be over.

    He said government, through the Lagos State Parks and Gardens (LASPARK) propagated over 100,000 nursery plant seedlings of various species with the period under review, while it cumulatively planted 7,388, 096 trees.

    In the area of noise pollution, the Commissioner said the government treated a total of 1,185 petitions out of which 60 per cent were abated, while the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps (LAGESC) arrested 2,097 environmental offenders comprising illegal street traders, hawkers, highway pedestrian defaulters, environmental nuisance polluters and cart pushers, among other achievements.

  • FTC Lagos trains 40,000 civil servants in 61 years

    The Provost, Federal Training Centre, Ikoyi, Mr Adewole Adeniran, has said that the centre trained over 40,000 civil and public servants since inception in 1957. Adeniran told the newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday that the centre was established essentially as a stenographic school.

    He said the centre was put in place as a graphic training school to cater for the stenographers and the official reporters in the civil service.

    The Provost said the centre was, essentially, put in place to train the lower and the middle-level income workers from grade level one to seven.

    According to him, the centre has gone through the transformation, over the years, from being a stenographic institution to one that offers a range of courses like public administration, business administration, computer science and Secretariat studies.

    “The centre has trained more than 40,000 students over that period of time. Currently, we have about 170 students in 2018 session.

    “The enrolment is low now because of the state of the economy of the country.

    “For a long time, the government has not been employing into the lower cadre jobs, and as such, we do not have many people that will come for the type of training that we offer here.

    “We hope that in distance future, the enrolment rate will improve, particularly with the recent accreditation visit to the centre by the National Board of Technical Education,” he said.

    He said the government policy has limited the employment of junior level and that this has reduced the number of trainees at the centre over the years.

    According to him, the centre offers programmes in the computer, public administration, business administration and Secretariat management.

    “We also run programmes that are peculiar to the civil service, like the professional diploma in verbatim reporting.
    “Our institution is about the only institution that offers that programme in the whole of the country.

    “Those reporters are employed in the media houses and in the state houses of assembly among others.”
    Adeniran explained that government policy on the recruitment of lower cadre officers, largely affect enrolment into the centre.

    He explained that the Federal Government has stopped recruiting the junior level over a period of time.

    The provost noted that there was a policy some years ago on contracting government businesses like garden, cleaning and security to private individuals or firms.

    Read Also: Preparation for Lagos Ankara Festival in top gear

    Adeniran urged the Federal Government to upgrade infrastructural facilities at the centres across the country to attract more students.

    Mr Ndubuisi Osuji, Permanent Secretary, Service Policy and Strategy Office, Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation ( OHCSF ), told the newsmen that the Federal Government has concluded arrangement to reposition the Federal Training Centre across the six geo-political zones of the country.

    Osuji, who until recently was the Director for Learning and Development in the OHCSF, said all the FTCs are currently undergoing institutional study for repositioning.

    He said that the mandate of all the centres had changed from churning out secretaries and typists to producing data processors among others.

    According to him, the purpose of the centre is to enhance proficiency among the low and middle levels manpower in the civil and public services.

    NAN

  • Anambra: Association to give karate a new face

    Donatus Agu-Ejidike, the new Chairman of Anambra Karate Association, has urged  members of the association to come up with ideas that could develop the sport beyond its present level in the state.

    Agu-Ejidike made this disclosure in a statement in Lagos on Wednesday. He said that during his tenure as chairman, he would give karate a new face and re-branding that would bring more fame to the state.

    Agu-Ejidike said that he would use his network to woo sponsors in order to promote karate and other sports in the state.

    The chairman explained that the board at its inaugural meeting in Awka, had agreed to work together as a team and eschew sentiment that might divide the board members.

    Read Also: Anambra to earn more from tourism

    He said the board was committed to feature karate players in all national championships and embrace grassroots competitions ranging from school sports to wards and Local Government Areas.

    The chairman lauded the governor of Anambra for considering him and other members for the assignment. Agu-Ejidike said that they would not betray the confidence reposed in them to develop karate in the state.

    The newsmen recall that Anambra emerged the overall winner at the 2017 Karate National Championship held in Abuja. The association is made up of eight members spread across the zones in the state.

    NAN

  • Lagos contributes 75% to workers’ health insurance scheme, says Ambode

    Lagos State Government has contributed 75 per cent to Health Insurance Scheme provided for its workers, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    Ambode, who spoke while enumerating his achievements in the past three years, said the workers in turn contributed only 25 per cent to the Scheme.

    The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr Akintola Benson, said he approved the request of Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) on the contributory ratio of 25: 75 as against 40:60 earlier proposed by the government.

    He said: “With this approval, the workers will contribute 25 per cent towards the scheme while 75 per cent will be borne by the state government.

    “The Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, amongst other duties, is saddled with maintaining industrial peace within the Public Service. The Industrial Relations Department in the Office of Establishments and Training’s main obligation is to support the government and its workforce in creating a safe, conflict-free and productive workplace by providing strategic and expert advice and counsel on industrial relations.

    “The JNC is a statutory meeting between the government and the Unions in the state Public Service and it holds twice in a year. The meeting provides a forum for interaction between the government officials and all the Industrial Unions operating in the state Public Service to address and decide for implementation, issues pertaining to the welfare of the staff as well as to promote industrial harmony in the service.

    “There are 17 unions in the state public service, which formed the National Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) are Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE), Agriculture and Allied Employees Union of Nigeria (AAEUN); Non – Academic Staff Union of Education (NASU); Nigeria Civil Service Union (NCSU); Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT); Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (M&HWUN), among others.

    ‘’Some of the issues successfully resolved included replacement of promotion examination with structural training; health insurance scheme contribution ratio of 25: 75 by the employees and government; provision of 12 utility vehicles to 12 unions in JNC; yearly retreat for the union leaders; first batch of international training for the union leaders; and allocation/conversion of part of the public service plaza under construction as office space for JNC.’’

  • WASSCE: WAEC compiles list of erring supervisors for sanctions

    The West African Examinations Council ( WAEC ) is compiling names of supervisors who worked against the ongoing May/June West African Senior School Certificate Examination ( WASSCE ), for sanctions by relevant authorities.

    The council’s Head of Public Affairs Unit, Mr Damianus Ojijeogum, made the disclosure in an interview with the newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos.
    According to him, investigations revealed that the supervisor’s photo-shopped previous examination papers and forwarded same to operators of rogue websites, who in turn, swindled gullible candidates.

    “Our investigations also revealed that some school heads, invigilators, supervisors and candidates who succeeded in smuggling mobile phones and other electronic devices into examination halls, snapped the questions after the examination had commenced, and forwarded same to their collaborators for solutions.

    “We have been compiling a list of all supervisors found wanting; at the end of the entire exercise, we shall forward their names to ANCORPS and the ministry of education for proper disciplinary measures.

    “Such persons are not staff of WAEC; we shall blacklist them for good,” Ojijeogu said.

    He said that `this cheating by any means’ could be described as examination leakage as being reported by some mass media.

    “Question papers for the ongoing WASSCE did not leak as has been erroneously portrayed by a section of the media.

    “Leakage can be said to have occurred when questions get into the hands of some individuals who are not supposed to have them before the scheduled time.

    “No such case has been established since the commencement of this examination.

    “Rather than term it as leakage, it is correct to describe it as malpractice which we are committed to tackling.

    “We want to assure the general public that the integrity of our examination is a top priority to the council, and we remain committed in ensuring that it remains so,” he said.

    Read Also: WASSCE papers didn’t leak, says WAEC

    Ojijeogu told the newsmen that WAEC was deploying resources to introduce new techniques to protect its examinations.

    “We are all aware that one of the greatest challenges facing the education sector is examination malpractice.

    “On our part, we shall continue to do all we can to ensure that this ugly trend is checked.

    “We want to commend security agencies, especially the police, for partnering with us in an effort to expose and check the cankerworm,” he said.

    Ojijeogu told the newsmen that such partnership led to arrest of some men in Lagos found to be operating the rogue websites to defraud unsuspecting candidates.

    He added that the collaboration assisted the council to apprehend a syndicate at various locations in 2017.

    Ojijeogu solicited more support from members of the public to rid the education sector of examination malpractice.

    “Council will always be ahead in deploying cutting edge technologies that will defy malpractice no matter how hard the perpetrators try.

    “We will not compromise standards because we have come a long way; our integrity is key,” he said.

    NAN

  • Lagos to demolish 38 ‘distressed buildings’

    Thirty-eight structurally defective structures have been earmarked for demolition by the Lagos State Government, Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Rotimi Ogunleye said yesterday.

    Forty, he said, had been demolished in the past one year in the bid to reduce incidence of building collapse.

    The buildings, he said, were part of the 149 distressed structures identified in different locations of the state.

    Ogunleye spoke at the ongoing briefing by ministries as part of activities to mark the third anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode at the Bagauda Kaltho Press Centre in Alausa, Ikeja.

    According to him, structures illegally built on setbacks, drainage channels and incompatible uses which resulted in public complaint and disaffection.

    He said: “It gives me satisfaction to report that during the year under review, the state recorded a significant reduction in building collapse. This was achieved through collaboration with stakeholders as well as intensive post-construction audit of buildings by the Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA).”

    On how the buildings were discovered, the commissioner said the ministry embarked on intensive audit through the Lagos State Material Testing Laboratory, adding that it visited the 57 councils of the state to inspect on-going construction sites and completed buildings suspected to be distressed.

    “Consequently, 1,842 sites were visited; 1,392 test advice notices were served and information on buildings identified as distressed were forwarded to LASBCA,” Ogunleye said.

    He said from April 2017 to March 14, a total of 2,023 planning permit applications were received with 1,237 approved and others at various stages of processing.

    Applicants, he said, could now get their permits within 10 days due to adoption of technology to fast-track the process through the Electronic Planning Permit (e-pp) Platform.

    To clear the backlog of applications and to encourage regularisation of developments without permit, the government, he said, also granted property owners six months amnesty starting from March 1 to August 31. Ogunleye urged owners to utilise the opportunity.

  • ‘Lagos safe in Ambode’s hands’

    Former Lagos State Head of Service Sunny Ajose has urged “all progressives” to mobilise people of Badagry Division behind Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for a second term. The governor, he said, has  performed well.

    According to him, “Lagos is safe in the hands of the incumbent governor.”

    Ajose said Ambode’s infrastructure renewal strides and people-oriented initiatives informed the support.

    “We wish to publicly declare our unalloyed loyalty, confidence and trust in the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Not only has the governor justified the confidence reposed in him by us at the outset of his tenure, but has equally respected the people’s mandate entrusted in his care with a high sense of duty, diligence and commitment,” he said at the launch of the House-to-House-Campaign for Permanent Voters Card (PVC) collection in Badagry.

    Coordinator of Itesiwaju Ipinle Eko Vanguard Seyi Bamigbade thanked Badagry youths for their believe in the present administration.