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Tag: lagos

  • Diabetes, eye screening in Lagos

    Ambibol Diabetes Foundation will hold a four-day sensitisation programme to mark 2016 World Diabetes Day in Lagos.

    The event, according to the foundation’s Corporate Affairs Executive Kayode Adegbile, begins on Friday.

    Adegbile said over 1000 people will be screened for diabetes and 500 others for retinopathy, a common diabetic complication that can lead to blindness.

    The event will feature visit to religious centres, walkathon, lecture and awareness campaigns by experts.

    November 14 is celebrated yearly as World Diabetes Day, by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to raise more awareness about rising cases of diabetes worldwide.

    Nigeria is rated by IDF as having the highest number of people living with diabetes in Africa, with over five million affected and new cases of 1.56 million detected in 2015.

  • ‘We survive by stealing phones and robbing people in Oshodi’

    ‘We survive by stealing phones and robbing people in Oshodi’

    One of the two suspects arrested by the operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command has disclosed that he and over 50 teenagers in Oshodi survive by stealing and dispossessing passers-by of their phones and other valuables.

    The suspect, Yusuph Ahmed, 19, from Offa, Kwara State according to a press statement by the RRS disclosed this to interrogators at the Squad’s  headquarters in Alausa, Ikeja on Friday afternoon.

    Ahmed, who was arrested in Oshodi on Friday after dispossessing a passenger of his phone, stated that he along with over 50 teenagers sleep in Oshodi under bridge and that it is from here they eke out a living by stealing phones and robbing passers-by of the valuables.

    Ahmed, who has been sleeping under Oshodi Bridge since he was 13, stressed that even though he doesn’t follow those who rob amongst them out all the time, he knows all of them.

    “I sleep in Oshodi Under Bridge. We are like 50 or 60 teenagers sleeping there. The adults sleep in Ori – Pako. I was 13 years old when I started sleeping there. I keep my cloth there.

    “I sleep around 8:00 p.m. or 9:00 p.m. There are some of us who do not sleep at all. They are the ones that alert us whenever the police is around.

    “There are equally those who do not sleep because they go from one place to the other in Oshodi to rob. They rob late at night and very early in the morning.

    “After the death of my mother, my father abandoned us. He stopped taking care of us leaving us to fend for ourselves.

    “Even the school, he stopped paying the monthly N600. I had to resort to packing granite to pay the monthly N600 for school fee.

    “At a point, I couldn’t cope with the fee. I was just 12. I dropped out and I decided to run to Lagos. Since then, Oshodi Under Bridge has been my home.

    “Any phone I stole, I sell to Mohammed or Kudus. They are beggars in Oshodi. They buy most of the stolen phones from us”, he stated.

    However, the stolen phone, a Tecno Y6, was recovered from Ahmed’s brother.
    The second suspect, Yusuph Agbaje, 25, from Oyo State, was arrested in Agege for stealing a Blackberry curve from a commuter.

    Responding to the development, the Police Public Relations Officer, Suprintendent Dolapo Badmos, Police would leave no stone unturned in get rid of criminal elements within the state, adding that, parents monitor the activities of their wards.

    The suspects have been transferred to the Lagos State Task-force.

  • 14 ships discharging petroleum products, other commodities, in Lagos

    Fourteen ships are currently discharging petroleum products and other commodities at Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports in Lagos, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) said on Friday.

    NPA explained that the ships were at the ports discharging buck wheat, clinker, petrol,  diesel, empty containers, bulk charcoal, palm oil, containers and bulk sugar.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 26 ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive Lagos ports between Nov. 4 and Nov. 23.

    NPA said that the expected ships would ferry into the country, bulk sugar, base oil, general cargoes, ethanol, bulk fertiliser, containers, aviation fuel, crude palm oil, diesel and petrol.

    NAN reports that 26 ships were expected on Oct. 31; 26 ships on Nov. 1, 26 ships on Nov. 2, and 31 ships on Nov. 3.

    The document noted that five ships had arrived the ports, waiting to berth with bulk fertiliser, bulk sugar and petrol. (NAN)

  • Time to act on Lagos ‘apartheid’ schools

    It is a disaster of an unimaginable proportion; disaster that predated the administration of the current action governor of the Centre of Excellence. Its reality bespeaks anti-excellence. Simply anti-Lagos. Gbagada-based Ogo Oluwa Primary School, Idi Odo Primary School and Temidire Primary School are public but segregationist institutions. Founded by the Lagos State government for the purpose of grooming knowledge, equality, freedom, hope and creativity in the minds of the custodians of the future of the nation, but alas, the Idi-Odo trio is now funded to uphold its degeneration into institutions of the less-privileged, of ‘unlucky’ children permanently denied the fortune of hobnobbing with their ‘lucky’ peers.

    No thanks to the ironically ‘privileged’ and ‘elitist’ Gbagada environment of the rich whose personal safety and security has led to the denigration of these public schools into exclusive centres for labourer-children – house-helps, house-maids, cooks and the likes. Nothing can be more sorrowful than the sight of ones Alma Mater that was indeed the potter of so many shining stars of today in such peril that is now the lot of the Idi-Odo trio. Schools that sprang up as Gbagada Primary School III and School IV, illuminating the dawn of the Alhaji Lateef Jakande-led administration with glowing rising sun.

    Although the species of classroom blocks that surfaced across the earth of Lagos at the advent of Baba Kekere’s government, as temporary structures built within a twinkle of an eye, were indeed poultry-like in design, yet the irresistibility of the nostalgia their memories conjure in the Nigerian citizenry till date is an open statement of the superlative education that pupils of yore, including, this writer procured therein.

    As pioneering students of Gbagada Primary School IV, for instance, having been relocated from some ancient schools to complete our foundational education at Idi-Odo, we found ourselves in an excitingly mixed world; a world that broke boundaries, flattened fences and walloped walls. A world of innocence which inhabitants thrived in pleasant forgetfulness of our socio-economic differences, as the line between the rich and the poor became inexistent.

    Obviously, the long stretch of fence that now marks the Gbagada boundary, delineating its territories from its neighbouring Somolu-Pedro-Bariga neighbourhood was sincerely erected some few years back to ward off security threats in a nation where none sleeps with closed eyes. Good intention, no doubt. But for the surreptitious evil the edifice casts on our collective future as a nation.

    What is my drift? It is a given fact that, in contemporary Nigeria, our public schools are no longer patronized by the relatively few economically-advantaged Nigerian families, found in such a luxuriant environment as Gbagada Estates – a radical departure from what used to be in the good days of yore, which has, thus, largely restricted the services of the Idi-Odo schools to the less-privileged masses on the other side of the skirting fence. I mean the sprawling and struggling mass of Nigerian families that densely populate the Somolu-Pedro-Bariga world, to whom the relatively ‘meagre’ fees charged by ‘cheap’ private schools within their vicinity is totally unaffordable.

    Tragically, however, for many of such families, the hope of bequeathing, on their offspring, a future brighter than today, through education at the proximate, cost-free Idi-Odo Schools at nearby Gbagada, has been totally dashed. Dashed by the loathsome, long stretch of Gbagada ‘apartheid’ fence that today torments its discerning beholder with a fatal fear of tomorrow.

    My writing pen pairs with my eyes in shedding tears of sorrow. Tears of regrets, tears of lamentations, tears of nostalgia, as I behold my Alma Mater in its current status as a school now ‘majorly meant’ for   housemaids and all other categories of child-slaves wickedly engaged by Gbagada residents whose elitist hands actually held the pen that outlawed child-labour in our revered constitution.

    Indeed, no law forbids anyone from enrolling his children in these schools. But, this bad ‘apartheid’ fence does just this. It imposes on kids from the other side of it, a daily merry-go-rounding ritual of a minimum of 20km trek, on daily school trips. Hence, schools that once infected every speeding motorist on the Oshodi-Gbagada Expressway with exuding liveliness is now a ghost of its old self, now hardly conspicuous, probably due to our collective violent neglect and indifference towards the sort of children whose names now fill the registers of those ‘unlucky’ teachers.

    Yes! “Less privileged’ teachers teaching ‘less privileged’ pupils would struggle to deceive you with cheerful mien to welcome every approaching adult in the faint hope that, at last, protracted prayers are about fruiting. They are always looking into the empty space with forlorn eyes imagining oncoming parents holding their kids for enrolment.

    If anything is sure, the restless Ambode with his cabinet lieutenants would agree with me that the deployment of such an artificial barrier as a fence to isolate and foreclose extensive and mixed patronage by citizens and residents of the state can never be rationally justified. Or, what can rationalize a situation that has forced those institutions funded with public resources, constitutionally meant to engender sense of equality and belonging in the citizenry, to degenerate into ‘second’ class schools for ‘second’ class students handled by ‘second’ class teachers.

    The likely effects of such a strange educational setting are better imagined. To call a spade a spade, it can only beget tragedy on the victim, not victims.

    No! The victimized are not the multitude of Nigerian children who, over the years, are denied of access to the potter services these schools were originally founded to offer. They are neither the second class outputs with jaundiced psychology that are likely to emerge from there.

    The victim is none but our society, our supposed community of humans whose inborn mentality of freedom, equality and potentialities is expected to derive monumental boosting through the facility of education. To relegate and ignore this truism is to refuse to learn from history and admit the weighty role of negative citizenship orientation in the multi-coloured reality of terror in our nation of today.

    Hurray! When I behold the ongoing magical structural intervention of the Lagos government in Lady Lak Primary School, Bariga, an innate voice within me tells me there is hope for the Idi-Odo schools and their likes. My elation over the current rebuilding of Lady Lak, an aged facility is particularly due to the fact that my educational sojourn actually started, over four decades ago, in the same set of buildings, then dilapidated, that are just being replaced with ultra modern ones by the Ambode administration.

    Still, the fear of history threatens my hope with hopelessness in terms of what may become of these schools even after the governor’s anticipated positive response.

    Whether those invisible and seemingly ‘invincible’ forces that frustrated the order and efforts of ex-Governor Fashola on the aborted reconstruction of the fragile wooden make-shift bridge linking the Gbagada and Bariga community would allow the public interest to reign supreme, this time around, remains a begging question.

    Lest we forget, Fashola’s order and subsequent mobilization of materials to the impassable bridge site was in response to the yearnings of the staff and students of Gbagada Comprehensive High School for safe and quick access to a public health clinic situated within nearby but ‘far’ Bariga-based Mafoluku Market. What has become of those abandoned tons of sand, granite stones as well as machines, for almost a decade, is currently visible to the blind.

     

    • Olokode, a media consultant, writes in vide solacemediaconsult@gmail.com
  • Making Lagos environment clean

    Making Lagos environment clean

    Globally, the preservation of the environment is garnering more attention, especially with the reality of the effects of climate change. In Lagos State, the ‘Mega City’ status has further put pressure on the government to take extra measures to ensure that the environment remains safe for human habitation. This is why the state is investing heavily in environmentally-friendly projects to ensure its continued existence and survival of her citizens. But how far can these efforts go? MUYIWA LUCAS asks .

    The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, is a self-effacing man. But given the quantum of the task, Adejare has had to push aggresively in the efforts to secure both the environment and the citizens.

    “Let us not deceive ourselves. Our state is over 25 million in population. This presupposes that we cannot continue to fold our arms and watch things go wrong in our environment.That is why this present administration is investing heavily in environmentally friendly projects that can make our people safe,” Adejare said last Monday at his monthly interaction with the media.

    According to the Commissioner, in the last two months, the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration has pursued with vigour its policy on cleaner and sustainable environment through dogged application of its all-year round de-flooding programme, unwavering commitment to the removal of all environmental infractions and nuisances across the state and steady pursuit of an aesthetically appealing state.

     

    Water provision

    According to a report by the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, entitled, “Lagos Water Crisis: Alternative Roadmap for Efficient Water Sector,” the State’s Water Supply Master plan puts the daily water demand in the state at 540 million gallons per day (MGD), while production by the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC) stands at 210 MGD. The report however noted that the LSWC website put total production capacity at 163 MGD. By 2020, it noted, water demand is expected to reach 733 MGD in the state.

    Adejare explained that the administration is aware of the water situation in the state. To this end, he said the state has embarked on the construction of more water plants, such as the Adiyan II. Besides, he said  State Executive Council (SEC) has approved the construction of the Odomola II water plant, which on completion will serve Victoria Island, Lekki, Ajah, and environs.  The project will be handled by Messers Bryo Nigeria Limited.

    Indeed, the Commissioner boasts that water supply  is being given a new lease of life as most of the state’s waterworks, such as Ishasi, Adiyan and Iju produce and supply uninterrupted water to Lagosians upon the repairs of equipment and restoration of power supply. And to find lasting solution to billing problems, the LSWC carried out and completed the verification  of its customers at Ikeja I and Ikeja II. While the result of this exercise is being awaited, it will soon be extended to other parts of Lagos metropolis.

     

    Huge Cost / PPP

    Although he declined to disclose the cost of the Odomola project, Adejare, however, revealed that the Adiyan II water project, which was initially estimated to cost N54 billion, has jumped to over N60 billion due to the foreign exchange rate.

    At N60 billion, Adejare further explained, it becomes rather burdensome for the state to shoulder the financing alone. This is why the state is partnering with private concerns to execute water plant projects across the state.

    “We are not privatising the LSWC, notwithstanding that there are challenges. The private concerns that have partnered with us will charge moderate fees for their services which will not inconvenience the citizens. At present, we charge five kobo per litre of water and this is not even sustainable. At this rate, the LSWC cannot even generate enough to pay its own salaries,” Adejare explained, stressing that if the government did not seek private partnerships for its water plants, the entire budget would be spent on such alone. He is right considering that the Adiyan II water plant, which is not even enough to sustain one-third of the population, is costing about 10 per cent of the state’s budget.

     

    Waste management

    Adejare revealed a greater plan for waste management and control in the state. For instance, he said the state is now redefining solid waste management, which will ensure that such wastes are bailed and sold, leading to extra revenue for the state. The Commissioner pointed out that waste management would take a new dimension in the state as from 2017. “We are reforming waste management; we are no longer going to do it the way we are used to. By the time we do this, environmental infractions would have reduced,” he assured.

    Besides, he said that in line with the ministry’s mandate on waste water management, the scheduled maintenance of government-owned Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) which are Abesan Low Cost Housing Estate; Oke-Afa Low Cost Housing Estate; Iponri Low Cost housing Estate; and the Secretariat, Alausa have been done.

    Besides, a total of 224 wastewater haulage trucks have been registered, while three septage discharge points – Oregun, Ojota and Amuwo-Odofin, have been registered for  the yearly monitoring of activities.

     

    Waste statistics

    A breakdown of the volume of waste evacuated in the Central, Western and Eastern parts of the state as at last September, stood at 12,303.50; 8,811.50; and 18,375.50. Similarly, the statistics of refuse deposited at various landfill sites last September (in Metric Tons), are: Olushosun – 150,307.00; Solous III – 30,134.20; Ewu Elepe – 11,180.00; Epe – 9.970; Simpson Transfer Loading Station (TLS) – 7,183.00; and Agege TLS – 2,016.90. Oshodi TLS is undergoing repairs and maintenance.

    Also, the Commissioner disclosed that 351 PSP Operators serviced 367 wards in 20 Local Government Councils and 37 Local Council Development Areas of the state during the period under review. Besides, he revealed that 460, 523 recyclable materials were collected from the buy-back centre and recycling banks. The breakdown is as follows: 103,684 Cartons; 46,949 Cans; 184,714 Pet Bottles; 1,284 Bottles; 108,316 LDPE sachets; and 15,576 Paper.

    Through the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA), the state engaged a total of 60 ad-hoc staff to clean 13 major water bodies in the state, while a total of 333 Service Providers with 5,500 employees (Street Sweepers) were supervised during the month for highway sanitation.

    Others

    While re-stating the policy of the state government on cleaner and sustainable environment, the commissioner said government was committed to the removal of all environmental infractions and would not relent in bringing about a sustainable environment as well as a livable state to enhance aesthetically beautiful state.  Adejare said the commitment of the government to greening the environment, saying over 800 trees, including 700 coconuts have been planted along Lekki Epe Expressway and another 100 trees at Orile Agege LCDA.

    The Environment Commissioner said that government is poised to control and eradicate diseases such as Lasa fever and malaria through the kicking off of the vector control programme.

    “To control vector-borne diseases such as Lasa fever and malaria, we have flagged off the vector control programme through which we will be delivering effective “deratisation” of markets and adjoining streets in the state with the use of time tested technology,” he said.

    Adejare said the Department of Drainage Services, the Emergency Flood Abatement Gangs and the Drain Ducks have been working round the clock to keep most of the state’s drainage channels flowing. Consequently, collectors and channels have been cleared, seven new ones constructed and reconstructed, while six channels were desilted. He maintained that the “Operation Clean Lagos,” otherwise known as “IBILE”, covering the five divisions of the state, is a manifestation of the fact that the state’s administration will not relent in bringing about a sustainable environment as well as a livable state.

    Given the above efforts, it may well be a new dawn for Lagos environment. But time will tell.

  • Lagos family seeks govt intervention on landed property

    The Oyemade Royal Family of Ijeshatedo, Lekki, has asked the Lagos State Government to be cautious in granting consent to prospective applicants wishing to transact and carry out any form of development on the family land in Lekki, Lagos.

    Head of the family, Otunba Babatunde Rahman, told reporters at the weekend that the plea being made to the government was informed by the presence of persons and organisations wanting to carry out development on their land with out their consent and authorisation.

    Rahman claimed that the family, under the aegis of Oyetubo Joko-Tade Estate Resources Limited, has petitioned the Lagos State Government asking for its intervention in what it described as ‘unauthorised dealings’ on their land. The said land, he claimed, was acquired during the General Mobolaji Johnson (rtd.) regime in 1972 and covered by a Certificate of Occupancy registered as 75/75/1996AE, by an estate agent whose service they had dispensed with.

    In a letter to the Registrar of Titles, Lands Bureau, Alausa, Ikeja dated October 17, 2016, the holding company owned by the Oyemade Royal Family formally informed the state government that it had disengaged the services of the estate agent (names withheld) formerly granted the power of attorney over their land  in Sangotedo, along Lekki/Epe road in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state.

    The letter was titled: “Embargo on the grant of consent to prospective applicants on Oyetubo Joko-Tade Estate Resources Limited covered by a Certificate of Occupancy registered as 75/75/1996AE situate at Sangotedo by Monastry Road, Eti-Osa LGA, Lagos State” and signed by director of the company, Otunba Babatunde Rahman  and five shareholders viz Chief Muka Bajulaiye, Alhaja Ajimot Ashaku Adisa, Chief Adelaja Nureni, Mrs Racheal Tokede and Mr. Saliu Tajudeen.

    They urged government to deal only with the accredited representatives of the family made up of the chairman and the appointed shareholders who are representatives of  the different branches of the family in the company in respect to all transactions relating to any part of the company’s 201 hectares of land.

    The family explained that it took this decision because it has been having a running battle with the person initially granted power of attorney over mismanagement of proceeds of sale of the company’s land located at Sangotedo area of Lagos and as a result of which they have commenced a legal action to recover their funds.

    The letter written to the Registrar of Titles further stated in part: “We as director and shareholders ( being members of the three branches of the family that make up the three classes of the shareholders) of Oyetubo Joko Tade Estate Resources Limited, write to inform the Bureau as follows; “That Oyetubo Joko-Tade Estate Resources Limited is the bonafide and beneficial owner of the large expanse of land situated at Sangotedo Area of Eti-Osa LGA, Lagos State and covered by a certificate of occupancy registered as 75/75/1996AE”.

  • Lagos: no plan to privatise water corporation

    Lagos: no plan to privatise water corporation

    The Lagos State government has said it has no plans to privatise the State Water Corporation.

    Commissioner for Environment Babatunde Adejare made the clarification yesterday.

    Adejare said rather the government would partner the private sector to build water works under Public Private Partnership.

    “I want to say that we are not privatising Lagos State Water Corporation. I want that to be clear. We know it is expensive to build water treatment plants. We are constructing on Adiyan II. Already, we have Adiyan Water Treatment Plant I already working,” he said.

  • Building strong family ties dominates talks in Lagos

    Building strong family ties dominates talks in Lagos

    The family is the foundation and smallest unit of any nation, even as  the woman is said to be the basis of human existence. In the circumstances, Nigerian women from all walks of life converged on Lagos to sensitise the public to the significant role women and the family play in nation-building. MIRIAM EKENE-OKORO reports

    The 16th National Women Conference, organised by the Committee of Wives of Lagos State Government Officials (COWLSO), may have ended. However, the plethora of ideas and knowledge that participants learnt through the various speakers and facilitators at the three-day conference would linger for a very long time.

    The conference, which attracted large turnout of participants from across various segments of the society, provided a platform for women to reflect on the importance of the family in building a strong nation and how well they could contribute towards realising an egalitarian society.

    Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi and his Osun State counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who were the Guests of Honour at the event, began the conference with their enobling speeches. They described a strong family as the building block for any nation willing to develop.

    They said Nigerian women have important roles to play in the development of the country.

    For Ajimobi, the theme of the conference which was “Strong Family, Strong Nation” was timely considering recent happenings in the country.

    For Ajimobi, “to build the world right, we must first build the nation; to build a nation, we must build the family. The wife is the foundation and bedrock of the family and for a man to be successful, the woman must be everywhere around him.”

    On his part, Aregbesola noted that women play important role in building the foundation of the society.

    “Family reflects community and the woman is the foundation of life and the basis of human existence,” he said.

    In his goodwill message, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said while the importance of the family unit to the overall development of the nation was not in doubt, much emphasis must be placed on the commitment towards strengthening the family unit and building strong moral values.

    “The importance of the family unit to the overall development of any nation is not in doubt. The family is the foundation and smallest unit of any nation. The heart and conscience of a nation is formed, to a large extent, in the family. However, the issue is the amount of commitment we, in our individual capacities and as a nation, have shown towards strengthening the family unit.

    “With strong families, we can build a strong nation. But strong families will only exist in a society where nobody is left behind, where everybody has a voice and a stake. This is one of the toughest challenges facing governments–”to build an all-inclusive society”, he said.

    He further said his administration remains totally committed to empowering women as well as protecting the girl-child against all forms of negative vices, while creating viable platforms for families to bond and recreate.

    “Women are the glue that holds families together and we believe strongly that an empowered woman, with a sense of self-esteem, will be better positioned to make a success of her career and at the same time be a pillar of strength for the family,” Ambode said.

    Declaring the conference open, wife of the President, Hajiya Aisha Buhari, said COWLSO has emerged as one of the many issues that have put Lagos in the unique class of excellence.

    “What strikes me the most about the committee is that, it is an intellectual and philanthropic association, established to complement the efforts of the Lagos State Government to improve the welfare and well-being of the people,” she said.

    The President’s wife, who was represented by the wife of the Governor of Imo State, Mrs. Nneoma Okorocha, said the importance of strong family values must continue to be emphasised, saying that the absence of it gives rise to the challenges of poverty, crime and declining school performance.

    “Poverty, crime and decline in school performance are some of the challenges a country could face when families are not cohesive,” she said.

    She commended COWLSO for putting the conference together, even as she said as women; it was pertinent for them to make positive impact on the society.

    In her welcome address, wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, said the theme for the conference ‘Strong Family, Strong Nation ‘ was carefully chosen in recognition of the fact that the strength of a nation is linked to the strength of its family units.

    She said: “When family units are bound together in love and children are raised in the fear of God and high social and moral values, it begets a good and peaceful society and country, and social vices are reduced to the barest.”

    Mrs. Ambode, who is the Chairman of COWLSO, explained that most of the social challenges currently confronting the country such as drug addiction, cultism, teenage pregnancy, kidnapping, child abuse and domestic violence, among others, have their foundation in a dysfunctional family units.

    Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who was decorated with the award of grand matron of the committee, commended the gesture, adding that 28 years after COWLSO was established, the conference has grown in leaps and bounds and imparting on the society positively.

    She commended the effort of Governor Ambode, even as she appealed to Nigerians to exercise patience as the change promised by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration may tarry, but would definitely work.

    Like the opening, the closing ceremony also lived up to its billing.

    Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, shortly before declaring the conference closed, took time to expound the importance of the family unit and how modern day lifestyle was fast eroding the opportunity for family bonding.

    Oshiomhole, however, said Governor Ambode’s strategic interventions in reducing traffic congestion was not only reducing traffic and fuel consumption, but was also bringing back the good times of family bonding as travel time has reduced, hence husbands and wives don’t have excuse of traffic to get home late or leave very early.

    He said: “Over the years as Governor of Edo State, I have had cause to learn and borrow from the template Lagos was running. I am optimistic that my successor and Governor-elect, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, would be willing to borrow a leaf from the COWLSO Conference as well as the traffic management strategy of Lagos State.

    “We borrowed what is happening in Lagos to make the case for Godwin Obaseki in Edo State that Nigeria must move away from a tradition in which you have to be a celebrated politician to become eligible to contest for a political office, and that what we need in times like this are skills and people with managerial acumen and competence.

    “We readily referred to Lagos as an example of what works with a seasoned and indisputable leader such as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu laying the foundation, dreaming big, dreaming clearly and setting the vision and identifying capable young men and women to translate those visions in a manner that is unprecedented in the history of our country.”

    He further said with the achievements of governor Ambode, so far, he (the Governor) has shown that the only poverty to address is the poverty of ideas, adding that once the brain is creative and imaginative with a Governor that is ready to apply himself, there is no problem that would defy solution.

     

  • Troops to bomb militants in Ogun, Lagos creeks

    •Recovers over 53,000 jerrycans from Ishawo creek

    Plans are underway by the Nigerian military to launch a major offensive against militants at Ijedodo, Warewa and other new enclaves.

    It was gathered that the miscreants who were in July dislodged from Ishawo, Elepete and Arepo creeks relocated to those new enclaves from where they kidnap and rob residents of Lagos and Ogun states.

    As the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) would soon resume pumping of petroleum product from Atlas Cove to Mosimi, Chairman, Operation AWATSE, Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai, said nothing would be left to chance.

    During an on-the-spot assessment of the jerrycans evacuation exercise being coordinated by the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) at Ishawo creek, Bobai said the military would also embark on  aggressive patrols of the waterways.

    Aside the planned operation, Bobai said the swam buggies were also opening up the waters around Festac for easy access of the small boats newly acquired by the Chief of the Naval Staff  (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas.

    He said: “As of Friday evening, we had on record 53,000 of 50 litres jerrycan from creeks around Ishawo. That was made possible by the grace of the governor, who provided swam buggies to clear the creeks

    to enable LASEMA pull out these jerrycans.

    “As you saw when we got here, there were about three or four waves of jerrycans coming in under the protection of army, navy and other security forces. There are a lot of jerrycans all over the place.”

    On new militants’ hideout in the state, Bobai said the military was aware and ready to take them on.

    “We are aware that the militants are returning and we are ready to take them on. Very soon, petroleum products would be pumped from Atlas

    Cove to Mosimi. That would pose new challenge for us because when we

    embarked on this operation at that time, petroleum products were not

    being pumped and some of them who were out of business started kidnapping.

    “We are going to come in massively to ensure these miscreants are kept at bay. We are making progress to dislodge the miscreants from Ijedodo. We have sought permission from the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) to deploy the might we used to clear Ishawo and Elepete at Ijedodo and we are awaiting his response.

    “Once he gives the go ahead, an offensive would be launched in that area to keep the miscreants away.

    “We are aware some of the gas stations patronise these vandals and we have recommended to the government that the appropriate agency should deal with those filling stations. You can see the lineup of jerrycans here. If you begin to talk about 53,000 50 litre kegs by 50 by 145 by 20 years they have been thriving in the business, that’s a lot of money. So, we have done our own and would continue to do our best.

    “As a military officer, I was instructed by the CDS, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, to remove the shanties and dislodge the miscreants, which we have done and handed over to LASEMA.

    “Honestly, LASEMA has not seen sleep in the last two months. With the swam buggies provided by the governor, they have been working here day and night to mop up the jerrycans and other items left here by the vandals. We are just supporting LASEMA to ensure that they clean up the area.”

    On what the government would do with the jerrycans, LASEMA’s General Manager, Adeniyi Tiamiyu, said they would be sold to recycling companies.

    He supported the residents’ call for a link bridge and active maritime environment, noting that it would be impossible for criminals to hide in the swarms if the waterways were accessible.

    He said: “We would dispose the jerrycans for recycling. It would be dangerous and unethical to burn them around here. So, we have been given the mandate to take them out of here, which is what we would do.

    We would sell them to recycling companies.

    “Our concern is to bring out all remnant of their equipment inside thecreeks. I have gone into the creeks for three hours and I have observed that there are quite a lot of jerrycans still inside the place, all stringed together. Our job is to ensure the job we have been given is done.

    “We do not have the capacity of the terrain to do it, so we engaged the locals. Quite a lot of them are inside the creeks and everyday they bring out kegs and we puncture them.

    “As a government, we would ensure the vandals don’t return. I am sure the military won’t leave here until they are sure the vandals won’t return. We must commend the Nigerian military for doing a great job here.

    “We spoke to some of the community members and they attested that they were under siege before. That they saw young boys carrying guns but couldn’t do anything. Some of the residents were killed, others maimed. So, to them, it’s a big relief the military came in.

    “Another important thing I must tell you is that the whole place is ruined. There are a lot of security check points here too. The bombardment was done without a single member of the community dying.

    It was done with military precision.

    “The community has requested for a link bridge between here and the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, they have also requested that the state should open up the waterways for marine activities. I am sure if it is opened up, it would be difficult for anyone to stay here and carryout nefarious activity. So, our plan is that at the end of the exercise, we would do a report to government, state our observation and make recommendations.”

  • Parties warming up for Lagos council polls

    Parties warming up for Lagos council polls

    Though the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) is yet to come up with the timetable for fresh council polls, there are indications that the contest may hold soon. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN looks at the level of preparedness of the two major parties.

    There are indications that the much-expected local government election in Lagos State will hold very soon. Although the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC) has not officially announced the date of the election, the body language of the commission suggests it will hold any moment from now.

    To demonstrate government’s commitment to the conduct of the council election, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode recently inaugurated new members of the state electoral body headed by the immediate past Chief Judge of the state, Justice Ayotunde Philips. The governor promised that he would not interfere in the affairs of the commission.  According to him, “LASIEC, as the statutory body saddled with the responsibility of conducting local government elections, has a critical role to play in entrenching the democratic process in the state”.

    He charged members of the commission to live above board and truly live up to the public expectation as independent umpires. He added: “You must be transparent and fair to all without giving undue advantage to one party over another. This is the only way you can guarantee the credibility of the process you supervise.”

    The new commission has started strategising for a successful poll. A source close to the commission said: “We are already collating the voters’ register sourced from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). There is no way the state electoral commission can conduct credible election without having appropriate voters’ register. You will agree with me that since the last registration when INEC gave us the Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), some have not been released. We still have some outstanding 400,000 left with the electoral commission. These issues have to be addressed if we must conduct a credible election.”

     

    Controversy over delayed poll

    The last local government election in Lagos was in 2011. The councils were dissolved in November 2014. Since then, the administrations of the 57 local governments and the Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) have been under Executive Secretaries appointed by the state governor. The failure of the state goverment to conduct a fresh council election in the past two years has drawn criticisms from the opposition.

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been urging the government to conduct the polls in the last two years, saying that the delay is a deliberate ploy to deny the people of Lagos State the right to choose their representatives, to manage their affairs at the local government level. The party said it was a violation of the constitution for the state government not to conduct the poll to fill the vacant council positions within 100 days of the dissolution of the last council executives in 2014.

    But, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Publicity Secretary, Mr Joe Igbokwe, disagreed, saying the constitution allows the state governor to appoint caretaker committees to run the affairs of the councils pending the election of chairmen and councillors.

    The APC image maker insists that the PDP cannot stampede the state government into holding local government elections. He said: “We have been conducting local government elections consistently in Lagos. We cannot conduct local government elections at the prompting of the PDP. They are not in government; they are like spectators. In a football field, actors know who they are, spectators watch, clap and dance. So, they should just be onlookers. We decide what happens. There is nowhere in the constitution that says the governor should conduct election on a particular date.

    However, the Lagos PDP Chairman, Hon. Moshood Salvador, believes that the APC is deliberately delaying the council poll because it is afraid of defeat. He said: “It is someone at the top that is always afraid of coming down. Despite being in opposition, the PDP still managed to win seven House of Representatives seats and seven House of Assembly seats. The APC is dilly-dallying on the council elections in order to fix the loopholes observed in the last general elections and consolidate its grip ahead of the future elections.”

    But, Igbokwe boasted that the ruling party would defeat the PDP anytime the election is conducted, saying as far as he is concerned, there is no opposition in Lagos.

    An APC chieftain in Lagos West Senatorial District, Alhaji Ibrahim Oloruntoba, said the delay in conducting the poll is in the interest of all parties. He said: “LASIEC is making efforts to create awareness and provide a level-playing field for all contestants, which I believe, is critical to the success of the exercise. Owing to the kind of politics we play in this country, some people, especially those in opposition, have misinterpreted the good intention of the state government.”

    Oloruntoba said LASIEC is taking its time to put the necessary logistic in place to conduct a free and fair election. Even though we are anxious for the election to hold, people should relax and support the electoral body in its effort to conduct a credible council poll.”

     

    Parties’ preparation

    Observers believe the election will be a straight fight between the ruling APC and the PDP, going by the outcome of the last general elections. Both parties have intensified efforts to ensure they come tops when the election holds. The PDP, which had been accusing the APC of trying to hold on to power, is embroiled in protracted internal crisis. The challenge before the PDP is to hold successful congress, to pick new leaders, as well as candidates for the election. The contest will put to test the success recorded by the party in the last general elections; whether it was real or accidental.

    Within the APC, on the other hand, subtle campaigns have been going on in different localities; posters of aspirants for both the chairmanship and councillorship positions have flooded major streets of the metropolis. Consultative meetings have also been holding among the various stakeholders.

    The PDP Vice Chairman, Chief Ola Apena, said despite the shoddy preparations for the election by the ruling party that his party is battle-ready for the contest. He said the PDP would not boycott the election, because such action in the past was counter-productive. Apena described the former ruling party at the centre as the most credible party for the country, because the ruling APC has deceived the people and many are yearning for the PDP to take over power in next election.

    He said: “Though no date has been fixed for the election, Ambode can wake up one morning and give instruction to LASIEC to prepare for the local government poll within 30 days; though the law prescribed a minimum period of 90 days notification. Once a bill for the amendment of that law is sent to Mudashiru Obasa (Speaker) in the House of Assembly within a day, the bill would pass first, second and third reading; then it becomes a law the following day. So, we don’t want to be taken unawares.”

    On his part, the APC Chairman, Chief Henry Ajomale, said his party is prepared for the poll any time the government gives the go-ahead for it. He said: “We are prepared, even if the election is to hold tomorrow. Even though the APC is the ruling party, we are not relenting; we are still making efforts to consolidate on our popularity and acceptability by the good people of Lagos State.”

    Ajomale said it would be naive of the PDP to base its popularity on the few assembly seats it won in the last general elections. He added: “We knew what played out in that election. Former President Goodluck Jonathan relocated to Lagos in the build-up to the general election. He abandoned Abuja, the seat of government, just because he wanted to win Lagos. I understand he brought about $700 million to prosecute election in Lagos.  Besides, Ifeanyi Ubah, a benefactor of the Jonathan administration bankrolled campaign expenses of the PDP in Lagos. We are waiting to see if Jonathan and Ubah would still provide the financial war chest to Lagos PDP, as they did in the last general elections. I think it is wishful thinking for the PDP to say the party is popular enough to win the forthcoming council poll. The APC will put them where they rightly belong.”

    Salvador has reiterated the determination of his party not only to win the coming council elections, but also to chase the APC away from Alausa. He said: “We are well prepared for the local government election. If they decide to hold it tomorrow, we won’t be taken unawares. It is the APC that is afraid of losing and that is why they are foot-dragging on the conduct of the council poll.”

    The PDP chieftain said the performance of the PDP in Lagos in last year’s general elections was not a fluke. He added: “It has nothing to do with the money spent by Jonathan to win presidential election in the state. It is wrong for the APC to conclude that the millions of dollars Jonathan brought to Lagos that was responsible for the PDP’s impressive performance.

    “We worked hard to win election in areas we won. Our candidates won on merit. We prevailed and convinced the electorate on the programmes of our party and the integrity of our candidates. People are no longer interested in money or gift offered by the contestants. Money is no longer the determinant factor; what matters is the antecedents or the integrity of the candidates.

    “The people of Lagos State are tired of the APC and they decided to have a change by voting for PDP candidates. So far, our elected candidates have not disappointed them, because they are keeping to the developmental programmes promised the electorate in their constituencies. The same strategy we are going to use for the local council election. We have started mobilising from house-to-house to create awareness about the importance of the election.”

    Explaining why aspirants on PDP platform are yet to display posters, Salvador said: “What we need now is regular consultation between the aspirants and the electorate; this is the time for the aspirants to work underground and showcase their programmes to the members of the community. Only few of our aspirants have put up posters, because LASIEC has not released the time-table for the election. It will be a futile effort putting up posters and banners for the election you are not sure of when it will hold.”

    To the Assistant APC Publicity Secretary, Mr Abiodun Salami, the party’s victory in the council poll is not negotiable. He has no doubts that his party would retain its hold on the state because, according to him, the APC is a grassroots party.

    He said: “As a party, we are prepared. We have been mobilising our people as it is our responsibility to do, as directed by LASIEC. It is the regulatory agency for the council election in Lagos State. We are waiting for their directives. We are preparing, just like the Boys’ Scouts, to win the election genuinely in Lagos, as we have always done.”

    On the APC’s strategy for victory, he said: “We want to keep that to our chest as a party. You do not expect us to publicise our preparation and our strategies. We do not want our opponents to take advantage of us. However, we are mobilising our members and our co-ordinators.”

    He was also not perturbed by the level of success recorded by the PDP in the state during the last general elections, as he attributed such victory to the handiwork of those he termed “enemies within”. But he stressed that the issue has been resolved and that the APC would be going to the local government poll as a one united family.