The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Nine dead in Lagos boat mishap

    Nine dead in Lagos boat mishap

    The Lagos State Government on Sunday confirmed the death of nine persons in the boat mishap which occurred at the weekend in Ilashe area of the State.

    In a statement issued by the Managing Director of Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Engr Abisola Kamson, the State Government attributed the unfortunate mishap to overloading of passengers on a Banana Boat and operation of illegal jetty.

    Kamson said four victims of the mishap who were rescued are already receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, while search and rescue operation was still on-going.

    While commiserating with the families of those that lost their loved ones, the State Government said the mishap had again brought to the fore the need for the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) to respect the recent verdict of the Court of Appeal which upheld the powers of the State Government to control its intra-inland waterways.

    Going into details of the mishap, Kamson said: “An unfortunate incident occurred at Ilashe today Sunday August 20th arising from overloading of passengers on a Banana boat taking off from an illegal Jetty which has become a perennial issue of the Lagos State Government to rid our Waterfront areas of illegal operators.

    “We sympathize with the families of the deceased as nine lives were lost in the mishap and four people receiving treatment in the hospital.

    “The LASWA rescue team has been on ground and search is still on-going. This brings to fore again the need for NIWA to allow the judgement of the Appeal Court granting Lagos Control of her waterways to take effect without hindrance.

    “It is a matter for regret that ever since the judgement was pronounced, NIWA has ejected all State Water Guards monitoring standards from all Federal owned Jetties. In spite of this, the Government of Lagos State aligns to the safety of citizens on the waterways. All Lagosians are enjoined to wear standard life jackets at all times on our Waterways,” Kamson said.

    Besides, the LASWA boss urged boat operators and other stakeholders in the inland waterways sector to adhere strictly to safety standards at all times.

  • INTERNATIONAL DRINKS FESTIVAL COMES TO LAGOS

    THE International Drinks Festival, a festival that seeks to move the drinks business forward in Nigeria, was recently unveiled at The Balmoral Convention Centre, Lagos.

    The event which will take place from December 1 to 3, at the Balmoral Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, V.I, according to the organisers, will feature exhibition of various drinks brands, master classes with various drink professionals, as well as summits which will give the attendees opportunities to ask questions and interact with the drink experts.

    Present at the event were International Model and TV Presenter, Idia Aisien, as well as the CEO of Balmoral Group, Mr. Ezekiel Adamu and COO, Balmoral Group, Mr. Akin Eso.

    Adamu explained that the International Drinks Festival is about the economic benefits that will be derived from the event, throwing light on the exhibitions, master classes and its other activities.

    He described the International Drinks festival as a first of its kind event which already has companies bidding for spots. He also states that it will be a one of a kind event and an eye opener to the Beverage industry in Nigeria.

  • Segun Oniru moves into real estate

    Segun Oniru moves into real estate

    AFTER reluctantly waving goodbye to the seductive maiden of political appointments, Lagos big boy, Prince Segun Oniru, has wasted no time falling in love again. While politics once consumed his passion while he held sway as the Lagos State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, he is now in blossoming romance with real estate business.

    The first son of the Oniru of Iruland, Victoria Island, Lagos, Oba Idowu Oniru, has been amassing a portfolio of choice properties since he left office at the expiration of former Babatunde Fashola’s tenure as Lagos State governor. Like his other businesses that flourished even when bosom friends said nay, Segun’s venture into real estate has seen him smiling to the bank.

    The first in line to the throne of Iruland, Segun is not planning to step into the royal shoes with an empty bank account. His Faaji Restaurant & Wine Bar on Fichley Road, London continues to bring in the bucks, not to mention Timeless, his popular hotel which remains a veritable money spinner.

  • Court remands woman, 11 others over Ikeja kidnappers’ den

    Court remands woman, 11 others over Ikeja kidnappers’ den

    Twelve suspected kidnappers including a woman, arrested by the police in connection with a kidnappers’ den at Ile-Zik Bus Stop in Ikeja, were on Friday remanded at Ikoyi Prisons on the orders of a Lagos magistrate.

    Chief Magistrate Tajudeen Elias said the accused are to remain behind bars pending a legal advice from the State Director of Public Prosecutions (DPPs).

    The “Ile Zik 12 men” were brought before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrates’ Court on a three-count charge of conspiracy, attempted kidnap and possession of arms and ammunition.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bus stop is named after a four-storey building built by the first President of Nigeria, the late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe.

    Barely a week before, another kidnappers’ hole was discovered at Ijaiye area on the Oshodi-Sango-Abeokuta Highway.

    The accused are Hakeem Ogundele, 32; Noah Samuel, 25; Ayomide Olatunji, 44; Felix Matthew, 34; American Obodoyibo, 42; Shola Elemo, 32; and Adijat Mudashiru, 32.

    Others are Tunde Akanji, 41; Adeoye Adekeye, 38; Patrick Onwubufor, 65, Samuel Iyede, 50; and Bright Amankwa, 36.

    Earlier, Sgt. Kehinde Omisakin, the police prosecutor, told the court that the accused committed the offences on Aug. 10 between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. at Ile-Zik Bus Stop near Ajayi Farm in Ikeja on the Oshodi-Sango-Abeokuta Expressway. According to her, the 12 accused had conspired to kidnap some students of a nearby Girls Junior High School, but they luckily escaped.

    “Some school uniforms and notebooks of the students were found in possession of the accused.”

    Omisakin said one live ammunition, nine empty shells of expended ammunition, one kitchen knife and road maps were recovered from them.

    The accused pleaded innocence of the offences which contravened Sections 22, 330 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

    NAN also reports that kidnapping and other related offences carry life imprisonment or capital punishment.

    The case has been adjourned until Aug. 22.

  • Lagos lauds Sterling Bank’s sustainability campaign

    Lagos lauds Sterling Bank’s sustainability campaign

    Sterling Bank’s sustainability campaign known as Sterling Environmental Makeover (STEM), senior officials of the Lagos State Government have paid glowing tributes to the initiative, saying it is in line with the state government’s vision of encouraging residents to show respect for the environment.

    Addressing the mammoth crowd at the flag off of the mega cleaning exercise which took place at the Computer Village in Ikeja at the weekend, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Babatunde Adejare, commended Sterling Bank for its outstanding show of commitment to the campaign for a livable environment.

    Adejare said, “We need to have more respect for our environment than we do now. The state government cancelled the monthly sanitation exercise because it believed that cleaning the environment should be part of our daily lives and not just a monthly routine.”

    The commissioner disclosed that the state government recently introduced the Cleaner Lagos Initiative in a bid to better manage solid waste. He urged participants in the cleaning exercise to extend the practice to their different homes as part of their contribution to the emergence of a cleaner Lagos that is fit for human habitation.

    Adejare enjoined residents in Lagos not to block drainages with their refuse but to put them in bags and tie the mouths before leaving them in front of their houses for officials of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to pick up.

    In his welcome address, Mr. Yemi Adeola, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, disclosed that the STEM programme was being held simultaneously in eight other locations across the country. These include the seven state capitals of Ogun, Oyo, Kwara, Rivers, Enugu, Plateau, Kano and in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT)

  • Protesters move sit-outs to Lagos, London

    Protesters move sit-outs to Lagos, London

    The #OurMumuDonDo members yesterday announced the suspension of their sit-outs in Abuja, following the Tuesday’s attack on them at the Wuse Market.

       The group said its sit-outs will continue to hold in Lagos daily and at the Abuja House in London on Friday.

       The group issued a 21-day ultimatum to President Muhammadu Buhari to resume or resign from office.

    Failure to do that, the group said it would seek a court order compelling the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to set up a committee to appraise the President’s health to determine if he is fit to continue running the country.

    The group said this would be done in line with Section 144 of the Constitution (as amended).

    Charly Boy stated that the suspension of the protest in Abuja was to enable the coalition to re-strategise on ways to make their processions less open to violent attacks.

    This, he said, would better ensure the safety of members and other participants at sit-outs and peaceful processions in future.

    He said his movement was not deterred by the harassment unleashed on them by the police and hoodlums.

  • Re: Lagos versus Inland waterways

    SIR: The attention of the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has been drawn to an editorial by your reputable newspaper on August 14, 2017 with the above title.

    While we appreciate your concern over the matter and your sundry interventions on critical national issues, we however would like to use this medium to correct some impressions contained in the editorial.

    Contrary to your position, the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) is not an agency under the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development. As a matter of fact, NIWA is an agency under the Ministry of Transport.

    Also, the import of the Ministry’s stand as contained in the press release signed by the Permanent Secretary, Mohammed Abass, is not to deride or question the ruling of the Court of Appeal. Rather the Ministry’s position is that the ruling of the court of appeal did not in any way remove mining from the exclusive legislative list.

    In other words, in spite of the ruling, mining (of any kind) still remains a Federal Government’s concern. The Ministry’s position is that the Lagos State Government should not hide under the court of appeal ruling to preside over mining, by issuing a ‘stop work’ order on miners (or dredgers) that were duly licenced by the Federal Government.

     

    • Ambrose Momoh,

    Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations

    Ministry of Mines and Steel Development

  • Lions Club trains 100 youths in skills

    Lions Club trains 100 youths in skills

    No fewer than 100 youths have benefited from the skills acquisition programme organised by the Region 7, District 404B-2 Nigeria of Lions Club International Association in Lagos.

    The region comprises Lagos Integrity, Ikeja D’Ivy, Ifako Ijaiye, Ijoko Unique, Lagos Supreme and Ijoko Lions Club.

    The training was organised as part of Lions Club’s efforts to encourage youths to be usefully engaged in a bid to drastically reduce poverty and crime in the society.

    The event was held at Eko Junior College Agege. The youth were trained on arts and crafts, greeting cards designs, soap, beads, germicide and cream making.

    Certificate of participation was also given to the beneficiaries after the training.

    Speaking at the event, Deputy District Chief of Staff, Mr Christopher Olugbenga Akintola said the training was aimed at supporting the less-privileged who cannot afford to send their children/wards to vocational training centres, saying it would enable the youth to become self-reliant.

    He said Lions Club International is an organisation whose objective is to bring people together and pull resources for the purpose of helping the less-privileged in society.

    He further said the intervention strategy of Lions Club varies from helping people who are partially blind to regain their sight, protecting the environment; relieving hunger among the poor; educating the masses on diabetics and cancer, symptoms/detection, risk/effects and treatment options.

    Region 7, Zone B Chairperson, Mr Sunday Asiyanbi said the training was one of the pet projects of the Club in supporting and assisting members of the society to be responsive and contribute their own quota to national development.

    He expressed the hope that the programme would positively change the lives of the participants, adding that it would enable them to become self-reliant, help their families and assist them to be gainfully employed.

    Facilitator of the programme, Mrs Akintayo Adesola, praised Lions Club for the pet project. She said the programme would help in engaging youths in meaningful skills and reduce social vices among them.

    She urged the participants to develop themselves through the training for a better future.

    She appealed to the government and well-meaning individuals to frequently organise such training for the youth, saying it would provide means of livelihood for them.

     

  • Lagos praises retired Perm Sec

    The Lagos State government has extolled  the virtues  of the  retiring Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions, Mrs. Folasade Oluwatosin Ogunnaike.

    Speaking  at the retirement ceremony in Lagos, the Commissioner of the ministry, Dr. Akintola Benson, said Mrs Ogunnaike who is retiring at  60, has been competent, resourceful and diligent.

    He said she stood when duty called and broke new grounds in her various career positions.

    Benson said: “In Mrs. Ogunnaike, we are celebrating a well-rounded and vastly experienced loyal civil servant. Her career in the civil service has taken her round the entire gamut of the administration of Lagos State. She dutifully served at the then Ministry of Employment and Civil Service Matters as an Administrative Officer; she faithfully executed her duties at the then Office of Head of Service and Secretary to the State Military Government; and at the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, she showed class and creativity as the Principal Personnel Officer and Board Secretary seconded from the Ministry of Information.

    “She was appointed as an Assistant Director to head the Women Affairs Department in the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, rose to the position of director, appointed as the  Permanent Secretary in February, 2015 and now ends her illustrious career as the Permanent Secretary of the Office of Establishments and Training in the foundational and most important civil servants-focused ministry, the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions.

    “As the Permanent Secretary in the Office of Establishments and Training, she had responsibility as the accounting officer for formulating establishments and training policies for the entire State Public Service among others.

  • Lagos closes N85.14b Series II bond issuance

    THE Lagos State government has closed the N85,140,000,000 Series II bond issuance for improving physical and social infrastructure across the state.

    In a statement yesterday in Ikeja, the state capital, Finance Commissioner Akinyemi Ashade said the bond was issued in two tranches of N46,370,000,000 at 16.75 per cent (Tranche I) maturing in August 2024 and the N38,770,000,000 at 17.25 per cent (Tranche II) maturing in August 2027, under the N500 billion Third Debt Issuance Programme.

    Ashade recalled that the government, on August 12, issued a N85.14 billion Series II bond in two tranches – a seven-year N46,370,000,000 16.75 per cent bond maturing in August 2024 and a 10-year N38,770,000,000 17.25 per cent bond maturing in August 2027, under the N500 billion Third Debt Issuance Programme, by way of a book building.