The National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has relocated its Inspectorate Directorate from the head office in Abuja to the Lagos Control office for better service delivery to stakeholders.
This was made known in a press statement yesterday made available to journalists by Head, Corporate Affairs, Rasaaq Salami in Lagos.
Salami stated that the relocation is part of an ongoing restructuring exercise aimed at improving efficiency of the workforce and bringing the Commission closer to the regulated entities for effective insurance industry supervision.
He said: “For the records, the Directorate is saddled with the responsibility of conducting on-site inspection of insurance entities for the Commission. It is imperative to note that over 90 per cent of insurance operators are headquartered in Lagos being the hub of commercial and economic activities in the country.
“Thus, this exercise will ensure prompt and regular inspection of these insurance firms which include Insurance Companies and Brokers. The industry operators are enjoined to take advantage of this proximity to the Inspectors to enjoy quicker and efficient service delivery from the Regulator”, he added.
Tag: lagos
-
NAICOM relocates Inspectorate Directorate to Lagos
-
Rotary provides water, bags for Lagos schools
The District Governor of the Rotary International District 9110, Rotarian Patrick Ikheloa has praised the Rotary Club of Omole Golden for presenting school bags and providing access to potable water for four public schools in Ifako Ijaiye Local Government Area of Lagos State.
Ikheloa spoke when he led other district leaders to inaugurate the water project at the African Church Primary School, Idi-Agbon area of the local government. Other schools that benefited from the water scheme were Karaole Primary School, Coker Primary School and Ayanleye
Primary School.
He said for the club to embark on the water project shows that it remained committed to promoting healthy environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.
He also distributed 1,000 school bags to primary four and five pupils of the four schools on behalf of the club.
Ikheloa also praised the club for deeming it fit to not only provide safe water for the pupils, but also in giving them befitting school bags in which to carry their books to school.
He said more of such projects would be extended to many other schools and communities within the district before the end of the year.
Reeling off some of the achievements of the club in recent time, the President of the Club, Rotarian Titilayo Sunmonu said the club resolved to unveil the water project and distribution of school bags to coincide with the new session which opened on September 19, even as she revealed that the gesture was to commemorate the World Humanitarian Day, which was celebrated on August 19.
In his remark, the Education Secretary, Ifako-Ijaiye, Mr Adeyemi Jongbo expressed his satisfaction with the club’s gesture. He called on other well-meaning groups and individuals to render life-changing services to people, especially the downtrodden.
Earlier at a breakfast fellowship, the club inducted new members, just as it honoured, among others, Rotarian Michael Oshinibosi as a Paul Harris Fellow, and a major donor in recognition of his contributions to the club.
-
Lagos taskforce arrests 11 suspects in abandoned building
Lagos State Taskforce on Environmental and Special Offences has paraded 11 suspects arrested from an abandoned building at Ikoyi axis of the state.Taskforce chairman Mr Yinka Egbeyemi, who paraded the suspect made up of eight women and three men, said they were arrested at an abandoned building owned by a deceased retired military officer.He said the operation was in line with the ongoing exercise the Special Committee on clean up Ikoyi and Victoria island to dislodge miscreants and squatters from abandoned buildings in the area.Egbeyemi said residents in the area have raised series of complaints on the onto ward activities going on in the building especially at dusk.He added that when interrogated, all the suspects could not offer explanations on their means of livelihood.He added that all the suspects would be charged to court soon based on circumstantial evidence, just as he warned that the committee is resolute about its determination to rid ikoyi and VI of abandoned buildings and miscreants.He emphasised that the next stop of the Clean Up committee is Lekki where all such infractions have been identified and would be cleared to restore the original master plan of the areas.The chairman also informed that before this latest operation, the Task Force had earlier gone to the same abandoned building which has become a convergence point for all sorts of characters including uniformed men who allegedly purchased alcohol and drugs.He warned those involve in this act to relocate so as to avoid the wrath of the law.He said after the first visit, a surveillance was placed on the building which is close to the Ikoyi Police Station and indicated that different questionable characters were still patronising the place and terrorising the residents, a development which spurred the Clean-up team to act.The paraded suspects including Ajoke Precious 22 from Kogi, Akaana Agateh 26 from Benue, Agbo Elizabeth 18 also from Benue State, Augustin Mary, Benue, Ajanjo Blessing 24, Mary Douglas from Bayelsa 22 and Mati Dodi, 28.The suspect while speaking with journalists claimed they all engage in menial jobs and were assisted by one military personnel named Salau to be staying in the building since they had accommodation issues.They all denied paying any rent to the said Salau who squats them, adding that they were only allowed to stay on compassionate ground pending when they would be able to arrange themselves.22 year old Mary Douglas, said she arrived in Lagos in January to stay with her uncle who has since relocated out of Lagos.She added that the necessity to make ends meet forced her to stay back and seek alternative accommodation means while she sells fairly used clothes at Obalende P& T to cater for her needs. -
Lagos court dissolves policeman’s 12-year-old loveless marriage
An Agege Customary Court in Lagos on Tuesday dissolved the 12-year-old marriage between a policeman, Patrick Idoko and his wife, Udoka, over infidelity, lack of love and trust.
Patrick, 40, from Benue State, who described his wife as troublesome and uncaring, approached the court to dissolve the marriage on grounds of infidelity, lack of love and care for him and the four children of the union.
He said the marriage was crisis-free until two years ago when he suspected Udoka was having extra-marital affairs.
“l set a trap for her and she fell for it on January 12 and since then, my wife refused to come home.
“Due to her shameful act, she left me and I have been taking care of the children.”
The petitioner said he secretly installed a memory card on the new phone he bought for her to record her conversations.
“The playback of the phone revealed the secret conversations between the respondent and her secret lover.”
In her response, Udoka, denied all the allegations made against her and pleaded with the court not to dissolve the marriage, attributing her travails to rumour mongers in their neighbourhood.
The petitioner had earlier accepted to take the woman back on the condition that she subjected herself to some “spiritual cleansing”.
The respondent agreed to the terms but, refused to follow the husband to the village for the cleansing.
Dissolving the union, the President of the court, Mr Philip Williams, said: “The relationship between the couple has broken down completely and the respondent shows she is no more interested in the marriage.”
He asked both parties to go their separate ways and warned them to desist from blackmailing and harassing each other.
The president warned the respondent not to go to the petitioner’s residence, work place or his church to cause trouble and directed that the marriage dissolution certificate should be sent to Udoka to inform her about the development.
-
Accident simulation staged in Lagos
Lagos State Emergency Service has staged a simulation exercise involving an accident between a tanker and a car in which two were casualties trapped.
A multi-agency rescue operation was activated, and the two casualties were extracted and transported by air and road for treatment.
The exercise, which held at the Lekki Toll Gate last Thursday, was to showcase the operational capacity and ability of the agency to speedily respond to distress calls from any part of the state.
It was also intended to improve the response time of various agencies in the state emergency service and finetune procedures to enhance their efficiency towards making a remarkable difference in actual life and death situations.
Although such exercise could result in disruptions and delays to commuters, an emergency and Disaster Management analyst, Ibrahim Sobola, said the inconveniencies that follow emergency drills constitute state’s investments towards improvement of emergency services and a higher standard of service delivery to the people by the different agencies and government.
However, the success of the demonstration showed the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode administration will ensure that response time to emergencies are kept at the minimum.
It is also a reflection of the renewed focus and commitment by the state to reduce fatalities and tragedies from accidents.
With the renewed orientation of the agencies, the government said “the strength of the state is its people, and that the government will spare no expense and effort in safeguarding the lives of Lagosians and visitors in the state.
“The government promised to continually upgrade and improve emergency services, both in terms of the purchase and use of effective and vital equipment in disaster situations as well as building capacity in emergency services personnel through training and retraining.”
-
Lagos screens 600 intending pilgrims
The Lagos State government has begun administrative and medical screening for about 600 intending Jerusalem pilgrims.
Secretary of the State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board Mrs. Olayinka Oye-Bamgbose, who spoke at the Chapel of Christ the Light Church, Alausa, venue of the exercise, enjoined pilgrims to make the best use of the opportunity.
She said the journey to Israel was not for tourism, but a religious exercise to enable them to see the things the Bible documented for spiritual growth.
According to her, “pilgrimage is not for tourism, but a journey to walk in the footsteps of Christ.
” Whatever it is that was read in the Bible comes alive during this journey.”
She said preparations have been put in place to take care of the pilgrims, adding that a team of medical personnel are on ground to handle any health challenges.
“As you can see, part of what is going on here is health screening for pilgrims and this will further tell you that we are prepared for the journey.”
-
Senate and special status for Lagos
Senators were recently engaged in fierce debates over a bill seeking for an Act to make special provision for federal grants to Lagos State in recognition of its strategic socio-economic significance and other connected purposes. The bill, sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (Lagos Central), purportedly sparked huge uproars at the upper chamber that it took the frantic intervention of Senator Ike Ekweremadu who presided to still fraying nerves.
An earlier bill on the subject presented during the 7th Senate was turned down at the committee level on the ground that such status should be a matter of political decision, which should be kept out of the constitution. Thus, it could be said that with the 8th Senate, the bill made an appreciable progress.
It is important to stress that in a multi-ethnic and evolving democracy like ours, several of the tendencies that frustrated the Lagos special status bill cannot be entirely wished away. Nevertheless, it should be emphasized that it is rather regrettable that the bill was majorly discarded because it was perceived by its protagonists as a Lagos bill.
The truth, however, is that the need to accord a special status for Lagos is more of a national project. There is hardly any Nigerian that doesn’t have a stake in Lagos. A special federal grant for Lagos is, therefore, a necessary blueprint for the development of the country. Being the pane through which the whole world views the country, granting a special status to Lagos remains the best possible way to drive Nigeria’s development as Lagos is the country’s most industrialized city with needs that align with national growth and development.
On the position that Lagos State already has sufficient resources to meet its needs, it is important to affirm that the population, cosmopolitan and commercial standing of the state put a huge pressure on both its resources and infrastructure. The present downturn in the national economy equally exerts further pressure on Lagos as many see the City State as a place that offers a glimpse of hope for economic survival. Consequently, according to a recent survey, Lagos witnesses the influx of about 25, 000 people daily from all walks of life.
Lagos State government, in the last 16 years, has invested a huge amount of money on infrastructure development, especially construction of drainages, durable roads, beautification and restoration of parks to forestall the negative impact of flooding, erosion and other environmental hazards. However, these efforts are not enough for obvious reasons. Today, Lagos does about 9,000 metric tons of refuse daily, more than what the whole of Ghana is generating. The branch networks that some banks have in Lagos outstrip what they have in the whole country. The number of heavy duty trucks and other vehicles that ply Lagos roads on a daily basis is quite alarming. Same goes for the number of pupils in its public schools as well as those that daily visit its public hospitals. Consequently, the state spends more on infrastructure upgrade and provision of other basic life necessities than any state in the country.
Aside the pressure on its infrastructure, there is a crucial moral angle to the quest to accord Lagos a special status. When the FCT was moved from Lagos to Abuja, there was a subsisting agreement that the city would not be abandoned. Indeed, the Late General Murtala Mohammed acknowledged the onerous nature of the responsibility of leaving Lagos alone to deal with the burden of infrastructure the federal government was leaving behind then.
No nation grows by treating the needs of its golden geese with discomfiture since the future growth of the country’s economy is tied to the development of Lagos which generates the bulk of the VAT accruable to the country, hosts over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s industrial hub, over 65 per cent of its financial nucleus and over 75 per cent of its active workforce. With each day, the population and needs of Lagos continue to increase to reflect this important role. As the economic hub and former capital of Nigeria, Lagos remains the first port of call for eager millions of youths from all parts of the country who long for means of survival from the uncertainties of a struggling economy like ours.
It is hoped that the upper chamber and other critical stakeholders would rise above sentimental considerations and treat the issue at stake more dispassionately. In order to ensure that new windows are opened for development and growth in the national economy, it is only rational that the federal government constructively engages Lagos for a partnership that would enhance the prosperity of not only the state but the country at large.
- Tayo Ogunbiyi,
Ministry of Information and Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.
-
Lagos waits for APC identity
DAYS after the Senate rebuffed legislative efforts to secure a special funding status for Lagos State to become Nigeria’s pre-eminent rainbow state, the federal government incredibly dragged the same state to the Supreme Court asking for judicial intervention in further depleting the state’s revenue. The federal government has so far been unable to cobbled together a plan to help Lagos cope with the increasingly burdensome influx of job seekers despite long-standing promises to ameliorate the state’s migration woes; now it is proceeding more avidly towards terrifying schemes to increase those woes. In 2009, Lagos State had passed a law to collect token Wharf landing fees, and is estimated to have collected some billions of naira. The fees, said the sulking federal government which filed the case during the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, violated the provisions of the constitution.
Last Monday, reports indicated that the federal government asked for leave of court to tinker with its brief on the case, and had been given a next year date. Whether the effort to amend its brief is technical or political is not clear at the moment. But perhaps the federal government is uncomfortable with the sensitivity of the case, especially because it might pit it against Lagos State despite both parties being members of the same fractious All Progressives Congress (APC). Or perhaps, the brief does really need to be amended for legal and technical reasons on account of the passage of time. Whatever the case, it promises to be a very delicate matter that will strike at the heart of the peace within the ruling party and the relationship between the party’s constituent and sometimes competing states.
One of the campaign points APC members and leaders in Lagos State vociferously made during the 2015 elections, especially after President Muhammadu Buhari was elected and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaigns became frantic to snatch the governorship position, was that the desire for a special status for the state would be facilitated once the APC won at the national level. The APC escaped humiliation in Lagos by the skin of their teeth. Nearly two years after that spectacular escape, and with the next elections not too far away, it is frightening that the desire to secure a special status for Lagos has not found sympathy even among APC legislators, while more worrisomely the APC presidency has blithely inherited a contentious and punishing case against the coastal state.
What is becoming clear is that the ruling APC in Abuja has neither a true national image nor an emotional connection with its roots, especially given the role Lagos played in the emergence and consolidation of the party nationally and the victory of President Buhari. It is well known that Lagos bears a disproportionate burden of job seekers and those in search of a better life. However, the state’s facilities are stretched to breaking point without the government at the centre initiating any scheme to succour the state since the federal capital moved from Lagos. Now it is clear that there is deliberate or hidden animosity against the state, with the state left alone to cater to its ballooning population and even carrying some of the law enforcement burdens of the federal government.
If current and observable social and economic indicators do not persuade the Buhari presidency to speedily and forcefully alleviate the state’s burden, the injustices embedded in the census figures of the past two decades or so, particularly as it affects Lagos, ought to compel a frantic and sympathetic approach to the state’s needs. Lagos State’s population has grown phenomenally, but for reasons that are unclear has not been reflected in the country’s population statistics, a statistics notoriously corrupted by political and ethnic considerations, as the 1962 and 1963 censuses frustratingly indicate. By every known yardstick, including United Nations estimates, Lagos is the most populous state in Nigeria. Yet, its revenue allocation has been appallingly low partly because of the unfairness entrenched in decades of local government creation. Even by official census figures, Lagos and Kano have approximately the same population, yet on account of land mass alone, Kano State with 44 local governments has more than double that of Lagos with 20.
More distressing, Lagos generates about 60 percent of Nigeria’s value added tax, but receives an unfair share of the revenue, comparatively less than the 13 percent derivation which oil producing states get from federal allocation. If the Buhari presidency will not give succour to Lagos, as the party campaigned in 2015 to defeat a resurgent PDP, it should at least not compound its woes by suing the state for Wharf landing taxes. The federal government has withdrawn the case against Lagos to amend its brief. It should not represent it.
-
Towards a better waste management regime in Lagos
Waste management or waste disposal has been a challenge for the Lagos State government for decades.
The government has adopted several strategies to manage the whopping 15,000 tonnes of garbage generated daily in the over-crowded city-state that receives immigrants almost on a daily basis from other parts of the country and beyond.
Thorough the responsible agency, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), government had in the past explored several measures such as the use of private sector players (PSP), which are facing stiff competition from the infamous but somewhat preferred cart pushers.
In a bid to achieve better results, LAWMA has also attempted managing waste through characterisation, improved technology and partnering with other nations.
However, only limited success has been achieved. Indeed, health hazards due to the activities of the PSPs, the ageing equipment they deploy, sharp practices by cart pushers, and the sorry state of the waste dump sites have all colluded to put the situation in a state of desperation.
The need for an urgent action to turn around the conditions cannot be over-emphasised.
In fact, there is the need for an elaborate and standardised regulation of the environment of Lagos State, in line with international best practices, while taking cue from locations such as the United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Kenya, Namibia, and New York City in the United States.
Lagos and New York City, for instance, are two mega cities that mean the same in terms of entertainment, commerce and global trends. While Lagos has a population of 21 million with an estimated population density of 13,405/sq.km, New York City has a population of 23 million with a population density of 10,833/sq.km.
In fact, while New York with its huge population has been able to successfully handle the massive amount of waste generated daily, Lagos, on the other hand, is struggling with storage, collection and disposal of her waste.
New York has about 120 landfills sites while Lagos has only six landfills, with only three of the six functioning. This is grossly inadequate for the Lagos metropolis, considering that she generates approximately the same amount of waste as New York does, even so, a huge percentage of this is solid waste.
Aside struggling with disposal of the enormous amount of waste generated daily, Lagos has not been able to effectively collect her waste. This is exemplified as waste littering roadsides, waste being disposed into drainages, and overflowing public bins, among several others. There is a huge gap in collection and the PSP operators obviously struggle with the huge amount of waste they have to collect.
New York has successfully been able to collect her waste through several methods including government-regulated commercial waste systems in which they have over 250 commercial waste haulers, as well as dispose effectively through recycling methods and landfills. In that part of the world, waste is wealth. In Nigeria, and Lagos to be precise, waste is a curse rather than a blessing – it’s simply a disaster waiting to happen.
It has been shown that only 60% of the daily wastes collected in New York go to the landfills compared to about 95% in Lagos.
Lagos must, as a matter of urgency, start recycling as an alternative to landfilling. It has been seen that the heavy reliance on landfills has brought about environmental pollution and several health hazards to residents around the sites as seen in the Olusosun landfill, which today remains the largest landfill site in the country.
The Olusosun dump site is nothing but as a disaster waiting to happen and the need for a quick action from government is long overdue. The dump site at Isolo also requires an urgent intervention from the authorities.
There is likewise the need to allow for a coordinated and effective private sector participation in the management of the environment, as well as the provision for an organised judicial framework for the administration of environmental laws in Lagos State in other to make this happen.
Similarly, there is the need to explore newer methods of collection to help effectively handle the waste generated. Other collection agencies need to be employed as it is obvious that the PSP operators alone can’t handle the massive amount of waste.
The Akinwunmi Ambode administration should tackle this hydra-headed problem without minding whose ox is gored. The speed and enthusiasm with which the present administration tackled the Light-up Lagos initiative should be deployed to combat this age long problem that has now grown to become a monster.
The recent clean up exercise embarked upon in highbrow areas of Lagos like Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikoyi should be extended to the waste management sector.
Government must, as a matter of urgency, seek help from those who have managed waste in mega cities around the world, while bearing in mind the nation’s – and the state’s – peculiar solid waste generation status.
- Samuel, an Environmental rights activist sent this piece from Lagos.
-
Lagos kicks off literacy project
Lagos State has launched the Kick Illiteracy out of Lagos Eko N Ke KO (Lagos is Learning). The literacy project aims at increasing literacy rate in the state by 95 per cent.
It was launched a week ago at the Police College, Ikeja, by Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was represented by his Deputy, Dr Oluranti Adebule, who also supervises the Ministry of Education in the state.
The Governor said the initiative targets illiterate Lagosians in every age group.
Ambode said the project entailed spreading literacy centres across the state in order to increase access for Lagosians as well as multiply and diversify delivery channels for literacy content.
He said various centres have been located across the state in such a way that would make it most accessible to people.
Ambode said the state already has 532 centres, adding that government plans additional 100 basic and post literacy centres in due course.
The programme, the governor explained, is for nine-month duration for each applicant, with a certificate equivalent to that of Primary Three.
He said: “We will aggressively promote radio literacy programmes, mobile literacy centres, and other innovative channels would be used as well as the social media.
“Upon resumption, I promised and assured Lagosians of our avowed commitment to the vision of providing equitable, functional, effective and quality education for all the citizens. This is a long term project.”
He added that the project will partner other stakeholders who are involved in adult and mass literacy programmes.
The Governor’s Special Adviser on Education, Mr Olufela Bank-Olemoh, said the project was to ensure that illiteracy is kicked out of the state.
“Those who benefit from this training will no longer lack basic literacy, numeracy and essential life skills, which make them more efficient and capable to resist criminal and anti social groups,” Olemoh added.
He said textbooks, exercise books, erasers and pencils would be given to the beneficiaries of this project.