Tag: lagos

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led members of the State Executive Council and other top officials to Shibiri/Ekunpa Area Office in Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area (LCDA) for the second quarterly Town Hall meeting. There he spoke about what has been done and what to expect this quarter, including the release of loans to fresh 1,000 businesses, writes WALE AJETUNMOBI

OTO Awori is a Lagos suburb. It is home to Alhaji Abimbola Suraju, a market leader. Suraju was shocked last Friday and he could not hide his excitement.
“I want to sincerely thank Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for bringing this town hall meeting to Oto Awori. I never believed that in my lifetime that this place will host the Governor and his cabinet members. Before now they would always ask us to come to Ikeja, but this time around, they have come to our own community,” Suraju said.
Suraju spoke when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led members of the State Executive Council and other top officials to Shibiri/Ekunpa Area Office in Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area (LCDA), venue of the second quarterly Town Hall Meeting for the year and seventh in the series.
At the meeting, he revealed the shape of what to expect this quarter, one of which is the fact that another 1,000 businesses will receive loans.
Oto-Awori, one of the 37 LCDAs carved out from Ojo Local Government, has never hosted such delegation in recent years and the excitement on the thousands of residents that trooped to the venue to catch a glimpse of the Governor and listen to what he had in stock for them was enough to tell the story.
During his opening remarks, Ambode said he was excited to be in the community to get first-hand information on the needs of the community and how his administration could respond accordingly.
For him, Oto-Awori was part and parcel of his promise to run an all-inclusive government, thus no community would be left behind in the quest by his administration to ensure all round development of the State.
“The train of our Quarterly Town Hall meeting has arrived in Ojo, the home of our dependable and reliable Deputy Governor – Dr. Mrs. Idiat Oluranti Adebule. I salute the good people of Ojo and the Lagos West Senatorial Zone. We are very happy to be here with you today,” the governor said.
The governor took over one hour to allow residents cutting across community leaders, traditional rulers, market women, youth leaders and party leaders in the area to ask questions.
On a request for a General Hospital, Ambode said three new facilities have been catered for in the 2017 budget.
“Talking about General Hospitals, in the budget we have designated General Hospitals for three areas and Ojo Local Government is one of them. It is in the pipeline, it’s just a matter of time, we are already closing in on it,” he said.
He also assured that efforts would be made to improve healthcare service delivery in the riverine area in Oto Awori, saying that residents in such areas have remained relevant in the government’s achievements over the years.
“This area is traditionally and historically known to be a major supporter of government and then we must give them back for the support which they have always been known for,” he said.
Ambode also acceded to the request of the residents for the rehabilitation of the access roads linking the area to the Alimosho General Hospital which they currently use pending the construction of a nearby General Hospital and at the meeting immediately directed the State Public Works Corporation to immediately fix the roads to improve accessibility to the facility.
The governor also directed contractors handling the projects to immediately return to their various sites, warning that his administration would not hesitate to terminate such contracts.
“If we are able to do a link bridge in 11 months, if we are able to do Ajah flyover in 13 months and Abule Egba flyover in 13 months and we are going to commission all of them next month, how can these roads be there forever? So, obviously we should use the same spirit of delivering service to do all the outstanding roads. The Ministry of Works must go back to these sites, I must know what is going on within the next few days,” the Governor said.
He listed some of the projects to include Mile 10 Road, Mowo Road, Tedi Road, Ilaje Road, Goriola Oseni Road, Sabo Mosafejo Road and Imude Orisa Road where only 1.5km of the road was covered by the contractor.
“These are contracts already awarded, it’s for our own contractors to go there and finish the job, so the responsibility is on us to make sure you deliver these roads within the shortest possible time and that’s what it should be,” he said.
The governor also said he had approved that all the mini waterworks across the State, numbering about 41 should be functional within the next 12 weeks to ensure that residents have access to clean and portable water.
On the plight of the physically challenged, Ambode also directed that the Civil Service Commission and the Local Government Civil Service Commission to put modalities in place to employ at least 250 physically challenged persons into the State Civil Service.
He also ordered the Chairman of the State’s Sports Commission to offset all arrears of allowances owed the physically challenged athletes in the State next week.
On his administration’s achievements in the last quarter, the governor said the Neighborhood Watch was rebranded and launched as the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps and provided with equipment to combat illegal activities within the populace, explaining that the Corps will complement the efforts of the police in curbing crime and criminality in the state.
Ambode added that within the quarter under review the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund continued to fulfill its mandate of providing subsidised loans to entrepreneurs, revealing that N1.7 billion was approved as loans to 1,400 businesses out of which N1.2 billion has already been disbursed to 800 people.
“By the end of this month, loans to another 1,000 businesses will be approved, taking the total loans approved above 2,000. To further serve Lagos residents, the Fund will soon open the application process for skills development and training to help our unemployed youths take up existing jobs within the Lagos economy. I urge you to visit the Fund’s website or their liaison offices in the local governments to apply for their various programs,” he said.
On agriculture, the governor said his administration has commenced the upgrade of the 167-hectare Songhai Model Farm in Avia-Igborosun, Badagry to encourage organic agriculture and train citizens interested in agro-business for local consumption or export, while 540 fishermen across the state were trained on the use of fishing equipment to improve their skills as well as optimize their understanding of the trade and boost income.
On a request for the government to utilise the 300 hectares of arable lands in the area, the governor said he would visit the area with his team to access the land and look at the possibility of boosting the economy of the area through mechanised farming.
Ambode said the government would kick start the implementation of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, implement the construction of 181 roads across the 57 LGs/LCDAs, complete the Abule-Egba and Ajah flyover bridges, further signalisation of Lekki – Ajah express road and continuation of Road network upgrade in all the three senatorial zones.
“Furthermore, initiatives for tourism will be intensified by commencing Development of Heritage Centre for Leadership (Presidential Lodge), Lagos History Centre, J.K Randle Centre, transformation of the Onikan Museum, Development of tourism hubs in Lagos-West, Lagos-East, construction of six cultural theatres in Alimosho, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, Ikeja and Lagos Mainland, and continuation of Epe and Badagry waterfront development as well as other tourist potential in the area,” he said.
Ambode also said he was particularly excited that the 7th edition of the Town Hall meeting coincides with the 50th anniversary celebration of the creation of the state while he took time to appreciate the founding founders and his predecessors whom he said had worked assiduously in the last five decades for the growth and progress of Lagos State.
“We appreciate the vision, tenacity of purpose and hard work which helped to shape our past and laid the foundation on which to build the prosperous future of our dear State,” he said.
The people thanked the governor for the opportunity to engage with him. They will certainly look forward to seeing the promises coming to life in the next few months.