The All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, has won the majority votes in Lagos State with 792, 460 votes.
His closest rival, President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic (PDP), polled 632, 327 votes.
The results were declared at the State Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office, Yaba Mainland under the supervision of the Returning Officer, Prof Isaac Adewole, the Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan.
All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu spoke with reporters in Lagos, shortly after casting his vote at Ikeja, the state capital. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.
What is your assessment of the exercise so far?
The process has started. The new system of accreditation is being tested; it is being tried. It is like a forensic exercise. I was accredited through the process by the machine. It is a new threshold and it requires a level of tolerance. People may have to endure more. But, as we go ahead, and we move forward into the future, it is the only way to go.
Can you say the exercise is credible?
How can I say that from one booth? How can I? Until we get the facility checks and reports from various points, we can’t say. But, if the card readers work well, it will result in credible elections.
There is an allegation that you have been telling people to vote for a particular PDP candidate in this election. What is your reaction?
This is my phone number. I can still make it public; 08062240104. I didn’t send any text message. That is part of the gimmick and the desperation of the ruling party; when they pack some fraudulent people in office, trying to subvert the right of the people to freely exercise their civic duty. Again, that is fraudulent. I didn’t authorise any network to do anything. That one we will discuss when we go to court. I cannot campaign today. But, I know what I have told my supporters and the supporters of our party. You all know the party I belong to and you know the candidate of that party. The only text message I can send is that people should believe in me, our party and the presidential candidate, senatorial candidate, House of Representatives candidates. You know the party I am. Don’t believe in any text message coming from me to do otherwise. I stay firm, I stay credible, I stay resolved. I am determined and committed. I am a leader of the party. If anybody sends you a fraudulent message, you should know they are cowards. They know they are going to be defeated. That is why they are resorting to fraud. That is why they should not even be in government. That is the more reason they should be out. That is the truth. I have received text messages and several calls from people to verify the so-called text messages. But, I have consistently denied that. It is disturbing. It is annoying. It is terrible that people will resort to fraud. What kind of leadership, what kind of legacy, what kind of ethics are we teaching our people. How can I compromise the platform that I lead; helped to build and, by the grace of God, the best platform that is available? So, it is a lie. I will go to any extent to investigate this, to know whether my phone is cloned or how they sent fraudulent messages on my behalf. The investigation has started. It is a fact. I work tirelessly for our platform. No change. Why should I change yesterday (last Friday). If you were in my house yesterday, who would have seen the crowd in their thousands. We instructed them to wash their hands; comply with INEC regulations, keep peace and not to be violent. They were the ones shooting all night to scare voters from coming out to vote. It is democracy, not war. Their leader said he won’t step on anybody’s blood. But, if agents are killing and scaring people on your behalf, you must be held responsible. That is the truth. I have made so much sacrifice for this platform.
In some units, the card readers are not working…
You keep on trying. I am not a technician. The process of validity, integrity of the system is through the card reader. It has been used successfully in other countries. I observed it in Kenya. I observed it in Ghana. No technical item developed by human beings will not have its hitches. We have to endure it. I hope it is not a deliberate attempt to frustrate and depopulate the public to choose. I hope not. I hope INEC will work hard to protect its reputation and save Nigeria. If Gen. Obasanjo and others are saying there must be peace, there must be honesty; if Abubakar Abdulsalami is saying the same thing; if it takes President Obama of United States to appeal to our sense of value to our commitment to our nation, then, we should not preach violence. We should not react violently. We should tell our people to vote. When you are confident of winning, you don’t have to do fraud, dabaru and provoke violence. If you are confident, you don’t want to disrupt the votes.
What is your advice to voters now?
Nigerians should just endure. You are blessed. You should persevere. Exercise your right. This is the only time you can apply commonsense revolution; to begin to hold leaders accountable. If leaders are not performing and they know you can vote them out every four years, they will sit up. If leaders are dishonest, they can only fool you for four years. After four years, you change them. This is your turn to choose who you want to rule you in this circumstance. I believe that, looking at your faces, many of you have families who are suffering. The economy is down. The newsprint you use is imported. The exchange rate is high. Industrialisation of the country is a must. That is why we must behave true to our education. It is disgraceful that we are not living up to it; despite the fact that we are educated and sophisticated and we have the capacity to compete. Knowledge is money; commitment is virtue. Ethnic difference is not what will put bread on the table of the people. Poverty has no trade mark. Let’s work our way out. Hard work will take us out of this mess.
What is your reaction to the complain that many Lagosians have not voted, hours after the commencement of the exercise?
There are many areas that are affected. There are various problems. We should be patient. What I will call for is that INEC should take a decision to extend. Equally, they should take responsibility for issuing agents cards after the submission of their names. Not all agents were given these cards. We have cause to suspect what is going on. But, we will be patient. They have various delay problems in Alimoso, Ikeja, Mile 12, Magodo, Ogba, Maryland, Omole Phase II. We should believe in the institution that was set up with public fund to serve the public. INEC’s integrity depends on all of these. They can no longer give excuses. It is better for them to extend the voting time here in Lagos and ensure that they send various supervisors to the affected local governments. Rapid response is what is required. You don’t say a work in progress will be perfect in a day. But, majority of the people in the affected areas may be disenfranchised. That is my worry. If they are ready to vote and you call them to come and vote, you should not frustrate them. You call them out. They should exercise their civic rights. It will be a shame, if quick and remedial action is not taken to ameliorate the suffering of the people.
People are calling me from all areas. They started with the fraud that I sent text messages that people should vote for Jonathan. I didn’t. I have a record on my phone. I did not send any text message. I have made my number public so that people can even call and verify. They are doing this to convert or confuse people. What kind of leadership is this? What kind of character. A nation must be ruled by the people of great character, vision and responsibility.
We heard that INEC’s website is not functioning…
Americans, Germans, Europeans are the experts. They protect their websites effectively. Why all these dubious things in Nigeria? Are you proud? Why dubious information? Why fake text messages? They are trying to discredit the process and suppress the votes of Lagos State. It is not going to work.
The Lagos State Government has distributed over 20,000 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders to residents across the 57 local governments and local council development authorities (LGs/LCDAs) in the state1 to promote the use of cooking gas and reduce hazards associated with the use of firewood and kerosene.
The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources Taofeek Tijani spoke at the free distribution and sensitisation/public awareness programme in Agidingbi, Lagos.
He said the event would enable the majority of the residents of the local government areas come to terms with the immense benefits in the use of gas thereby preventing hazards faced by residents while using firewood, charcoal and kerosene.
Tijani noted that the distribution of free 3kg gas cylinders to residents of the State was a poverty alleviating scheme as about 20,000 gas cylinders has so far been distributed to residents without being partial to political party affiliations.
He said that the initiative of Lagos State Government has gone beyond just distributing LPG cylinders freely but also the celebration of healthy, cleaner environment and wealth creation as well as mitigating against the effect of climate change in the State.
He noted that so many countries in Africa such as Ghana, Togo, among others, have embraced the use of cooking gas hence Nigeria with the largest reserve of the product in the sub-region should not be left behind.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mrs. Regina Iyabo Obasa, also said that the state government is determined to ensure that Lagos homes imbibe the use of LPG because of its advantages.
She said that the state government introduced Eko Gas Scheme as a domestic fuel of choice for Lagosians in order to reduce carbon emissions from the use of firewood and kerosene and because of its inherent advantages, such as being cleaner, healthier, safe, more efficient and convenient to use for cooking.
She said: “Certain health problems like conjunctivitis, bronchitis and even heart diseases are on the increase and it is being suspected that the use of kerosene, fire wood and charcoal are likely causes of some of these diseases because of the fumes inhaled when used for cooking. It is In the light of these that the state government as part of its public education programme started sensitising and distributing free Eko Gas stove cylinders to Lagosians.”
In her goodwill message, the wife of the Governor and Special Guest of Honour at the event, Mrs. Emmanuella Fashola lauded the Eko Gas initiative because of its numerous advantages and enjoined lagosians to imbibe the use of gas in homes for cleaner and healthier environment.
She thanked the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) LPG Group for partnering the state government.
The representative of the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Nike Akande, enjoined Lagosians to embrace the use of a cleaner fuel for cooking.
She said that LPG is the cleanest and most efficient fuel.
Mr. Akin Orebiyii, the Lagos State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC, says voting will continue in five Local Government Areas of the state on Sunday.
Orebiyii made the disclosure at a press conference on Saturday night in Lagos, while giving an update of the presidential and national assembly election in the state.
He said that voting would continue on Sunday in five council areas of Alimosho, Oshodi-Isolo, Kosofe, Eti-Osa and Somolu.
“The commission advised that as a result of the time lost in tackling the challenges encountered with the smart card readers at some voting points, we should conclude the exercise tomorrow (Sunday).
“So, wherever it has not been concluded, it will be rounded off tomorrow.
“We observe that the electoral process will not be concluded in few polling units across five local governments in Lagos State.
“The local governments are Alimosho, Eti-Osa, Kosofe, Oshodi-Isolo, and Somolu,’’ he said.
Orebiyii said that the specific polling units in the affected areas would be announced in the early hours of Sunday.
According to him, there will be some restriction of movement in the affected areas but it will not affect religious worship.
He said that the accreditation would hold from 10:00am to 2:00pm while voting would commence at 2:30pm till the last person duly accredited voted.
NAN reports that some prospective voters had difficulties with their accreditation because of the malfunctioning of smart card readers in some units in the state.
The challenge made the commission resort to the use of electronic voter register for accreditation in the state.
This delay made voting to start late in many polling units across the state.
Lagos State Commissioner for Finance, Ayo Gbeleyi, in this interview with Deputy Editor Olayinka Oyegbile and Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf, speaks on concerted efforts by successive governments and particularly the Governor Raji Fashola-led administration’s vision to turnaround the fortunes of the state through different life-transforming projects in the face of paucity of funds, vis-à-vis challenges of managing arguably one of the fastest growing economies in the sub-region. Excerpts:
What does it take to husband an economy like Lagos which is Nigeria’s biggest, after the federal government?
Well, essentially, you need the right competences, capabilities and character to be in that position. It’s a quite challenging job, not tough beyond what we can do and do properly. So, clearly, we have a team that is able and competent to lead a public finance management effort of the Lagos State government.
What prepared you for this?
I’ve had a very extensive career in the area of accounting, banking, project finance, public private partnership (PPP) structure before coming into this role. So, I believe the combined capability, network and expertise in those fields have made me well prepared for this job. So, I didn’t find myself in this job by chance. It’s something that I was well prepared for. So, we thank God that one has been able to contribute his own modest quota within this space of time, one that has been privileged and opportune to serve the state.
You came from the private sector and we have always been hearing that to work in the private sector is a different kettle of fish to work with the government. What has it been like?
Well, one thing that we must all understand is, first and foremost, if we’re all looking for a better society, then we must all be willing to contribute our quota to make that society what we actually crave it to be. The world over, especially in advanced economies, you see that the bureaucracy there is quite strong. Public service there actually works far better than what is obtainable in the private sector. The whole idea is that as regulators we must always be ahead of the players in the market. Where the players, that is, the private sector is ahead of the regulator, which is the public sector, then you have a problem. In the US, in Europe, even in Asia, you find out that they always have a very strong bureaucracy so that you can keep the players in check. It’s like a referee not knowing the rules of the game better than the players, so how can you then officiate? So, essentially, as a referee, as a government leading the people, we must also be at our best, we must be in the forefront of ideas and vision to take the society forward. For me, private sector in our typical environment in the emerging markets and the frontiers economy like ours, the private sector tends to be ahead of the public sector. But having said that, that is actually a reversal of our historic antecedence. If you recall, in post independence, and up until the mid-70s, you heard about the ‘Super Perm Sec.’ Anybody that finished from the university with a first class degree at that time, the first port of call would be the public service because they must shape the society, they must lead in developing policies that would better the lot of the citizens, improve the living standards of the citizens.
But what we have found post mid-1975, most especially after the civil service exodus retirement of the (Gen. Murtala) Muhammed regime, the kind of confidence that people used to repose in bureaucracy is no longer there. But that has begun to return to a place like Lagos.
So, to answer your question, yes, it’s been a bit challenging, crossing from the private sector to the public service. But you must prepare your mind that you need to assist in also shaping up the public service. So that when you come in, you will also be a model. You can mentor some people, new cadre of officers, with new orientation and attitude to deliver exceptional public service. And that is the only way we can all change the society for good. We can continue to afford people who will come into the public service as a modicum of last resort. It must be a conscious thing; you must have passion to serve the people to be in the civil service. And that is what one has tried to achieve by saying, let me also bring to bear the experience we have garnered over the years close to three decades in the private sector, in various positions, in various capacities, in various industries.
I have been privileged to work in manufacturing, working for companies like Nestle Plc, working for Nigerian Bottling Company, the authorised bottlers of Coca Cola, Marina International Bank, Lead Merchant Bank, Guardian Express Bank, and then, more recently, I was with Econet that transformed to Vodacom Nigeria, Vmobile, Celtel, and of course, the company is now Airtel.
Now coming into government, my first shot at it was actually in a pioneering role. I was more or less headhunted to come and head the Public Private Partnership Office. And as you very well know, that is an emerging phenomenon in Nigeria. So, it became a major policy thrust of the Lagos State government and they needed someone who has the ability to set up the office and lead a very professional team that would deliver. So that is what ab initio brought me into government. And of course, over time, I was privileged to serve in the cabinet in the second term of His Excellency, from 2011. Though prior to that, right about December 2009, I was already admitted into cabinet as a non-ranking cabinet member and given the privilege to sit at every Executive Council meeting. But I became a ranking cabinet member in July 2012 in the capacity of a Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Private Partnership, and then in August 2013, I was appointed into the position of Commissioner for Finance, and still, of course, superintending over the Public Private Partnership Office. I now play more or less a dual role in the state government.
Now how would you describe the growth trajectory of the state in the last 16 years of our nascent democracy and what would be the next step?
Clearly, the best for our state is yet to come. Our better days still lie ahead of us. But it’s been a phenomenal growth since the advent of democracy in 1999, with the coming on board of the administration of the Governor Emeritus, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through 2007. As we refer to him, the dreamer, the visioner, who created the blueprint for the rapid change that we’re seeing in Lagos. And of course, in 2007 May, came the advent of the Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) administration, who has continued his exceptional passion and commitment to that foundation that was built. Clearly, the vision of the administration is on focus, the vision is actually to make Lagos Africa’s model mega city, that is a productive, functional, safe and secure on the continent. And in doing that, we’re benchmarking ourselves with Cairo (Egypt), and Johannesburg (South Africa). If you see a lot of the initiatives we’re taking, we’re also benchmarking ourselves with the best practices, and then world class standards. And that’s where we are. And a lot of things have been achieved by the last two administrations that we cannot afford to take for granted. We have, for example, been able to liberate ourselves from dependence on the federal statutory allocation, the one you call, federal transfers. We’re the only state in Nigeria today that generates about 70 per cent of its total revenue from the internally generated revenue (IGR), it is from the contribution of taxpayers, who repose confidence in our administration. Before the advent of democracy, you will recall the amount of revenue that was being generated monthly from IGR was barely N600million. With the Asiwaju administration, it was taken up to about N7billion by the May of 2007 through various initiatives, transparency and accountability. Through reposed confidence by the taxpayers, we saw more voluntary taxes. There are various tax reforms, in terms of setting up independent and an empowered Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, automation of our operation. We were the first government to launch a major electronic resource planning tool called the DRD, which we started way back and that has contributed in no small measure to some of the achievements of the two administrations. The current administration has also taken a giant stride, in terms of a quantum leap in revenue generation and today, we’re topping about N21billion monthly, in terms of IGR from taxpayers in the state and we still believe that there is much room to deepen our tax such that we can take it to the next level. So, today, even where you’ve a situation where statutory allocation is not coming to states, we’re the only state in Nigeria that can confidently hold our own and be able to meet our obligations as and when due.
Also, if you look at the area of infrastructure, it’s been epochal, in terms of what we have seen – life-changing. We’ve implemented projects that impacted positively on the citizens. The first light rail in this country is being constructed by this government. It’s a 27-kilometre all the way to National Theatre to Okokomaiko, the first track of 7.2 kilometres is complete and we’re moving inward Marina from the National Theatre, and the trains would also be here pretty soon. And then, we would see that delightful service. Lagos would become like all other cities of the world like Johannesburg, London, New York. And that’s actually from a master plan that has seven corridors in total. When you look at intermodal transportation at large, we’re doing a lot in terms of waterways, optimising water resources for transportation of goods and persons. We have built three world class ferry terminals at Ipakodo in Ikorodu, the second in Badore and the third one at Osborne, Ikoyi. And these are strategically located at areas you can call transportation hubs. If you look at Osborne, if you alight from there, you can either go to Ikoyi, you also have that option of getting onto the ferry; getting into Badore to get to Lekki corridor or coming into Osborne, the Mile 2 ferry terminal has been rehabilitated. And that is something that is commendable. In the area of healthcare delivery, for the first time in the history of the state, and indeed even in Nigeria, up until the advent of the Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN) administration, there were three dedicated mother-child care centres in Lagos State, including the Lagos Island Maternity, the Massey Hospital and then the Ayinke House in Ikeja. But it is gratifying to say that today, this government has built additional 10 of such hospitals in the state, and we’re now trying to ensure that we put those hospitals almost at an arm’s length reach of mothers and children. And how best can you take care of that huge part of our population, than ensuring that they have easy access to mother and child care centres. The primary healthcare centres are supporting the local government areas. We have also developed that. Today, we have 56 flagship primary health care centres running 24 hours service. So, that is there. Our 24 general hospitals are also working optimally and we’re improving on their capability as we get along. LASUTH is there, the tertiary institution is doing well. Only last week, we opened an annex of LASUTH in Gbagada. That is the Cardiac and Renal Centre, the first of its kind in the West African sub-region. It has got about 24 dialysis machines installed for renal patients; it’s got two state-of -the art theatres. In total, it’s got about 67 bedding facilities, including the intensive care units and one thing that we have also done lately in that regard, we brought the capabilities from all over the world for people that would operate and manage the centres. So, it is not just in the hands of government alone. You’re going to get there world class services, services that are comparable anywhere in the world, whether in the US, UK, or in South Africa. Even listening to patient’s testimony the other day, an old man said what he has seen here is comparable to what he has seen in the hospital in the UK. And that is what this government is doing in offering governance in a very uncommon manner.
When you think about sanitation and environmental management in the city today, before the advent of the civilian administration, it used to be on our highways that you’re going to see bins littering our roads, you’re going to see dirt bags littering our roads uncollected, I mean Lagos was full of dirt. This has since changed and it has come to stay, we’re not losing momentum. Look at Oshodi, the regeneration that happened in Oshodi is mind-blowing. I was born and bred in Oshodi; I’m an indigene of Oshodi so I can tell you the story of Oshodi w when it was chaotic or what it used to be. But today, you can see a modern Oshodi that people now go in there to even take photographs. It has become more of even a tourist destination. If you look at the Heritage Park in Oshodi, nobody believed that such an iconic social amenity can be located there. Look at Lekki-Ikoyi bridge, it’s iconic, you know first of its kind, a cable steel bridge in West Africa about nine metres. That has become the new face of Lagos. If you look at the PPP transaction for the expansion of Lekki-Epe Express road, again, that has rapidly assisted in coping with the growth that we’re seeing in that corridor, which is the fastest growing real estate corridor in the region. If you look at what we have done with intervention in power provision despite the challenges we’re facing with the energy sector in Nigeria, in the last five years, we have delivered about a total of five independent power plants combined delivery of 47 megawatts of power to the citizens in various locations by government. I can go on and go. I mean, it’s just exciting when one is talking about Lagos and what we have managed to achieve within the short space of time.
You have actually painted a very rosy picture of how things work in Lagos. But of course, you may not have done all of this without incurring some cost. The news out there is that the state is in dire financial straits as a result of the numerous projects it has embarked upon thus far, such that it may take decades to pay back money to donor agencies.
Well, I must tell you that when you talk about fiscal responsibility and prudency, that is something we pride ourselves so much in Lagos State. Consistently, we have always met all of our obligations as and when due. If you go by all international benchmarks and parameters, whether it is the World Bank parameters in the debt sustainability or fiscal sustainability or the federal Debt Management Office (DMO), we’ve always exceeded on that. Today, we have three rating agencies that independently rate the affairs of the state including our bond issuance programme: the first being Fitch Rating agency, which is an international rating agency, Global Credit Rating (GCR) agency and also Augusto & Co. In the last three years, all of these agencies have improved on our ratings across their parameters. With Fitch, for example, we have an issuer default rating of positive-minus stable. And then on our national long-term foreign and local currency, we got an A+ there, and that is also positive. So, it’s difficult for anyone to say that Lagos State is in dire straits, in terms of funding. That is not right at all. We have maintained our debt level at very sustainable level. And what people forget is, if you think about the largest economy in the world, which is the United States of America, they’re also the biggest debtor in the world. That is not to say that people should engage in reckless or unbridled borrowing. The more you borrow essentially to finance productive activities. And that’s what we have done in Lagos State. All of our borrowings have been channelled into major infrastructural projects that are capital intensive, and may take a number of years for them to be completed. They’re not projects to be completed in one year. Take for instance, the Adiyan I waterworks, the largest water plant that was built in Lagos was built in 1991 and that is Adiyan II. It discharges 70million gallons of water per day of potable water supply to the city. And today, we’ve started the second phase of that project, which is another 70million of gallons per day; that is one of the major projects that our state has financed with money from donors. Many of the roads that have been built have been financed with part of this borrowing. Part of Lekki-Ikoyi bridge project funding came from some of our borrowings. The shoreline project, which we’ve embarked upon, 7.2 kilometres shoreline protection, in Kuramo Waters in Victoria island, all the way to Okun-Afa, which is the Alfa Beach area,7.2 kilometre, have all largely been funded from a combination of IGR and borrowing. But one thing we must know, especially in public finance management, even in project finance, or in banking generally, is that there is what we refer to as time value of money. What we can buy today for N10, would probably cost N11 tomorrow or cost N12.50kobo a year after. Imagine what has happened to the currency now, where we’ve seen devaluation of close to 40 per cent. Now, it has turned out to be very prudent in our part too be very visionary, to have embarked on the modest level of borrowing that we have injected into enabling us to deliver aggressively on infrastructure. Today, some of these infrastructure, naturally, it means the cost would have spiked up by 40 per cent of the import-content dependency of each of them. So, we’re well-off today because we’ve seen it ahead, we built the infrastructure at very affordable rate for the citizens, borrowing at a very reasonable rate. Today, the last bond we issued in November of 2013, 87.5 billion bonds, the coupon which was 13.5 per cent, was even more competitive than the sovereign bond that is even issued by the federal government, yet we’re a sub-sovereign. How else can you have an affirmation of investors in the market, both local and foreign that have reposed confidence in the government? Most of our bonds that we have issued often times are exceedingly oversubscribed. That tells you about investors’ appetite for our bond. And if we have been reckless in borrowing, before you even get the investors, the rating agencies would not give us positive affirmation, we will not be investment great points, we would have been categorised as junk and then discernible investors would not be running after our bonds as it were. So, I must tell you that our borrowings are very sustainable. Today, if you look at our total debt service to total revenue, it’s a figure at about 22 per cent. The benchmark that is prescribed even by the federal DMO is at about 30 per cent, the World Bank prescription is 40 per cent but ours is at about 22. So that tells you how sustainable our debt profile is. And if you now link our debt to GDP ratio, that is total GDP of the state, it’s very much below one per cent and when you look at international benchmark that goes to as high as three per cent. So, we’re not near all those fallacies that are being peddled out there. Today, we still remain an investor’s delight.
Lagos prides itself as spending 60 per cent on capital and 40 per cent on recurrent expenditure, whereas other states and the federal have had a recurrent decimal of spending far less on capital but more on recurrent. What’s the secret?
Well, in terms of policy direction, what we set out to do is to ensure that at least 60 per cent of our budget is allocated to capital projects and then recurrent expenditure we target 40 per cent. Yes, in the early years of the Babatunde Raji Fashola’s administration, we’ve been very close to our target of 60-40. But of late, the pattern of cycle of infrastructure is such that when you’re building up, you’re spending so much on capital. But as they (infrastructure) become operational, you will see a bit of reversal. Some of the cost will now begin to be redirected into maintenance. I give you an example, look at Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge, we started construction in about 2009 and then we finished it in about 2013, okay. Now from mid 2013 till date, you’ll be spending more on maintenance because that is built. And that is replica of all other infrastructural projects in the state, so in recent times, our expenditure pattern has tapered to about 47- 53 per cent. Also, remember that on account of wages, we’ve also had to deal with certain wages adjustments that were forced on the state from the federal level, which we’ve had to implement. So, that is also impacting on our capital-recurrent expenditure ratio. But we still hold a very steady and decent ratio which is 53-47 per cent as it were.
Maintaining the current tempo, where do you see Lagos in your vision in the next 10 or 15 years?
In the next 10 or 15 years, we should have achieved our vision of making Lagos, Africa’s model mega city. That is if you check around the parameters of city liveability index, Lagos will rank as say a Jo’burg and Cairo, in terms of education, healthcare delivery system, infrastructure, culture, social and recreational facilities. We must be a city of choice in terms of when people are deciding where to locate their businesses, places where they also want to live. Across the continent of Africa, we see ourselves as the first choice 10-15 years from now.
Gboyega Alaka highlights the continued devastation of Nigerian’s by cardiac and renal diseases, as they attain epidemic level globally, even as he chronicles the recent Lagos State Cardiac and Renal Centre, as a panacea.
Twice frontline actor, Prince Ifeanyi Dike had to go to India to attend to his ailing kidneys. Twice he also had to undergo kidney transplants because the first transplant failed, and to stay alive, he had to travel the delicate route one more time. For the first time, he also shared his well-kept secret of how felt too embarrassed to call for public help on the second mission; hence he had to go it secretly probably with the help of a few close friends and family. The good news however, was, he survived.
Radio jockey, Steve ‘the sleek’ Kadiri wasn’t that lucky. Like Dike, his first transplant also failed. Like Dike, he too wasn’t able to call for public help until friends, led by Alariwo and co took up his case and launched another appeal. But unlike Dike, Kadiri did not survive. He died before the funding for the second transplant could be fully raised.
President Umaru Yar’adua, with all of the Nigerian state’s machinery and endless cash at his disposal also did not survive. He lost his battle with the highly mortal kidney ailment, despite going to the best hospital in Saudi Arabia. Forget that he embarrassed the Nigerian nation in the process, as many thought the federal government as the sixth largest crude oil producer in the world had no business taking its president to a fellow oil producing state. Not even if it was the world’s number one in the OPEC ranking.
53 year-old Rahila Jiboyewa, an economics teacher at the University of Maiduguri Staff School is currently facing the battle of her life. After an initial mis-diagnosis in Nigeria that focused treatment on her diabetes, doctors in India have confirmed that her problems were indeed caused by her ailing kidneys, which they say have all but packed up.
So she has been busy in the last couple of weeks, raising money through good-spirited Nigerians to go for treatment that includes series of dialysis and a kidney transplant in India. She would need a whopping N8million in the least to pay for the treatments and all the appendages of flight for herself and her companion, feeding and accommodation. She needs so much money because her country ‘does’ not have the capacity to take care of her situation, otherwise, she just have had to raise half of that amount for her treatment. The mis-diagnoses and other nasty experiences she went through in Nigerian hospitals and in the hands of fellow Nigerian health personnel, would not even make her consider a Nigerian option, if there were any. Not even a dialysis session, as she has seen how a Nigerian hospital infected a fellow renal disease patient, during a pre-dialysis operation, complicating her situation in the process.
Of course the cases of actor Muna Obiekwe and radio guru Chaz B are still fresh in our minds.
So much for renal-related diseases.
Just last month, 13-year old Prince Tomiwa Adewale Abegunde returned from the United States of America, where he had gone for a vital hole in the heart operation, sponsored by the America-based Gift of Life Foundation. Today, Adewale lives, to the glory of God and the goodwill of a foreign NGO and a foreign facility. Truth however was that before the NGO came on the scene, Prince Adewale’s parents’ hopes were only hinged on prayers and a miracle, which they probably didn’t believe, deep down, could surface. The whole of their country, Nigeria didn’t have the ability to take care of their boy’s cardiac ailment, and unless they raised about N5million, together with flight and accommodation fee, their lovable son’s fate was probably dicey.
Also, one is not likely to forget too soon, the pathetic story of Adetokunbo and Peace Kalejaye, published in the Nigerian media about a year ago, where their three-year old girl, Desola had been diagnosed with a 12.5mm hole in the heart situation and needed urgent surgery overseas. Even before her birth, the couple had known that difficult times lay ahead, having been forced to bring their daughter to the world prematurely through a caesarean section. Then the doctors had warned that the foetus was not feeding well and was losing too much weight. On delivery, tests showed that she was suffering from hernia, which they said required an operation, that they recommended should be differed till a bit later, when she is older and stronger. The hole in the heart diagnosis, which came seven months after her birth, was therefore a case of double sorrow for both parents.
Aside the trauma they suffered as parents, they still had to contend with the hard task of raising N3.5 million.
A sizable number of Nigerian children suffer from hole in the heart ailments on a regular basis, putting their parents in desperate and panicky situations. That most of these parents are average Nigerians, who can hardly afford three square meals and the regular health treatments, have also meant them coming out cap in hand to seek for public support before accessing the treatment. Inevitably, many die in the process, literally extinguishing their parents dream build around them.
Just last week, Sulaimon Owolabi walked into The Nation’s office in Ladipo, Mushin, desperately crying for help. He wanted a public appeal story done for his three-year old son, Fatai, who has been diagnosed with celebral palsy, and is in the throes of death. Cerebral Palsy by the way is strange situation, where a child is neither able to talk, sit, stand nor even eat properly, but only roll on the bed or floor.
According to Wikipedia, it ‘is caused by an abnormal development or damage to the parts of the brain that control movement, balance and posture.’ Often, the problem occur during pregnancy, during childbirth or shortly after birth, but causes remain largely unknown, leaving doctors to hazard guesses at premature birth and some infections suffered by mothers during pregnancy, as risk factors.
Due to its strangeness, the elder Owolabi took the condition for a spiritual one, taking his son from one spiritual healer to the other until a friend told him it is a health condition and that he should go to a proper hospital.
So now, he needs N4.8million to go to India and access proper definitive treatment.
Pain of a Nation
Even as there does not seems to be any accurate statistics that one can quote, since a good number of Nigerians suffering from the above diseases have died without going to the proper treatment channels, while others still wallow in their predicament, waiting to die in their homes, due to poverty, Lagos State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris said in a recent interview that the World Health Organisation’s declaration in 2012 that non-communicable diseases led by cardiovascular and renal diseases have attained epidemic proportion globally, suffices.
Almost on a daily basis, Nigerians wake up to read or watch on TV how their compatriots, even celebrities have to debase themselves to go cap in hand in public, seeking financial help to access treatment for their cardiac, renal or even cancer-related diseases.
Prince Ifeanyi Dike, who incidentally is also chairman board of trustees of the actors Guild of Nigeria recalled how his wife had to jettison shyness and go public after they had virtually ran out of every cash they could squeeze, treating his nagging kidney illness. According to him, for such illnesses, it really does not matter how much money one has, because it is expensive to manage or treat, and at the same time, the victim is no longer able to make more money.
To make matters worse, Nigeria, with all the petro-dollars and resources at her disposal has been unable to institute and develop adequate health facility, causing gravely sick Nigerians to always have to travel to India, Europe or America.
It is instructive to note here that even almighty America with its advanced facilities still loses a great number of its citizens to these ailments.
According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular diseases, led by Heart diseases and stroke remain the top two killers in the country. A more specific figure claimed that it lost over 787 of its citizens to heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases in 2010; which is about one in every three deaths in America.
In the same vein, the National Kidney Foundation of America, said that with 47,000 American deaths caused by kidney disease in 2013, the disease is the 9th leading cause of death in the country. The body also says one out of every three American adult is at risk of kidney disease and that wait for this, black Americans are 3 times more likely to experience kidney failure. This is probably to say that the black man is more predisposed to the disease. It also kind of tally with the various medical guess that change in lifestyle and diet are major causative factors, since the genealogical composition of people of this race was never designed for the kind of diets and lifestyles they suddenly found themselves living.
Above all, the World Health Organisation’s declaration in its recent report that the burden of diabetes and cardiovascular disease will have increased by 130% in Africa by 2020, calls for great concerns.
Lagos State to the rescue
Wednesday March 18 witnessed the historic commissioning of the Cardiac and Renal Centre in Gbagada, Lagos, by His Excellency, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN). In his commissioning remarks, the governor said “Year on year, I watched as we exported Nigerians abroad, with family members to care for and support them; all at high cost in foreign exchange, because there was no local alternative.”
Continuing, he said his government between 2008 and 2014, sponsored 42 cardiac cases and 28 renal cases abroad for treatment abroad at tax-payers’ expense on the recommendation of the Ministry of health. And this is in spite of the fact that the country has well over 20,000 experts scattered across the globe and working to serve other societies, while their own people waste away, for lack of adequate facilities.
He had also interacted with some of them and discovered that “they wanted to come home and practice but there were no hospitals comparable to where they were accustomed to working.”
So he took a decision to do something.
The turning point for him however was when a former president of the country had to be flown to Saudi Arabian hospital to manage a kidney ailment.
The commissioning of the facility, six years after it was kicked off in 2008 was therefore a fulfilment of that promise. He therefore congratulated the team that put it together, and indeed the Nigerian people, while inviting them to take advantage of the facility.
According to the governor, the hospital “has 24 dialysis bed stations, 20 beds for recovery and general ward use, 2 high dependency wards with five beds each for patient who have come out of intensive care, five beds for patients in intensive care, four post surgery beds, two post cathlab beds and two surgical theatres built to the most contemporary; along with instant multimedia equipment for live transmission to students in the lecture rooms.
He also declared that the centre is being managed through concession partnership by Renescor Team, a multidimensional consortium of specialised Nigerian and American doctors and nurses who are cardiac and kidney specialists in America.
As the rescheduled presidential and National Assembly elections finally hold today, Lagos, Rivers, Kaduna and Ekiti States have been identified as potential flashpoints. This is going by the palpable and worrisome tension that trailed the build-up to the elections in the listed states.
Consequently, findings revealed that a number of the residents have either fled or made up their minds not to go out and vote to avoid being victims in the event that violence breaks out eventually.
Rivers State appears to top the list with the plethora of politically-motivated violence that took place in the state during the electioneering campaign. The intense rivalry between the incumbent governor, Rotimi Amechi and the PDP governorship candidate, Nyesom Wike, has no less festered the wave of violence in the state. The level of violence in the state appears alarming as the number of people that have been killed in the build-up to the election has stealthily been on the rise. Okrika, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni, Ogu/Bolo, Obio/Akpor, Etche and Ogoni have been listed as local government areas that are prone to violence.
No fewer than 20 people were reported to have been brutally murdered in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area between November 2014 and January 2015.
The spate of murder has been largely blamed on the use of cult groups and hoodlums by power drunk politicians. Aside from other forms of attack, the hoodlums also took their bloodletting to political rallies.
In January, 24th to be specific, the All Progressives Congress governorship rally in Okrika Local Government Area came under violent attack which led to the destruction of the equipment being set up for the exercise.
Venue of a disrupted rally
The armed youths shot sporadically and threw dynamites into the National School Field venue of the party’s governorship campaign. A policeman, who attempted to repel the assailants, was hit by a bullet and later died in the hospital, while the governorship candidate of the party, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, narrowly escaped death.
Another wind of violence blew on the state on February 22, 2015, when Mr. Freddy Ndigbara, the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Rotimi Amaechi, was abducted in Kaani, Khana Local Government Area.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had four of its members killed within a short period of six days. Two chieftains of the party, Mr. Ibima Olunta and Mr. Goodfellow Bobmanuel, were shot dead on the 15th of March in Abonnema, headquarters of Akuku-Toru Local Government Area. The two others Odinaka Wichendu and Nkanum Nwonkwo, were shot dead in Aluu community in Ikwerre Local Government Area of the state on the 21st of the same month.
Several persons were also injured when armed thugs shot sporadically at an APC ward-to-ward rally in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area recently.
Findings revealed that some terror -stricken natives and several strangers who reside in Port Harcourt started relocating to their home states since the beginning of the week.
Gloria Nnoke, an Ikwerre woman is one of the people that have relocated their families. In a chat The Nation, she said she relocated her family because she didn’t want to be a victim of election violence. “I am not the only one that has relocated from Omuku. The way party loyalists are parading in the area shows that there could be trouble on the election day.
“About 50 youths in the area lost their lives in the pre-election violence. I have no choice than to relocate with my children, though my husband is still there.”
As a result of the unbridled violence, The Nation gathered that many residents of Okrika have decided to stay at home on election day instead of going out to vote. There are fears among the people that the election could be hijacked by ex-militants.
During the week, a group under the aegis of Nigeria Democratic Forum (NIDAF) alerted politicians in the state that the agents of International Criminal Court (ICC) are beaming their searchlight on the troubled zones in Rivers State.
The President of the group, Comrade Obiajunwo Dike, told The Nation that the trouble makers and violent prone politicians may wish to reconsider their strategies as agents of ICC have spread their investigative dragnet to those local governments in the state identified as risk areas in this 2015 election, adding that their investigation is to ascertain the root cause of politically-motivated violence and those behind it.
However, Dame Gesila Khan, the Rivers State Resident Commissioner, has said the commission is fully prepared to conduct free, fair and credible elections in the state.
She said INEC has done their part to stabilise the state and ensure that politicians do not see themselves as enemies but as brothers and sisters. She regretted that much innocent blood had been shed and pleaded with shareholders and politicians to allow peace to reign.
A torn campaign poster
“The commission is seriously concerned about the violent incidents before, during and after elections and we have been appealing to all stakeholders to prevail on our youths to shun all forms of violence and avoid being used by politicians to perpetrate acts that may lead to the disruption of the elections. The future of this nation belongs to them and therefore they must help to deepen our democratic process.”
The story has not been too different in Lagos State where political violence has been taking different forms and shapes. From the mutilation of political opponents’ posters and billboards, hoodlums suspected to be political thugs have unrestrainedly attacked convoys of party candidates, burning their campaign vehicles in the process. A number of party faithful have equally been killed in some of the attacks.
For example, three people were gruesomely murdered in Lagos Island late last year when members of the APC and the PDP clashed.
Three people were also killed early last month at Ajegunle area of the state when supporters of the two leading parties clashed; 20 people sustained different degrees of injury in the clash .
Also, in Agege, an APC supporter, Mr. Eyitayo Peters, aka Abona, lost his life on January 22 after being shot in the face on Orile Road. Another supporter, Lanre Ogunjimi, was shot in the waist in the same area.
Going by the spate of violence that has trailed the campaigns of the candidates for the Lagos-West senatorial district in the state, political watchers have expressed fears that the area is one of those to watch. Recently, the supporters of the two major contenders for the soul of area, Hon. Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) of the APC and Segun Adewale (Aeroland) of the PDP have been locked in a fierce battle .
Recently, the campaign office of Hon. Adeola came under heavy attacks. The assailants reportedly fired shots into the office damaging the rear windscreen of his Toyota Land Cruiser and the exterior of the office room.
The incident led to heated argument between the feuding candidates with Aeroland claiming that it was Yayi’s supporters that attacked his campaign team when he was passing through Yayi’s campaign office’s area.
Allegations and counter-allegations about the destruction of posters and billboards erected at strategic positions have also generated heated argument between the parties and their supporters.
While the APC on its part is saying that the PDP and its supporters have been responsible for removal of posters belonging to candidates vying on its platform, the PDP says otherwise.
Few days ago, protesters suspected to be members of the Oodua Peoples Congress heightened the tension in the state when it took to major roads in the city to demand for the sack of INEC boss, Prof Attahiru Jega. They allegedly brandished all manners of dangerous weapons and destroyed APC campaign posters and billboards they could lay their hands on. Their action created massive gridlock and apprehension in the state.
Like their Rivers State counterparts, the residents of the state have been living in the fears that the election may be accompanied by some degree of violence.
“We have heard that some politicians have armed their supporters with dangerous weapons. I am really worried by the development and that is not encouraging me to go out and vote. From what I have seen so far, there is little or nothing the security agents can do to check these people. It is unfortunate that these depraved politicians are poised to make it a do-or-die issue,” Bade, a resident of Alimosho area said.
Hounded by the orgy of violence that swept across the state in 2011, residents of Kaduna State appeared to have made up their minds that the election could be violent. Even though they fervently pray against it, the people have already started stocking their homes with foodstuff to avoid suffering from hunger if there is violence and a dusk-to-dawn curfew is imposed.
The figure of casualties recorded in the 2011 violence put the state as the worst hit by the crisis and thereby responsible for tension in the state presently.
Out of a total of 943 deaths recorded across the country in the 2011 post-election violence, Kaduna alone recorded 827. Also, all the property that was lost was put at N40.6 billion across the country, and Kaduna alone lost N23.3 billion.
One thing that makes election violence worse in Kaduna State is that, it often quickly turns religious.
This has made religious leaders in the state to be educating their members on the need to stay away from acts that could lead to violence. A cleric, Bishop Idowu-Fearon, told the residents: “We must work hard to ensure that the 2011 crisis does not repeat itself in 2015 election. We must not allow the politicians to use us to kill fellow human beings and destroy properties that people struggled to acquire.
“So, my advice is that we are created by one God, whether you are a Muslim or Christian, Hausa or Nupe, Igala or Gwari, etc. God wants us to live together and develop Kaduna State and the country in general. God wants us to work together; tell the politicians not to divide us. You have your religion, I have my religion.
“You cannot force a Christian to become a Muslim; you cannot force a Muslim to become a Christian. We need to tell ourselves that we do not need a Muslim or Christian President or governor. What we need is a President who fears God, whether he is a Muslim or a Christian. In Kaduna State, we don’t need a Muslim or Christian governor, but we need a governor who fears God because we are created by one God.”
Alluding to the holy books, he added: “The Bible and Quran are clear about what is expected of our leaders. They must be just, honest and accountable to the people and seek advice from the people. So let us use our Permanent Voters Card (PVCs) to elect credible leaders. Your PVCs is your power, use it wisely, and vote according to your conscience.
“If you vote for a corrupt person, a person who is not honest and just, God will ask you questions. So vote for credible leaders, and by the special grace of God, there will be no crisis in 2015 elections”, he said.
The Resident Electoral Commissioner( REC), Hussaini Ahmed Mahuta, and the state Commissioner of Police, Umar Shehu, have assured of their readiness to ensure peaceful elections.
The REC said: “INEC has made and still making tremendous efforts towards ensuring that the general elections are free, fair and credible, and to also ensure that nobody is deliberately disenfranchised.”
In the same vein, the police assured that it will do all within the ambit of the law to protect lives and property of the citizenry, before, during and after the polls. It said it is ready to secure the lives and property of the people by deploying enough men to the field, especially the flashpoints.
But some residents, who spoke with The Nation vehemently stated: “The best way to prevent violence is to ensure free, fair and credible elections and at the end, announce result that reflects the wish of the people.”
Ekiti is another state that is feared to record some pockets of violence following its unbroken record in this regard in recent times. Whenever elections are around the corner, the residents are often afraid that the ugly trend could rear its head.
Some of the high profile assassinations that had taken place in the state in the past included the killings of a World Bank consultant, Dr. Ayodeji Daramola; an Assistant General Manager, Finance and Administration of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria in Kaduna State, Mr. Kehinde Fasuba; Mr. Tunde Omojola, Mrs. Eunice Omojola and Mr. Yemi Oni. One Mr. Foluso Ogundare of Emure Ekiti, was also murdered during a meeting at Ward 3 in Emure, in the Emure Local Government Area of the state.
Pockets of violence were recorded in the wake of the 2007 general election but it assumed a frightening dimension in 2009 when the court ordered the governorship rerun election.
During the rerun poll, the Ido/Osi Local Government Area office of INEC along Ipere Road in Ido-Ekiti was set ablaze by unknown arsonists.
Apart from the razing of INEC office, politicians cutting across various parties were attacked sustaining varying degrees of injury with property worth millions of naira vandalised.
A member of the defunct Action Congress (AC), Segun Ajayi, had his leg shattered by shots fired by people suspected to be political thugs.
The build-up to last year’s governorship election also witnessed lots of violence across the state as politicians and their supporters unleashed violence on one another, causing tension across the land.
As the 2015 poll draws nearer, tension has heightened in the state as all manners of violence that erupted marred electioneering campaigns by the political parties.
A vandalised car during an electoral violence
There have been reports of attacks on the homes of some politicians, while billboards and posters of many candidates have been vandalised by suspected thugs.
A civil servant, John Ogundare, expressed concern on the violence being unleashed by politicians through their thugs. He feared that it may scare the electorate away from polling booths.
He said: “I am seriously concerned about the level of violence witnessed in the last couple of months. Politics should not be a do-or-die affair and if the trend continues, I may not vote at the election because I value my life and I don’t want to lose it.”
Mrs. Dupe Esan, a resident of Ikere-Ekiti, said she would relocate to her hometown of Igbemo-Ekiti during the elections because of what she called “fear of the unknown”.
“Although I was registered to vote in Ikere, I will travel to my hometown two days before the elections because of the fear of the unknown.
“Nobody knows what would happen and you know that politics is always hot in Ikere here. I will come back after the elections would have been concluded”, she said.
Following the upsurge in violence, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Taiwo Lakanu, organised a peace meeting where parties and candidates signed an accord to maintain peace at the polls.
Speaking at the peace accord forum, Lakanu, who was joined by the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 8, Christopher Dega, said the Police would not tolerate violence during the general elections.
Lakanu, in a statement, declared that the command had made adequate security arrangement for the forthcoming elections.
“The Commissioner of Police has held series of interactive sessions/meetings with political stakeholders and traditional rulers on the need to eschew violence and ensure that their wards/supporters are not allowed to partake in any form of thuggery/violence.
“The heads of other security agencies under the aegis of Inter-agency Consultative Committee on Election Security (ICCES) have assured the command of their full collaboration with the police to ensure violence-free elections in the state,” he said.
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) in the state has commenced moves to prevent the polls from being marred by violence by organising forums to sensitize Nigerians to ensure a peaceful electoral process.
The agency urged political parties and other stakeholders to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and avoid election-related violence which it fears may worsen humanitarian crisis in the country.
The Head of Operations, Mr. Saheed Akiode, said: “Violence is now a means used by group seeking power, by groups holding on to power and by groups in the process of losing power.
“Thus, electoral violence has been described as all forms of organised acts or threats physical, psychological, and structural, aimed at intimidating, harming, blackmailing a political stakeholder before, during and after an election with a view of determining, delaying or otherwise influencing an electoral process.”
The Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikole-Ekiti Branch, Mr. Ademola Adeyemi, lamented the fact that perpetrators of violence are hardly prosecuted in Nigeria despite the provisions in the Electoral Law.
He suggested the deployment of enough security personnel to areas that have history of violence.
“Areas that have history of violence should be identified and security forces deployed there to maintain peace during elections. If adequate security forces are not available, then phased election schedule is suggested,” Adeyemi said.
The Federal Government has unlocked a N1billion special credit line, through the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP), for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Cooperatives in Lagos State.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said the direct micro-enterprise funding further demonstrated the commitment of the current administration to developing enterprises at the grass roots in order to create jobs, enhance growth and ultimately reduce poverty.
He said NEDEP provided the necessary platform for the sustainable ongoing funding of micro enterprises, adding that the disbursement of the N1billion loan to MSMEs in Lagos was part of ongoing MSME funding across the 36 states of the federation and would be in phases.
Aganga spoke in Lagos on yesterday while presenting cheques to the beneficiaries of the first N100million special credit line.
NEDEP is an initiative spearheaded by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and its three parastatals – the Bank of Industry (BoI), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF).
Lagos State is expected to experience 260 days of rainfall this year with the maximum annual rainfall predicted to be 1,824mm, Commissioner for Environment Tunji Bello said yesterday.
Bello spoke at a briefing with reporters on the 2015 Seasonal Rainfall Prediction for the state.
According to him, Lagos has been predicted to experience rainy season of between 245 and 260 days, with the maximum annual rainfall predicted to be around 1,824mm, explaining that this maximum rainfall would be experienced within and around Marina.
He added that in general, this year’s rainfall has been predicted to have a delay onset of about two-13 days, with Lagos, Ondo, Ogun and some other states expected to have more pronounced delay onset by eight-13 days.
“An early cessation of rainfall is predicted for most part of the country. However, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Akure, among others are predicted to have later than normal cessation.
“In Lagos, onset dates range between March 26 and April 2, while the season ending is predicted to range between December 3 and 11. NIMET’s day and night temperature derivations for March show that the North is expected to be colder during the day while the South will be warmer,” he said.
The commissioner noted that it was equally predicted that the southern states would be warmer than normal at night, saying, however, that Lagos Island and its immediate environs would be colder than normal.
“Warmer than normal day and night temperature are predicted for most part of the country in April. The little dry season is predicted to occur between July 15 and August 31 in most parts of the country. However, in comparison to last August, this year is expected and predicted to be drier,” he added.
Bello said among the new ways of improving the content of this year’s Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) was the malaria forecast, which predicted warmer than normal and high humidity at different times across the country.
He said this high temperature and humidity were favourable conditions for the growth of pest, vectors and spreading of diseases, saying that the higher the temperature and humidity, the more rapid the life cycles of mosquitoes and frequencies in mosquitoes bites, urging the public to be well prepared.
“Lagos State is expected to be moderately affected by mosquitoes, nevertheless, it is of utmost importance that Lagosians keep their environment clean to minimise the effects of mosquitoes,” he advised.
He warned Lagosians against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in unauthorised places and ensured daily cleaning and evacuation of silted drains around homes and premises
