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Tag: lagos

  • Police and new Lagos traffic laws

    Governor Ambode has in a little over a year  justified the confidence reposed on him by Lagosians who during the last election, chose him over  JimiAgbaje, currently engaged in a public brawl with Bode George, his ‘father’ over PDP chairmanship. I believe he has also so far proved he is a worthy successor to his trail-blazing predecessors. Ambode remains a silent operator allowing his creativity and resourcefulness to shine through the quality of governance. Determined to outstrip the giant strides of his predecessors, his Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)projected target for 2017 is N30billion, a great leap from the paltry N600m Bola Tinubu inherited in 1999 and even the humongous N17b he inherited from Fashola, his immediate predecessor. The Nation’s Sam Omatseye describes him as ‘Nigeria’s alpha governor’ whose Lagos ‘is the only vibrant state in the federation’.

    Ambode understands insecurity is the greatest threat to a mega city. His administration therefore went ahead in February to inaugurate a new traffic laws and relevant punishments in an effort to build on the security architecture he inherited.  Speaking on behalf of the governor during its inauguration, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Atilade, the Chief Judge of Lagos State was specific on the targets of the government new crusade. “Those who choose to make life difficult for other people, especially on our roads; those who engage in flagrant disregard or violation of traffic rules with impunity; break traffic rules at will and cause needless traffic snag, drive against traffic and beat the traffic lights, destroy traffic furniture and infrastructure, drive across the road median and through their lawlessness and irresponsible actions, daily inflict pains, grieve and sorrow on fellow citizens.” These “few recalcitrant and obstinate drivers and road users who impede businesses, maim innocent people or send people to their early graves”, the administration swore to battle on behalf of Lagosians.

    Some of the new 11 laws and their attendant punishment include ‘One-Way’ driving which attract a penalty of three years; abandoning vehicle on highway which attracts a fine of N50,000 or three years imprisonment, or both; Motorcycle riding against traffic, smoking while driving, disobeying traffic control, riding motor cycle without crash helmet etc. each of which attracts a fine of N20,000. Many believe the fines are harsh and the intended objectives – whether deterrence or to raise revenues for the state – are nebulous and unattainable. But most Lagosians trust Ambode and therefore have no quarrel with government over the new crusadeto free the people from the menace of ill-bred motorists. It was in this spirit I had sarcastically advised a neighbour who complained two weeks back that his daughter was fleeced of N6,000 for driving with expired vehicle licence by some policemen in Ikeja, an offence outside the new traffic laws, that he and his daughter must learn to be good citizens by having their vehicle papers renewed as at when due.

    Little did I realize the joke was on me until I became a victim last Friday. I was flagged down by one Inspector who by her name tag is probably from Edo North at about 2.30 p.m, a few metres from Ikeja LGA secretariat. I enthusiastically handed over all my vehicle particulars even though she had demanded only for my drivers’ license believing everything was up to date. Moments later she said she was impounding my vehicle because my vehicle license expired few days earlier. Before I realized she was not joking, a police sergeant who by his name tag is of Benin extraction was inside my car ordering me to drive to their station next to Ikeja LGA office.

    At the station, I met about a dozen others engaged in an on-going negotiation anchored by a fair complexioned police woman. My offence, which is driving with expired vehicle licence, I was told, attracts a fine of N20,000 at the Alausa mobile court. Being a Friday, if I failed to come back by 4pm, my car would be impounded until Monday with a possibility of it attracting a demurrage fine of N10,000. I could save myself all the trouble with an option of paying a police fine of N5.000. I craved their indulgence to collect the amount from a nearby ATM machine. They obliged.

    With the illegal police fine collected in the presence of everyone by the sergeant, my impounded car was released. In less than 10 minutes and armed with my renewed vehicle licence obtained from the LGA office next to the police station, I returned and insisted on reporting the extortion to the DPO. As expected, I was told I could only seethe officer incharge of traffic offences.  After patiently listening to my tales, he said neither he nor the DPO sent anyone to collect money on their behalf. He admitted however that there are rotten eggs in the lower cadre of the police but quickly added they were laid by the matured chickens currently in charge of affairs of the police. He then wanted to know if my mission was to retrieve my N5,000.But remembering the great Zik’s admonition that it is only a mad man who argues with an armed Nigerian police, I told him my mission was to find out from the DPO what is being done to stop the extortion of Nigerians which was going on with impunity under his nose.

    Aswe stood talking beside one of the new vehicles procured by Lagos State with public fund to wage the new crusade, harmless members of the public were streaming in and out of the office where bargaining and haggling take place before extortion. In the little over 30 minutes I spent in Ikeja Police station, I did not see a single “danfo” bus driver, the notorious traffic offender among those arrested for traffic offences. Of course none of the accosted traffic offenders needed to go to Alausa to pay fine. Not even a woman who was tongue-lashed and dismissed as ‘ the archetypal troublesome Benin woman who always wants to prove she knows the law more than the police’, for insisting that the FRSC and VIOare the two bodies empowered by law to arrest those who drive with expired vehicle licences and not the police, was sent to Alausa. The woman later confessed she parted with N6,000 for her own double-barreled offence- driving with expired drivers’ licence and expired motor vehicle licence.

    The Ikeja encounter I have since learnt is what goes on in police stations across Lagos. To prevent the Nigeria Police, which as structured can be loyal to neither the nation-state nor its constituent units, drawing a wedge between him and the Lagos citizens, Ambode must excuse the police from the handling of traffic offences while he embarks on massive investment in LASTMA.  First, traffic is a local affair all over the world except in Nigeria where the federal government, blinded by a desire to control all aspects of our life forgets that the answer to some of our current challenges such as gathering intelligence about members of avengers, checking the menace of the so-called Fulani herdsmen or cattle rustlers and consolidating the gains we have made in the liberated north-east is local policing.

    By the time the federal government wakes up from its slumber and realizes that restructuring the bungling and ineffective Nigerian police is inevitable, Ambode’s investments on LASTMA would have started to yield dividends for Lagos State.

  • Lagos to demolish structures on drains

    Lagos to demolish structures on drains

    All structures on drainage channels and alignments hampering the free flow of water in Lagos are to be demolished.

    The Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Babatunde Adejare, gave the order during a tour of dark drainage spots during last weekend’s downpour.

    The tour, which took the Commissioner and the Ministry’s officials and those of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) to Sogunle-Ikeja, Ajiran in Lekki and Salawe/Taike in Ikosi-Ketu, among other areas in the state, disclosed that most of the flooded areas had been blocked by refuse dumps, illegal structures on low lying areas, flood plains and drainage channels.

    Adejare, while empathising with the affected communities, assured the victims of the flood that  Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has ordered interventions, including re-dredging of all drainages and canals impacted by the incident to prevent any loss of lives and property.

    Adejare appealed to residents located on the state’s low-lying areas and flood plains to relocate to higher grounds, considering that heavier rains were in the offing ahead.

    Lagosians, he warned, should desist from dumping refuse into the drainage channels because they are meant to drain water and not for waste.

    “I am appealing to residents not to dump refuse into the drains. We must manage our waste and package them well so that they don’t find their ways into the canals. Our men have been working on the canals since weekend,” he said.

    The state, he said, had since last year, embarked on massive clearing and dredging of primary and secondary channels/collectors, expansion of existing drainage channels, to contain more storm water, lining of many earth channels, to ensure flow efficiency, full mobilisation of resident engineers/drainage maintenance officers to oversee drainage matters in all the local government areas/LCDA’s across the state and regular monitoring and oversight of other environmental challenge.

    Allaying the fears of flooding, he said: “Lagos, as a coastal state is susceptible to flash floods anytime it rained with high intensity and residents of low line areas were especially prone to the back flow effect. We are likely to have flashfloods on our roads as normal occurrences all over the world. As long as the drains are clean, we should be assured that, in a matter of time, the flash floods will disappear.”

    The Commissioner explained that when flood water remained on the roads for days, there could be flooding. “It must be noted that, anytime the Lagoon level rises, it will ‘lock up’ our drainage channels and until it recedes, there will be no discharge. Occurrences like these also cause backflows, resorting to flooding. But, as soon as the Lagoon recedes, all the generated storm water will immediately discharge and our roads will be free,” he explained.

    The Nigeria Meteorological Agency and Nigeria Hydrological Service Agency, in their 2016 Annual Flood Outlook warned that this year’s flooding would be higher than that of last year. The predictions indicated that coastal cities like Lagos will experience “flooding, sea-level rise and tidal surges’’.”

    The agency named Ogun-Osun as one of the River Basins, which will experience flooding, urging the communities in the adjoining plains to keep safe distances.

    Adejare, therefore, advised Lagosians who reside along flood plains, coastal and low-lying wetland areas near major rivers, such as Ikorodu, Owode, Iwaya, Makoko, Badia, Ijora, Isaalu, Pota, and Sibiri, to always be on the alert, adding that when the need arises the government shall notify such residents.

    He added that low lying areas were vulnerable to flooding, and that they were natural courses of water which ought not to be converted to residential abodes.

    He said most of the incidence of flooding in the state were caused by human errors, which could have been averted if there was attitudinal change and appropriate use of drainage channels.

  • Lagos earmarks N15.5m for student entrepreneurs

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has approved  N15.5 million as seed funds and grants for final year students of Lagos State tertiary institutions enrolled in the Ready.Set.Work (RSW) entrepreneurship/employability training programme.

    The N15.5million will be distributed as working capital among the top three teams to emerge from the RSW Business Pitch Competition, scheduled to hold September 3, 2016.

    The competition will feature as curtains lower on the initiative, which exposed 500 final year students of the Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), and the Lagos State College of Health Technology to 13 weeks of employability and entrepreneurship training since June.

    Special Adviser to the governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh said in a statement that about 80 of the best performing students in the entrepreneurship stream of the initiative would undergo three-six months’ apprenticeship learning from seasoned entrepreneurs on how to run successful businesses.

    This is in addition to 90 students from the employability stream who would be placed on six-month internships with such firms as PwC, SystemSpecs, FCMB, GTBank, Access Bank, TOTAL, Jobberman, and Stutern, among others.

    He said: “Our focus from the onset has been providing students in Lagos State with the tools, knowledge, and know-how to become effective employees or job creators. We already secured 90 internship slots for students in the employability track of the program and we realised that students in the entrepreneurship track could also benefit from experience in a structured, supervised work setting, where they can learn the rudiments of running a business effectively.”

  • Lagos earmarks N15.5m for student entrepreneurs

    The Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has approved  N15.5 million as seed funds and grants for final year students of Lagos State tertiary institutions enrolled in the Ready.Set.Work (RSW) entrepreneurship/employability training programme.

    The N15.5m will be distributed as working capital among the top three teams to emerge from the RSW Business Pitch Competition, scheduled to hold September 3, 2016.

    The competition will feature as curtains lower on the initiative, which exposed 500 final year students of the Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), and the Lagos State College of Health Technology to 13 weeks of employability and entrepreneurship training since June.

    Special Adviser to the governor on Education, Mr Obafela Bank-Olemoh said in a statment that about 80 of the best performing students in the entrepreneurship stream of the initiative would undergo three-six months’ apprenticeship learning from seasoned entrepreneurs on how to run successful businesses.

    This is in addition to 90 students from the employability stream who would be placed on six-month internships with such firms as PwC, SystemSpecs, FCMB, GTBank, Access Bank, TOTAL, Jobberman, and Stutern, among others.

    He said: “Our focus from the onset has been providing students in Lagos State with the tools, knowledge, and know-how to become effective employees or job creators.”

  • New road for Lagos community, 35 years after

    Alhaji Idowu Street, Akowonjo, Lagos suburb was not where to be. For no less than 35 years, the people were given false hope. The problem was the state of their road. And when it rained, things were worse. Shops became temporary streams. Buildings were often submerged. Residents had a lot to worry about as properties were damaged and sometimes, little school children were swept away. Life was quite unpleasant.

    But all that has ended now. Thanks to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. Idowu Street now has a good road complete with street lights which make it look like a paradise at night. The people could not contain their joy the first time the lights were switched on at night.

    With the neatly-arranged interlocking blocks set on the graded road accompanied by good drainage system, residents can go to bed without fear, walk without stumbling and drive confidently. Most of all, property owners can experience value addition.

    This accounts for why they can’t keep mute about the gesture. To express their elation to the government for providing such a standard road construction and illuminating the streets with lights, they have described the gesture as “a lifetime gift from Governor Ambode.”

    The Secretary of the Community Development Association (CDA), Mr. Dipo Kehinde, said: “Whenever there was rain, most houses would be flooded. Many businesses suffered because of the bad roads in the community. I’m an artist. Some art collectors came twice to check out my works.

    “When they got to our street, they went back because of the roads. It happened twice. We called this road the jinxed road because different contractors had tried to fix it without success. But the jinx is now finally broken. We’re all happy.”

    A resident, Alhaji Moshood Idowu, who the street is named after, said: “We thank Governor Ambode for giving us a lifetime gift. Some businesses have suffered here because of the bad state of the road. The road was so terrible so much so that we could not cross from some point to another.

    “We had called on all our community leaders to co-operate with the government so that Lagos State will continue to excel than others. What they have done here is a mega road in a mega city for a mega community. Luckily, we also have a Nigerian who has the interest of the people at heart as the contractor, Bashaul Construction Company. What he has done here is a world-class engineering work. In fact, he has given us additional construction which is not part of his contract.”

    Idowu urged the government to encourage competent indigenous firms by awarding contracts to them.

    He said: “We appeal to government to also select capable indigenous contractors who have the interest of the people at heart. If they give Bashaul Fourth Mainland Bridge, he will perform.

    ”The contractors are working with so much sincerity; they should be praised. They have done a first-class job. The government has also done well. The fixing of our community roads was a realised dream. These engineers are committed to the project,” he said.

    The Chairman of the Street Community Development, Chief Olaleye Ayanwale, also praised the government for bringing the long-awaited expectation to fruition. Having resided on Alhaji Idowu Street for 34 years, he said he didn’t expect to witness the rehabilitation of the road because he was already aged.

    “I relocated from FESTAC Town to this street in 1982. Since then, we have been pleading with successive administrations to fix the road without any success. Usually, we heard that the contract had been awarded several times but we don’t see the physical effect. They even diverted it to other places such as the estate near us.

    “Now that it has come to our turn, we appreciate the present governor for the gesture. I didn’t think I would be alive to see it.

    “We have made entreaties to government over construction of our roads here. There had been promises, but nothing ever happened. Each time they slated our community roads for construction, it would be diverted. Now, we see this happening; we are happy. It’s for our own benefit. We really appreciate Ambode and the construction company. We thought it wouldn’t happen in our life time.

    “The contractors are doing excellent job. The monarch promised that those whose buildings were affected during expansion and construction of the roads, would be compensated. He had already asked for a comprehensive list of those affected.

    “The construction company was supposed to fix just Idowu Street, but to ensure that proper construction work was done, the monarch deployed his wealth of knowledge, and extended the construction of Alhaji Idowu Road to Oke Street, leading to Akowonjo Roundabout and Lambe Kudaisi Street.”

    He also commended Bashaul for picking interest in compensating occupants of affected houses. The CEO, Bashaul Civil Engineering Company Limited, Munirudeen Bashorun said the road project was completed within six months with quality professional and material input. He noted that if encouraged with enabling environment, Nigerian construction firms are qualified to compete with their foreign counterparts.

    “When the contract was awarded to us, the Permanent Secretary doubted our competence in carrying out the job according to specifications, because there was a river here. But I told him not to worry. The first challenge we encountered was diverting the water to Oke Street. But the street is higher than here by two metres. We had to do the survey, wait for approval from the government and that took us four weeks before we began.

    Also in Mulero in Agege where there was flood, one day Governor Aregbesola, then a Commissioner, called me to salvage the situation. And when he saw my performance in salvaging that place, he took me to Osogbo where I did some other jobs.

    “It is only Nigerians that can serve Nigerians better. If a Nigerian does a shoddy job today, tomorrow he will do a better job. When you correct him once or twice, he will get it right,” Bashorun said.

    Bashorun’s son and Bashaul’s Executive Director, Adewale, said: “The extra materials poured into the river, were not part of the presentations made to the government. But Bashaul Construction doesn’t care about cost and money. We only want to carry out good jobs.

    ”Any other construction company would have gone on with the work, after discovering the challenge posed by the river at Alhaji Idowu Junction. The result would have been the roads getting damaged again; taking everyone back to square one.”

    Idowu added that the company acted well by dealing with the challenge posed by the river.

    He said: “Alhaji Idowu Junction is where water used to gather. This spot had always been the greatest challenge for the community. The contractors said they had to drain and dig deep into the river, in order to fill it with rocks.”

    QUOTE

    We referred this road to as ‘the jinxed road’ because different contractors had tried to fix it without success. But the jinx is now finally broken. We’re all happy…We thank Governor Ambode for giving us a lifetime gift. Some businesses have suffered here because of the bad nature of the road. The road was so terrible so much so that we could not cross from some point to another

     

  • Floods as 13 hours rains pound Lagos

    Floods as 13 hours rains pound Lagos

    •Properties destroyed

    Homes  and roads were yesterday flooded in many parts of Lagos as a 13-hour rain pounded the city.

    The Southwest witnessed one of the heaviest rains in recent times. It destroyed  properties worth millions of naira.

    From Osun to Ogun and Lagos states, the torrential rain, which started on Saturday night, lashed cities and towns non-stop.

    Many vehicles were stalled on the roads as parts of Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital, were flooded.

    From Ilasamaja to Ojuelegba, Mushin, Agege Motor Road, Iyana-Ipaja and Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, the roads were flooded.

    Residents of highbrow areas of Victoria Island, Lekki and Ajah were not spared .

    Many houses in Surulere were flooded. Residents were seen scooping water out of their homes.

    Many commuters were stranded due to heavy traffic caused by the flood.

    Agege Motor road from Ladipo to Ikeja along was worst-hit.

    The intensity of the flood left many motorists in fears.

    Many of the property destroyed by the accompanying flood affected Lagos, more than other states but there was no report of death or of collapsed building, according to the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), whose men were deployed across the state in response to emergency calls by citizens.

    LASEMA General Manager Michael Akindele, said the Agency’s Emergency Response Teams were sent out to assess the affected areas to avert worst disaster.

    He noted that the flood was accentuated by blockage of some of the major drainages in the affected areas advised Lagosians not to  panic but ensure they  clear the drainage in their neighbourhood to allow free flow of water.

    In its situation report, LASEMA said: “The Agency received several distress calls regarding flooding activities which seriously affected some areas in the state as a result of the heavy downpour that started last night (Saturday) at about 8.40 pm.

    “Several streets in Oworonshoki, Ifako,  Ikorodu and Lekki  axis were seriously affected by the heavy downpour.”

    “Many properties and items worth several millions of naira were also damaged, but no life was loss or collapse of any building.

    “The Affected street around the Oworo axis include: Fasas Ojomu,Ogunyomi, Aabiola, Akewusola, Adebanmwo, Unity, Oduduwa, Agberin, among others, While Hassan Street in Owutu (Ikorodu) and other areas were affected in the Ikorodu axis.

    In a statement, Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment Dr. Babatunde Adejare, urged the people to remain calm saying that necessary steps had been taken to avert flood disaster.

    He said the government had in recent times carried out intensive tour of some flood prone communities in the state to clear blocked drainages and canals.

    The commissioner wondered why any right thinking person would be dumping refuse on water courses and drainages created for free flow of storm water, saying the numerous campaigns against such practice was in the interest of the residents.

    “Canal is a storm water channel for the conveyance of storm runoffs, they are God’s natural protection for holding water during massive flood and it is not a place for anybody to build a house or dump refuse. Those in the habit of doing such must stop henceforth,” Adejare said.

    He warned that the government would no longer tolerate the building of illegal structures along channel right of ways in the state.

    Adejare urged residents living on wetlands and flood prone areas to be cautious and careful, urging them to limit their movement if possible and to move to higher ground if need be.

  • Lagos gives ultimatum to owners of illegal structures in Ikoyi, V/I, Lekki

    Owners of illegal structures, shanties, street hawkers and those who have converted walkways into trading points and food courts in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and the Lagoon Front of Lekki got a 14-day notice yesterday to remove their structures

    The Lagos State Government, which gave ultimatum through its Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tunji Bello, warned that the illegal structures would be removed by the State Special Task Force at the expiration of the ultimatum.

    Bello said the Task Force would move in to clean the areas and the owners arrested for prosecution.

    A statement by the SSG warned: “The owners of all illegal structures, shanties, abandoned buildings and all those who have converted road median to commercial uses in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki have between today (Monday) and two weeks’ time to comply or have the State Special Task Force on the Clean Up of the areas to contend with.”

     

    The statement added that owners of all abandoned buildings in the highbrow areas which are now harbouring prostitutes, illegal miscreants and unwanted elements, must clear the structures of such undesirable elements immediately.

    He warned owners of properties on the Lagoon fronts of Lekki Phase I who have littered the whole areas with compactors and several other deadweight equipments to remove them immediately.

    Bello said the government was concerned about the conversion of the frontages of properties and abandoned houses to kiosks and trading points by maids and guards as well as the unregulated activities of horticulturists, who have turned setbacks to ‘showrooms’.

    He reiterated the determination of the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration to restore the original master plan of Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki, by checking the activities of roadside automobile repairers, who have reduced many dual carriage lanes to single lanes with indiscriminate parking.

    He said the government would no longer tolerate indiscriminate parking of vehicles, trucks, among others on drainage channels, adding that owners of such vehicles and properties with unkempt drainages will be prosecuted.

    Bello said it was totally unacceptable for people to stockpile and display wares such as bags of charcoal on major roads like Ahmadu Bello Way and Federal Secretariat Road, Ikoyi, stating that henceforth, such goods would be confiscated and the owners prosecuted.

    The statement reads: “We are using this medium to sensitise members of the public and residents of the affected areas who are involved in these illegalities to immediately take right action and do the needful as the state government will take the necessary steps to enforce its environmental and sanitation laws forthwith.

    “All those engaging in roadside display of wares, illegal street trading and all illegal squatters on undeveloped land and all those who have converted road median to commercial uses in Ikoyi, Victoria Island and Lekki are being advised in their own interest to put a stop to the illegalities.”

  • Fed Govt destroys 15 containers of fish in Lagos

    The Federal Department of Fisheries (FDF) has destroyed 15 containers of unwholesome frozen fish in Lagos.

    The fish, destroyed at the weekend,  allegedly belonging to a company, named Food Solution Nigeria Limited.

    The containers were evacuated by FDF from Sifax Off-Dock Terminal at Trinity, on Oshodi/Apapa Expressway, to prevent the unwholesome fish from getting to the market.

    FDF ‘s Deputy Director  Mrs. Olabisi Adepegba  said a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), which shipped the containers into the country, would pay for the cost of destruction.

    She said of the company’s frozen fish-filled containers, 15 were laden with spoilt fish.

    The evacuated containers were taken  to Lagos State Waste Management Authority’s dumpsite at Epe, where the products were destroyed, after which a destruction certificate was issued to the shipping company and a copy to FDF for record purposes.

    She said the task of clearing and destroying the containers took some time because those involved were reluctant to bear the cost of evacuating and destroying the products.

    Adepegba stated that the FDF had a mandate to protect the public and prevent unwholesome fish from getting to the market.

    The  General Manager, Sifax Offdock, Oliver Omajuwa, said the consignment came in a batch of 43 containers, of which 15 were condemned and 28 had been taken delivery of and certified for consumption by the FDF.

  • Lagos dominates Nigerian corner at Notting Hill Carnival

    Lagos dominates Nigerian corner at Notting Hill Carnival

    •As Funke Akindele performs first show as Mrs. Bello

    The Nigerian corner at the annual Notting Hill Carnival in London has received a boost this year, with a huge presence of celebrity artistes who have been promoting the Lagos brand through a variety of shows that have endeared several visitors to Adela Street, where the Nigerian corner is located.

    Although the show started on Saturday, there are indications of a more enthralling outing today, as the Nigerian corner is billed to transform to Lagos Corner, courtesy of the Lagos branding campaign that has taken the city of London by storm in the last two days.

    Tagged the #LoveLagosWeekend, the show started with a town hall meeting and media parley addressed by top officials of Lagos State. It continued on Saturday evening at I Laugh with MC Abbey and the Love Lagos Crack Ya Ribs with Julius Agu on Sunday.

    The series of entertainment events also feature star actress, Funke Akindele, who mounted the stage for the first time as Mrs. Bello. The actress had been in the U.K for a while, where she celebrated her 38th birthday and subsequently got married to London-based Nigerian singer, Abdul Rasheed Bello, aka JJC Skillz.

    Promoter of the Lagos Corner, Mr. Ayo Sonaiya said that today’s event coincides with the Notting Hill Carnival’s 50th edition.

    “We are happy that at a time that Lagos State is counting down to its 50th anniversary, the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is using the huge platform of Notting Hill Carnival, which is also celebrating its 50th edition this year to reach out to millions of Nigerians and Lagosians in particular about the emerging powerful brand that Lagos has become in the areas of arts and entertainment and in connecting with the Diaspora about the great things being recorded in Lagos,” he said.

    The Lagos Corner will provide a veritable platform for performing artistes from Nigeria to showcase their talents and further give verve to brand Lagos as the home of creativity.

    The Love Lagos Weekend, according to the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, is a three-day event designed to communicate the Lagos tourism brand initiative to the world.

    “The master brand for Lagos tourism initiative is One Lagos, which speaks to the oneness, multicultural nature and unity in diversity of the state. It’s an initiative that has taken shape in the state. But the slogan for that brand initiative is Love Lagos, which is our way of urging the world to take note and connect with us. ”

    He added that the  #LoveLagosWeekend in London was also in sync with the government’s plan to celebrate Lagos on the 27th day of every month till May 27, 2017 when Lagos will celebrate its 50th anniversary as a state.

    “London and Lagos have a long rich history and choosing to start the global brand awareness campaign for Lagos in London is the right thing to do, given the huge number of Lagosians and friends of Lagos that reside and work there,” the Commissioner stated.

    The Love Lagos Weekend is also geared towards selling the state and uniting lovers of Lagos in the diaspora.

    Other objectives of the Love Lagos Weekend, according to Mr. Ayorinde, are to create awareness on the new Lagos State administration, provide platform for interaction with Lagos State indigenes and lovers of Lagos State in the Diaspora, while also marketing the state to potential investors and partners that can contribute towards the Lagos@50 celebrations.

  • Power outage disrupts flights at Lagos airport

    •FAAN apologises to airlines, passengers

    Flight operations at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, was at the weekend disrupted by power outage.

    Last  night, the primary source of power was yet to be restored, forcing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) to run the facility on independent generators.

    Consequently, airlines found it difficult to initiate on time departures at the airport.

    The outage, a source hinted, has caused damage to the air-bridges used by airlines to disembark passengers.

    This has affected the operation of international airlines as they resorted to disembarking passengers at the ramp.

    The source hinted that when power temporarily  restored, it caused damage to the facility, thereby rendering it unserviceable.

    FAAN’s spokesman Yakubu Dati confirmed the incident.

    He said: “There was a power outage from PHCN and the airport was on our independent power supply.

    “However, when power was restored, the surge adversely affected the k16 transformer that serves the Air-bridges and rendered them unserviceable. This adversely affected operations of departing flights. The heavy rainfall further delayed attempts by engineers to effect repairs immediately.

    “FAAN wishes to apologise to passengers, airlines and the public for the inconvenience caused by this development as efforts are being made to find a lasting solution.”