The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Lagos introduces austerity measures

    Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola has raised the  alarm over the dwindling resources which he said would affect the implementation of its budget.

    He added that the global fall in the price of crude oil, effect of the postponement of the general elections, increase in exchange rate and others are serious impediments to the targeted income of the state government.

    Fashola  said the actions of the managers of the nation’s economy have been inconsistent as the nation’s external reserves have dwindled considerably, which he said has seriously affected the revenue of the state.

    Fashola  spoke at an emergency meeting with  members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

    He stated that the purchasing power of the people has reduced considerably and that the monthly shares of the Lagos State Government from the Federation Account has reduced from N11 billion to N10 billion.

    According to the governor, the gross revenue performance was 86% last year, adding that budget performance could not be measured until the expected money comes in.

    “The budget performance terminates with the revenue, which is about 80%. We are the only government that has performed up to 80% in the last three years.

    “We want to propose an amendment of the budget of all the agencies of government to the actual income of the revenue. It is not reduction of the budget, but to propose that no section gets up to 100% of its budgetary allocation,” he said.

    Fashola maintained that the Nigerian economy is caught in troubled waters, adding that without electricity supply, prospects of alternative economic generation such as agriculture, small scale enterprises, tourism and others would become impossible.

    He condemned a situation, where the government votes less than 30% for capital expenditure and over 70% for recurrent expenditure.

    According to him, the dwindling fortunes of the Nigerian government would affect Lagos State mostly being the most populous state and the one that contributes most to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

     

  • APC needs no campaign in Lagos, says group

    A group known as ‘The Democratic Dividend Initiative’(DDI), has said that the All Progressives Congress (APC) needs no campaign in Lagos due to its outstanding achievements in provision of dividends of democracy to the people.

    The group’s President Hon  Paul Eze,  who spoke yesterday in Lagos at a news conference, said in a democratic setting, the only  yardstick to measure  good governance is nothing but presence  of democratic dividends which include good roads, good health care delivery and improved education system which are bound in Lagos.

    Eze, who enjoined the people of Lagos to shun all the sugar- coated mouth politicians who are parading themselves around in the state without any record of achievement whether in their private lives or in their previous public service.

    “Some years back motor parks and under the bridge which usually serves as the den of area boys are today a beauty to behold with good nurtured lawn and beautiful gardens replacing it. All eyes can see how the transport system in the state has been turned to not only as a veritable economic hub but as a recipe to transport agony of the past.”

    The group assured Lagosians that the APC candidate Mr. Akinwumi Ambode will pick the baton of success from the outgoing governor Babatunde Fashola  and take the state to the next level.

  • Governorship candidates in Lagos sign gender pact

    Four of the candidates in the April 11, 2015 gubernatorial election in Lagos State, Messrs. Jimi Agbaje of the People Democratic Party (PDP); Ayodele Akele, National Conscience Party (NCP); Adeniji Adedoyega, KOWA Party and; Bolaji Ogunseye of the Alliance for Democracy (AD), have signed a gender pact with  Civil Society Groups to  promote women related issues in the state if elected.

    The pact contains the 12- point demands adopted at the Lagos gender dialogue held recently with the candidates.

    The demands cover issues such as health, education, economic and poverty alleviation, vulnerable groups, decision making, environment, agriculture, road network, water supply, people with disability, child abuse and violence against women and security.

    The programme was organised by the Vanguard Newspapers, Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) and Silverbird Television in partnership with Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Lagos.

    The gubernatorial candidates signed the gender pact after a session of dialogue with the electorate. The four agreed to involve women in their administration as a result of the issues of gender and women in particular, receiving very limited attention from political actors during electoral processes over the years.

    The programme held at Sheraton Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos.

    Agbaje assured women in the state of a minimum of 25% appointive slots in his administration.

    He said the problem with women is that the qualified ones hardly want to join politics. He urged them to move from political activism to real politics, saying that is the only way by which more women can participate in politics.

    He challenged women entrepreneurs and professionals to step into politics so there can be more women in the system.

    Akele noted that if women are given 35% appointive position without impact in their lives and that of the vulnerable citizens in the state, then it is meaningless.

    Adeniji and Ogunseye both promised to reserve 50% appointive seats for women in the state.

    Adeniji said: KOWA Party was formed in 2009 to specially take care of women and all vulnerable persons in Nigeria.

    Ogunseye said he cannot give 35% of appointive positions to women because that will be going against the actual demand of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW, which states that 50% slots should be reserved for women to ensure gender equality.

    Earlier, Executive Director, WARDC, Dr Abiola Akiyode Afolabi said WARDC is a nongovernmental, human rights organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of women’s rights, gender equality and social justice in Nigeria.

    She said the initiative was borne out of the concern on the limited attention that gender and women issues received from political actors, during the electoral process especially the fact that few women candidates emerged during this electoral dispensation.

    “Historically, people in political offices do not prioritise gender and women empowerment issues for reasons best linked to ignorance, patriarchy, lack of political will and general apathy towards women’s issues. This has continued to retard world progress and development.”

    She said the Lagos gender dialogue was an opportunity to bring women issues to the front burner, making it the most critical debate.

    “A 2012 report on gender in Nigeria concludes that the estimated 80.2 million women and girls in Nigeria have significantly worse life chances than men in relation to employment and livelihoods, education and health, political representation, and violence. According to the report, Nigeria ranks 118 out of 134 countries in the Gender Equality Index; women are politically unrepresentative with only seven out of the 109 senators and 25 out of the 360 representatives as women elected in the 2011 election process. In relation to maternal health, each day, 144 Nigerian women die in child birth, which is equivalent to one death every 10 minutes,” Akiyode said.

    A child right activist, Mrs Yemisi Ransome-Kuti spoke on the need to educate the young ones. “We the women brought children to the world, both male and female. It is up to the women to ensure that our young men grow up respecting women, and see themselves as equal partner, at home, school and work. They do not aspire to get to the position where they are the Lord and master of their situation. It is by ensuring that there is that balance, emotionally, mentally and intellectually between the male and the female child right from young,” she said.

    Woman Editor, Vanguard Newspapers, Mrs Morenike Taire, said that the initiative was in line with the newspaer’s commitment towards ensuring a better life for the entire nation, particularly women and children.

  • Pro-Jonathan OPC on the rampage through Lagos

    Pro-Jonathan OPC on the rampage through Lagos

    Lagos, Nigeria’s business and financial engine-room, was yesterday groaning under a crippling protest by the militia group, Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).

    Security agents looked the other way as the group’s members troubled the city, calling for the removal of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega.

    The protesters were members of a faction of the OPC, led by Chief Gani Adams, one of those who have just won the controversial N9billion pipelines protection contracts. They were supported by an amorphos group – the Committee of Concerned Nigerians (CCN). Some Niger-Delta militants reportedly joined the protest.

    The protesters got traffic stuck for hours, smashed cars, harassed motorists and disrupted business in many parts of the city.

    They destroyed banners and camapign billboards of All Progressives Congress (APC) candidates.  The streets were strewn with the pamphlets they gave out to terrified residents and satchets of water they consumed.

    “Had supportters of the APC reacted, the story would have been different,” an APC chief who watched the march said.

    The protesters smashed their way through the major streets— from Berger at the entrance into the city from Ibadan through Ojota to Maryland where they converged before marching  through Ikorodu Road to the National Stadium.

    The protesters followed in the footsteps of their fellow ethnic militia group in the Southeast  – the Movement for the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) – whose members protested against Jega in Enugu, Owerri and Abakaliki last weekend.

    The groups are believed to be sponsored by the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    Commuters on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, the old toll gate and Ojota   were stuck for hours.

    More than 5, 000 people with over 50 buses under the aegis of “ Coalition of Concerned Nigerians” blocked a section of the road, distributing pamphlets and causing a traffic snarl that lasted for hours.

    Lagos residents took to social media to vent their anger over the disruption of their lives by the protesting OPC members.

    One Diced Pineapples queried the police for “protecting that kind of unjust rally, causing stupid traffic for ordinary people.”

    Another citizen, Nike Fakorede, said: “It is the height of insanity. Ours is really a banana republic. Real shame.”

    Adebayo Bukola twitted: “To the OPC niggas protesting in Lagos, continue! We’ll soon have the video of how the protesters don’t know why they are there.” (Continued on Page 2)

  • Lagos Attorney-General presents book on taxation tomorrow

    Lagos Attorney-General presents book on taxation tomorrow

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), will be the Special Guest of Honour at the public presentation of a book on Taxation in Nigeria.

    The Public Presentation is scheduled to hold tomorrow, at the Agip Hall, MUSON Centre, Onikan, Lagos by 2.pm under the Chairmanship of the Presiding Justice of Court of Appeal, Lagos,  Justice Amina Augie.

    • Ipaye
    • Ipaye

    The book, authored by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, gives insight into the legal and practical aspects of taxation and revenue administration in Nigeria.

    It is entitled: Nigerian Tax Law and Administration – A Critical Review.

    The publication attempts a review of the major tax laws in Nigeria as well as the administrative structures and processes by which they are implemented. It covers the essential background details, contextual definitions of terms, the basic rules of tax assessment, dispute resolution and enforcement

    It is a product of his combined experience as a teacher of Revenue Law and Tax Administration at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos and as the pioneer Special Adviser to the Governor of Lagos State on Taxation and Revenue.

  • Marginal fields operators urged to develop gas offshore in Lagos

    Marginal Fields operators have been advised to develop gas fields offshore in Lagos.

    The Managing Director, Frontier Oil Limited, owner of the Uquo Marginal Field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13 onshore, in Akwa Ibom State, Thomas Dada, who gave this advice, said gas revolution had started.

    He said though it is slow, it would begin to gather momentum soon, noting that there is abundant gas offshore in Lagos.

    Quoting statistics, he said about 60 per cent of power generated in the country is consumed in the Lagos, adding that there is the need for the development of gas resources to serve the needs of the people living in the state.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, Dada said in the next 10 to 15 years, there would be a major improvement in the way gas is harnessed and used in the country. This, he said, would not only ensure the speedy growth of the country’s economy but would also improve the quality of life of Nigerians

    Dada said: “It means that people have to focus on sound business case to develop those gas resources. And in Lagos a consumer can pay higher price than in other places. They should find a way of linking those who have gas to those who want to generate power and be a facilitator of the process.

    “If you turn gas into power it means that the factories can produce goods, it means that people can be employed locally to generate wealth and that can only be well for the Nigerian nation. It means a major improvement in the quality of life of every individual in the country. It will have economic benefits as well as better the quality of life.”

    He reiterated the urgent need for the government to stop or curb pipeline vandalism in the country.

    He noted that Lagos gets its gas from Escravos in Delta State for Egbin Power Station and that there had been increasing capacity, urging the government to look for a way to overcome pipeline vandalism.

    “If pipelines were not constantly attacked, gas will be coming from the Delta region to Egbin Power Station, which is the biggest power station in the country, but it is not firing enough turbines because of inadequate gas. We need to solve the important problem of pipeline vandalism, because it is sabotage and there is no economic sense in attacking a gas pipeline, you cannot do anything with it. So it is pure economic sabotage and the government should take it in that manner and deal with it squarely.”

    Dada charged the operators to increase their efforts to bring the fields into production. He said the marginal fields have the potential to contribute to the development of oil and gas industry in the country. “We want more success stories because if the success story goes into the wider world it can only be good for Nigeria as a nation,” he added.

    He said Frontier Oil Limited was working towards becoming one of the leading indigenous exploration and production (E&P) firms in the country and a mid-size regional player.

  • Lagos kicks off lease-to-own housing estate

    Lagos kicks off lease-to-own housing estate

    The affordable home ownership State Government and the First World Communities – a firm of real estate and new town developers – has taken off.

    Last week, Governor Babatunde Fashola unveiled the first phase of the initiative that will deliver 10, 000 housing units in the three senatorial districts of the state. The initiative is targetted at partly addressing the housing gap in the state.

    The deal, which comes under the aegis of the Lagos Cooperative Home Ownership Incentive Scheme Limited Partnership (Lagos CHOIS LP), is for low and medium income earners. It is to be built in safe and attractive communities.

    The CHOIS Garden Estate is sited in a gated community within the Abijo Government Reserved Area on the Ajah/Epe axis. It represents an emerging model of a sub-urban community developed as a ‘site and services scheme’ through the state’s New Towns Development Authority.

    The estate comprises 324 housing units of two- and three-bedroom apartments on two and three floors, three-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, four-bedroom semi-detached duplexes and three-bedroom private access masionettes of four in a block.

    The Commissioner for Housing, Mr. Bosun Jeje, said the initiative , which took off in 2010, became necessary because of the realisation that most middle and low income households in the state find accessing mortgages to buy or build their homes difficult due to some factors.

    Under CHOIS, householders that are unable to afford mortgages can have access to a home on Lease-to-own basis. This allows subscribers to occupy the property on a lease, with the option to purchase it in small incremental steps as their socio-economic status improve.

    “With this, we encourage private investors to partner with us. The government cannot build; we are only regulators,” Jeje said.

    According to the President, First World Communities Limited, Brig. Gen. Tunde Reis (rtd), only the first and second phases of the project have been completed, adding that the motivation for the initiative is to make housing delivery systemic, rather than the traditional way that Nigerians have been used to building.  “Lagos has approximately five million housing deficits and there is need to look for an industrialised and systematic way of delivering the houses,” Reis noted.

    He listed the previous challenge in housing delivery and ownership as the affordability gap- that is, the difference between the cost of a house and what an intending buyer could afford to pay.

    Reis further explained that with the CHOIS initiative, the state government had addressed affordability to a lease-to-own scheme.

    The retired Army General said that the scheme is key because rather than a prospective home owner paying in full or depositing 30 per cent of the total cost for a property as done under a traditional mortgage, only 15 per cent deposit is required under the CHOIS scheme, whose prices ranges from N7 to N23 million.

    “Then, you pay a monthly lease payment to Lagos CHOIS Limited partnership and on your own you make payment annually when you have additional money to offset the balance and increase your balance towards purchasing it over a period of one to 10 years to complete the payment,” Reis said. For those on the National Housing Fund (NHF), there is also an opportunity to benefit from CHOIS.

    Fashola, praising the promoters of the scheme, said the partnership had created jobs for some youths, adding that there was a need to replicate more of such partnerships with the private sector.

    “We provided land; our private sector partner had the initiative while First City Monument Bank lend money to fund the project because they believed in the model and idea. If you really want to solve the problem of corruption, provide housing and mortgages for people to buy houses,” he said.

    Reis explained that partnership was limited without equity contributions, unlike in limited liability firms where parties have equity contributions in percentages. He was optimistic that the initiative would grow such that at a point rather than seek government funding, the project would be funding government through remittances on property tax; it will also become self-driven, he added.

    This is because the initiative was hinged on three important pillars of security, landscaping and affordability.

    “We need to create space to make sure the intended people actually benefit from this scheme,” he said.

    In all, there are about 25 hectares of land for the project; with about 15 hectares already developed in the first two phases.

    “What we are inaugurating is actually two phases of a three-phased development. We have been able to build so far in phases one and two 324 units with an additional 90 units still under construction. In the third phase, we will be developing 400 housing units,” Reis added.

     

  • Angelique Kidjo shines in Lagos 

    Angelique Kidjo shines in Lagos 

    Few weeks after she welcomed the Nigerian delegates and Beninoise officials who handed her two plaques she won at the maiden edition of All African Music Awards (AFRIMA), which held in Lagos, Grammy award winner, Angelique Kidjo, was in Lagos at the weekend, having an exciting time on various radio stations.

    The singer, whose mission in Lagos to perform was at the grand finale of the second edition of Etisalat Prize for Literature which held yesterday, at the Intercontinental Hotel, arrived Saturday, ahead of her performance, and had a swell time gracing the studios for different interviews sessions on her blossoming career.

    Kidjo, who is celebrated for hit songs such as Agolo and Mobolombo took her media tour to Cool FM, Classic FM and Smooth FM.

    The hit maker was one of the high profile personalities at the Prize for Literature award,where one African, among the three finalists shortlisted won a whopping sum of£15,000 and a high-end device, in addition to a book tour to three African cities.

    The three finalists, Songeziwe Mahlangu (South Africa), Chinelo Okparanta (Nigeria) and Nadia Davids (South Africa) also gave a review of their books at the recently held book reading and signing for Etisalat Prize for Literature competition.

  • Lagos Motor Fair gets April date

    Lagos Motor Fair gets April date

    This year’s edition of the annual Lagos Motor Fair and Auto Parts Expo will hold between April 30 and May 6, the organisers said. At a media briefing, BKG Exhibitions Limited, organisers of the event described this year’s edition as a milestone.

    Its chairman, Ifeanyi Agwu, said efforts are in top gear to roll out drums for the 10th edition.

    Agwu promised to use the  edition as a turning point in the history of the fair.

    Nigeria, he said, has what it takes to compete with developed nations in terms of staging auto show.

    “Though there are some little challenges, we will not run away because our goal is to make Nigeria be among the best globally,” he said.

    He canvassed support from stakeholders in the automobile sector to have a robust fair.

    According to him, the automobile sector should be the second largest sector economically in Nigeria after the oil and gas sector. Apart from being a major key  to the nation’s development, it should generate more jobs if properly harnessed.

    He said no fewer than 300 participants from 20 countries are expected to attend the fair in  the nearest future.

    He, however, stated that firms dealing in auto parts are coming from six countries namely Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Germany, Austria, China and India. The fair, Agwu said, will feature Executive Disk Jockeys (DJs) that would appear live on Classic FM to talk on the fair, Queen of the fair, Raffle draw, Award night, Entertainment and Automobile Classic.

    Agwu said: “The annual fair brings together major local and international vehicle manufacturers; Brand Representatives as well as policy makers in the road transport and automotive business in Nigeria and West Africa. It is always highly focused and boasts of well targeted participants and visitors.

    “It has the ultimate objective of providing a good forum for existing and potential practitioners as well as other stakeholders in the automobile and allied businesses across the world to explore and exploit the potentials that abound in the industry in Nigeria.

    “The fair has grown over the years and have always had in attendance high profile exhibitors and visitors from Nigeria and abroad. It avails the participants the opportunity of reaching out to more customers; interacting with policy makers; making new contacts and networks; amongst others. Our activities are focused on building long term, result oriented co-operation among the players in any sector of the economy through world class exhibitions around the African continent.”

  • No distribution of PVCs in Aganmathen community in Lagos

    THIS is a message for Professor Attahiru Jega, the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). And we want him to take an urgent action on it.

    Many people of our community, Aganmathen, in the Ajara area of the Badagry Central Local Government Area of Lagos State, are yet to get their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

    As we write this, over 5,000 people from four of the eight units in the community who were duly registered by the INEC during the second registration of eligible voters are yet to collect their cards.

    No INEC officials came to the units to distribute the cards, and when the INEC Office at Ibereko was visited in order to collect them, they were all disappointed. The officials could not give a satisfactory answer on the non-availability of the cards.

    The affected units are 14, 17, 18 and 19. Also another unit  in Ajara Topo is also affected.

    We did the registration as a condition for voting those that will represent us in the governance of our beloved country, state and local government. Why is the INEC trying to disenfranchise us from performing our legitimate duty?

    Last Wednesday, members of the community protested at the INEC Office, displaying placards urging the electoral body to give them their cards.

    During the protest, the Electoral Officer at Ibereko, Mr Odu Chinedu I.S, was said to have gone to Lagos for an official assignment. Mr Ilo Frednard, who attended to us, promised that the commission would look into the matter within one week. He said there was a hitch with the registration in Units 14 and 15, while the cards of other units were being expected from Abuja.

    Another officer of the INEC blamed the problem on wrong coding, adding that the INEC would not want a situation where coding problem would prevent the electorate from voting.

    We are appealing to Prof. Jega to look into this matter and give us our PVCs.

    If the cards are not provided, we shall continue to ask for them in a peaceful manner.

     

    Mr Solomon Hunwi, Chief Avosegamu Godonu and Mr Todowede Abel,

    Aganmathen, Lagos State.