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Tag: lagos

  • Lagos mourns Deji Tinubu, Ambode cancels retreat

    Lagos mourns Deji Tinubu, Ambode cancels retreat

    The Lagos State Government has confirmed the death of Mr. Deji Tinubu, the Special Adviser on Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives.

    The Government in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan expressed “shock and disbelief’ over the sudden death of Mr. Tinubu and has reached out to his immediate family to commiserate on this huge loss to the family and the citizens of Lagos State.

    “We are still in shock. All of us at the State Executive Council are in disbelief. He was a good and committed patriot who brought his passion to his job. He was a gentleman who maintained excellent team spirit. We shall miss him,” he said.

    Bamigbetan said the late soccer fan slumped while playing five aside match with fellow participants at the ongoing retreat of members of the state executive council and permanent secretaries at the Jubilee Chalets, Epe. Doctors and nurses rushed to give him first aid and he was immediately taken to the General Hospital, Epe where he was confirmed dead.

    An autopsy is expected to b  e carried out while burial arrangements will be announced by the family.

    The late Deji Tinubu was the son of late Kafaru Tinubu, one of Nigeria’s foremost police officers. He is survived by an aged mother, Bintu Tinubu and wife, Yemisi.

    Tinubu was sworn in as Special Adviser on Sports and Chairman of the State’s Sports Commission on October 19, 2015.

    He was recently moved to take up his new portfolio.

    Meanwhile, Governor Ambode yesterday cancelled the 3-day strategic retreat for cabinet members and directors of ministries, taking place in Epe.

    The retreat which began on Thursday was scheduled to yesterday.

    The governor told participants yesterday  that the retreat could not continue  following the shocking death of Mr. Deji Tinubu, his special adviser on commerce and industry.

  • Business School partners Goldtracts on entrepreneurship devt

    The Rome Business School Nigeria and Goldtracks Business Place Limited, Lagos,have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Small Medium Enterprise (SME) development programme in Nigeria.

    At the signing on the school’s premises in Yaba, Lagos, its Country Manager, Dr Humphrey Akanazu, said: “We believe that as a result of this MOU, more Nigerians would be positively engaged, get jobs, venture into their own businesses, gain innovative ideas and gain expanded entrepreneurial expertise.”

    Akanazu said the partnership was to enhance SME entrepreneurship development in Nigeria.

    He explained that Rome Business School operates as an extended campus for Rome Business School in Italy, adding that it is an international managerial training and research institute with the aim of providing managerial training courses for entrepreneurs, managers, and professional, multinationals companies and organisations.

    Explaining the key features of the MOU, Akanazu said: “Rome Business School Nigeria designed the contents of the training with special attention to Finance Management, Business Plan, Marketing, Buiness Registration and Taxation Laws, and other managerial courses for the enhancement of the participants’ understanding of entrepreneurship while Goldtracks would expose the participants to various SME skills acquisition Module (SAM) on various opportunities available in the economy.”

    According to him, Goldtracks will be responsible for Ofada rice production and packaging, smoked fish production, nylon production, plantain and potato chips production, cassava flour/garri packaging and laundry soap production.

    Others includetoilet cleanser production., palm kernel oil production and packaging, fruit Juice production and packaging, green house production, broiler chickens  and eggs production.

    He added that Goldtracts will also render free Business Advisory Service to participants.

  • Lassa Fever: 107 suspected cases in 10 states

    Lassa Fever: 107 suspected cases in 10 states

    The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has confirmed that Since the beginning of this year, a total number of 107 suspected Lassa fever cases have been recorded in ten States: Edo, Ondo, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Ebonyi, Anambra, Benue, Kogi, Imo and Lagos States. As at 21st January 2018, the total number of confirmed cases is 61, with 16 deaths recorded. Ten health care workers have been infected in four States (Ebonyi – seven, Nasarawa – one, Kogi – one and Benue – one) with three deaths in Ebonyi State.

    It stated that Following the increasing number of Lassa fever cases reported from several States across the country, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to coordinate the response to the outbreak on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health.

    The EOC has deployed Rapid Response Teams to the most affected States- Ebonyi, Ondo and Edo States. The RRTs are supporting the States in response coordination, contact tracing, case management, risk communication and strengthening infection prevention and control practices. Emergency supplies have also been sent to treatment centres in all affected States.

    NCDC stated that it is collaborating with the World Health Organization (WHO), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, African Field Epidemiology Network, US Centers for Disease Control, University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) and other agencies, in supporting the response in the affected States.

    Lassa fever is an acute viral haemorrhagic illness, transmitted to humans through contact with food or household items contaminated by infected rodents. Person-to-person transmission can also occur, particularly in hospital environment in the absence of adequate infection control measures. Health care workers in health facilities are particularly at risk of contracting the disease, especially where infection prevention and control procedures are not strictly adhered to.

    Lassa fever can be prevented through practicing good personal hygiene and proper environmental sanitation. Effective measures include storing grain and other foodstuffs in rodent-proof containers, disposing of garbage far from the home, maintaining clean households, and other measures to discourage rodents from entering homes. Hand washing should be practiced frequently.

    The organisation reminded Health care workers that Lassa fever presents initially like any other disease causing a febrile illness such as malaria; and are advised to practice standard precautions at all times, maintaining a high index of suspicion. Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) must be applied to all suspected cases of malaria. When the RDT is negative, other causes of febrile illness including Lassa fever should be considered. Accurate diagnosis and prompt treatment increase the chances of survival.

    Family members who are providing care for patients with Lassa fever should take extra caution. In addition, States are encouraged to ensure safe and dignified burial practices for patients who die from Lassa fever.

  • Lagos donates 30 power bikes to security agencies

    Lagos donates 30 power bikes to security agencies

    The Lagos State Government yesterday donated 30 power bikes to some security agencies operating in the state.

    Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said at the handing-over of the bikes at the Lagos House, Ikeja, that the gesture was in line with the government’s commitment to boost security and enhance safety of lives and property.

    He said the donation of the bikes was in fulfilment of his promise to prioritise the security of residents and ensure that no stone was left unturned to protect the people of the state.

    Ambode, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Tunji Bello, said security, being one of the tripods upon which his administration was built, would continue to be accorded its pride of place.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the power bikes were funded by the Lagos State Lotteries Board and donated to the Police Command in the State.

    The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) were also beneficiaries.

    Ambode said the power bikes would enhance the job of the security agencies of securing lives and property of residents.

    Earlier, the Chairman, Lagos State Security Trust Fund, Mr Oye Hassan-Odukale, commended Ambode for the donation, saying it came barely two months after he promised to procure more bikes for security agencies.

    Hassan-Odukale said the bikes would go a long way in preventing crimes, enhancing security and ensuring residents’ safety.

    He expressed optimism that the equipment would be put into good use.

    Hassan-Odukale called on corporate bodies and public-spirited individuals to team up with the government to procure more equipment for security agencies in the overall interest of the people.

    Receiving the power bikes on behalf of security agencies, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, commended the State Government for the gesture.

    Edgal said the bikes would greatly help security personnel to pursue criminals, especially those operating in traffic.

    “Power bikes are essential for hot pursuits of criminals. Power bikes in line with the visibility clause in community policing also establishes police and other agencies’ visibilities on our streets and highways.

    “That is how important these power bikes are in fighting crime in Lagos and I want to assure the governor and the good people of Lagos that we will put the bikes to good use,” the police chief said.

    In their separate remarks, LASTMA General Manager Olawale Musa, his LASEMA counterpart, Mr Adeshina Tiamiyu and the Commander, Rapid Response Squad (RRS) Olatunji Disu lauded the government’s initiative.

    They also expressed optimism that the bikes would help to prevent and to fight crime in emergency situations.

  • Three-day prayers for Lagos begins

    Three-day prayers for Lagos begins

    The founder of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Agbala Itura Prophet Samuel Abiara has called for vigorous prayers to save Lagos State from planned attacks.

    God, he claimed, told him to gather Christians for prayers against surreptitious plans to disintegrate peace in Lagos State.

    He told reporters yesterday that a 3-day prayer session begins tomorrow by 5pm at Agege Stadium to pray against external aggression on Lagos.

    ‘’God told me we need to pray for Lagos against attacks. This is not to scare anybody but to prevent the evils that some people are planning,’’ Abiara stressed.

    The prayer session, he assured, will secure divine intervention to expose every attack targeted against the peace and stability of Lagos.

    Abiara said: ‘’If we pray, God will expose terrible people and give us peace on all fronts in Lagos and the nation. It is for us to receive the mark of protection for 2018.’’

    He added that participants will also seek the face of God for special blessings in 2018, saying the New Year holds so much in stock for those who dare to trust God.

  • Lagos kits enforcement officers

    The Lagos State Government has branded enforcement officers from its Ministry of Youth and Social Development with brown and grey uniforms.

    This, the government said, is for easy identification and detection of individuals impersonating to be officers of the state government.

    Commissioner for Youth and Social Development Agboola Dabiri said Child Protection and School Support Services enforcement officers will be identified by the uniform.

    According to him, anyone claiming to be an enforcement officer without the uniform will be handed over to law enforcement authorities.

    He explained that the uniforms were designed in a dynamic fashion to suit officers in disposition of their duties.

    “There are times when enforcement officers might need to go to places or people in distress which colourful dresses would not signal a sense of compassion to people around such circumstance of life,” he said.

    Dabiri said government will be collaborating with agencies of similar vision of the ministry to eradicate menace of domestic violence and sexual related matters, while efforts will be intensified towards juvenile justice system.

    The Commissioner called on community associations and other agencies to help government identify locations where underage are being abused and locations where youths are engaging in drugs and other activities portraying vices to the society.

    On strategy to curb drug abuse and other vices, he said series of enlightenment programmes involving youths will be in place where they will be sensitised by popular actors, musicians and notable personalities in the entertainment industry.

    “There are some messages you want to pass to the youths that can only be passed across through what they enjoy listening to. So we want to use the entertainers as a medium to positively influence youths.  So we will call on actors actresses to come talk on certain topics, we are confident youths would listen to them,” he said.

  • Lagos to exempt churches, mosques, others from land use charges

    Lagos to exempt churches, mosques, others from land use charges

    Religious organisations, educational institutions and non governmental organisations may be exempted from paying land use charge in Lagos State if the new bill on land use charge currently before the state Assembly is passed into law. This was revealed at a public hearing on the new land use charge bill titled, ‘Land Use Charge (Repeal and Re-Enactment) Law, 2017’, which took place at the Lateef Jakande Auditorium in the Assembly complex during the week.

    But some stakeholders at the public hearing advocated for the inclusion of NGOs in the list; because according to them they are non profit making organisations. The new law seeks to harmonise land rates law, neighbourhood improvement charge law and tenement rates law and when passed into law, all other rates on land cease to operate except the Land Use Charge.

    The Assembly gave assurance that the proposed harmonised Bill on Land Use Charge will be based on market value, noting that it would be beneficial to property owners. According to the Acting Chairman of the Adhoc Committee on Finance in the House, Hon. Oluyinlka Ogundimu, the law will be based on market value and will correct some wrongs in the system, noting that it would be beneficial to property owners.

    “We have to harmonise some bills to form this new one. With the new law, the local government will not come with a bill, while the state government would come with another one on property. We want everything to be harmonised and make it convenient for the people. We have ensured that we will consider the market value of the houses,” he said.  The lawmaker added that some of the houses are close to the market value, while others are far from it.

    According to him, “what would be given out would be the value of the land and the building and the rate would be determined by the government. What we will have will be the market value and this has been reduced by 40%. While commenting on those exempted from the charge, Ogundimu noted that “religious bodies would not be affected, but if you go commercial like running a school, you would not be exempted.”

    In his welcome address, the Speaker of the House, Hon. Mudashiru Obasa, said that the new law would make life easy for the people of the state and that the House was passionate about anything that would affect the people positively. While giving the overview of the Bill, the Majority Leader, Hon Sanai Agunbiade, stated that the proposed law differs from the old payment charge as the new charges would be based on market value.

     

  • Fire hits Gowon Estate in Lagos

    Fire hits Gowon Estate in Lagos

    A night fire engulfed and burnt three duplexes on 34 Road, B Close, Gowon Estate, Egbeda Lagos on Friday without any record of casualty.

    An eyewitness told NAN the fire was first noticed at about 7.15 p.m in one of the duplexes before spreading to the others.

    He said that an occupant in one of duplexes, who had just returned, opened the door and met the raging fire.

    He immediately raised an alarm which attracted neighbours and sympathisers.

    According to the witness, the bewildered occupant’s action quickly attracted more sympathisers who ran helter-skelter in assisting to put-off the fire but their efforts were not enough.

    But the arrival and efforts of a combined team of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) and State Fire Service officials to the scene helped to quench the fire.

    The estate had also recorded a late night inferno on Nov. 28, 2017, which gutted five of eight shops attached to a Union Bank building on 411 Road Junction.

     

  • Lagos revs waste collection with TLS

    Lagos revs waste collection with TLS

    •Firm injects N18b in first phase

    VIsionscape Sanitation Solutions (VSS) has inaugurated the Tapa Transfer Loading Station (TLS) in Lagos.

    The facility located on Saviour’s Street, Epetedo area of Lagos Island, will serve as one of the many hubs strategically located throughout the state that will enable Visionscape deposit waste from the city limits to the landfills after processing.

    The Tapa TLS is the first completed TLS by the firm.The company is renovating other stations in Mushin, Agege and Oshodi to provide integrated waste management solutions for treating municipal solid waste and wastewater under the Cleaner Lagos Initiative. In the first phase of the CLI, the firm   invested $50 million (N18.05 billion).

    “Transfer Loading Stations are the unsung heroes in the waste management supply-chain; they’re fundamental in driving efficiency into waste collection and transportation services. The TLS will serve as the middleman between waste collection vehicles and the final disposal facilities,” the Chief Operating Officer (COO), Visionscape, Mr. Thomas Forgacs, said.

    During a tour of the facility, VSS assured Lagos residents of the timely collection and disposal of the tonnes of domestic solid waste generated daily in the state. The transfer stations will receive 6,700 tons of waste daily. The facilities will feature a central tipping bay, a waste reception bay, administrative buildings and waste processing bay.

    The company has also taken delivery of a consignment of a fleet of 100 brand new waste management vehicles embedded with cutting-edge technology.

    “The addition to the waste management fleet is in line with our commitment to provide integrated waste management services, using state-of-the-art equipment and innovative solutions to help transform megacities. In the last six months, we have surveyed all of Lagos State and collated vital data to aid operations. We, therefore, understand population density of the communities and areas that will be serviced, even up to the number of streets and households across the State. This preliminary assessment has aided us to know the amount of waste that will be generated in any particular location,” Forgacs said.

    SWM Integrated Solutions Executive Director, Mrs. Tolagbe Martins, explained that the promoters had been engaged in cleaning about 1,000 black spots within the metropolis and carted away 80,000 tons of refuse, with the deployment of 600 galvanised waste bins.

    Besides, VSS, she said, would be deploying more 3,000 galvanised waste bins to parts of the state next week, and that in two months, the body was expected to deploy 20,000 galvanised waste bins across the state.

    Also to be deployed is one million plastic bins across the state, including sweepers to various parts of the state as from next.

    “The Cleaner Lagos Initiative is creating an enabling environment. Before now, there was only a focus on disposal and no system to support the waste beyond collection. The collection is the beginning of the cycle, and the CLI is providing a world class sanitation structure that includes mechanised sweeping by trained community sanitation workers; transfer loading stations; sorting and recycling; innovative waste bins; regular waste collection and more. We are pleased to inform you that the work which has been going on over the past 15 months is rolling out now,” Tolagbe said.

    The Ministry of the Environment Permanent Secretary, Mr. Abiodun Bamgboye, said the firm has shown “commitment to developing and implementing advanced processes in solid waste and wastewater management operations with an innovative approach. Their state-of-the-art TLS’s will be a game changer in our sector”.

    The CLI was established to address, enforce and regulate the challenges in the solid waste management systems within Lagos. The initiative is focused on improving the environment to make it cleaner, safer and healthier for Lagos residents, as well as developing efficiency.

    Visionscape is in a public-private partnership with the government, set to provide management services for the CLI, under the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA).

     

  • Lagos keen on delivering value to residents

    Lagos State is keen to produce impactful, influential, and inspirational leaders in its public servants to deliver value for the people of this state, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    He spoke at a training for senior civil servants on the topic, “Leadership And Management Training For Senior Civil Servants” in the state.

    The Governor, who was represented by Commissioner for Establishments, Training, and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson, said the primary duty of public servants is to deliver value for the people of the state.

    He said his administration has been approving trainings for the benefits of the critical and invaluable human resources in charge of the institutions of the public service.

    He hoped the training would further the monumental task of transforming the senior civil servants into impactful, influential and productive officers to such degrees that the output of the public service will inspire the good people of Lagos State.

    “My administration fully recognises the enormous value that knowledge and soft skills training bring to bear on the attainment of the strategic objectives of the government and the public service.

    “Also, the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions has always been in the vanguard of advocating for the institutionalisation of essential training programmes that benefit the most strategically-placed officers in the public service.

    “Indeed, it is a truism that high performances have been known to increase in organisations that expose their human capital to leadership development through training programmes of this nature. The need for ensuring and assuring the efficiency and effectiveness of public institutions has never been greater than now,” he said.

    In a dynamic age of constant changes, it is widely agreed that institutions must have clearly-defined missions that are relevant to the needs and aspirations of its stakeholders. “Following this, the human capital at the helm of leadership in these institutions must have the courage to envision a future that realises the attainment of the defined mission of the institutions.

    “I fully agree that only strong and trained leaders can envision the right and appropriate future for organisations. Where leaders do not possess the attitude, aptitude and skills that are relevant for the times, they become fundamentally flawed in any attempt to craft a beneficial and compelling vision for their organisations. And, as we all know, in the absence of vision, the people perish as the institutions become rudderless and their journey becomes one without a map.

    “The Lagos State civil service has always been in the forefront of innovation and dynamic effectiveness in the country.

    The  primary duty of public servants is to deliver value for the people of this state. My administration is irreversibly committed to enlarging and expanding the scope of trainings for the people who can help deliver this value,” he noted.