The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Lagos urges auditors to be focused

    The Lagos State government has urged internal auditors to comply with international standards.

    Commissioner for Finance Ayo Gbeleyi spoke at the 11th Internal Auditors’ Conference in Topo, Badagry Local Government, Lagos.

    Gbeleyi, who was represented by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Oluseyi Williams, said internal auditors need to operate with the International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS) for efficiency.

    He urged internal auditors not to be timid in performing their responsibilities anywhere they find themselves.

    Gbeleyi said: “This conference, with the theme: ‘The role of Internal Auditors in the Implementation of the Lagos State Procurement Bill and International Public Sector Accounting Standard’, could not have come at a better time than this, because it avails us an opportunity to brainstorm and address issues affecting our collective objectives.

    “The function of an internal auditor is to aid management and control. You are not supposed to make enemies or compromise standard while doing your job. Let integrity be your watchword.”

  • Expert cautions Lagos on flood

    Expert cautions Lagos on flood

    Prince Amid Adekunle Oduborisha, Chief Executive Officer, Wordsworth Company Limited, has blamed the various ongoing construction works by the state government in the state as being responsible for the frequent cases of flooding in the coastal areas of the state.

    While speaking with The Nation in his office in Ikeja, he advised the Fashola-led administration to do everything humanly possible to protect the state’s ecosystem which he says could prevent frequent incidents of flooding in the state.

    The environmentalist, who is a former senior manager of Chevron Nigeria Limited, said that Lagos State may witness loss of lives and properties running into billions of naira if the state fails to take drastic measures to protect her fast depleting ecosystem.

    The environmentalist who claimed that the incessant cases of flood and ocean surges being experienced in the state, are direct negative impact of some projects, urged the state government to act fast to avert what the effect would have on the social and economic well-being of the state.

    “Lagos is at risk of being taken over by water. It is absolutely true that the construction work going on at Eko Atlantic City is putting Lagos under a threat of ocean surge. Alfa beach has been destroyed by the sea. Those are warnings. This is because the state government is dredging from the Lagoon side and from the Atlantic side, saying they want to reclaim and create Eko Atlantic City when we have not sorted out our issue with drainages in the urban area.”

    He further said that unlike the past when the state’s ecosystems were not tampered with, the present efforts by the state government to beautify the state without preserving some of its ecosystem would spell doom for the state if proper care is not taken.

    He said for government to mitigate the effects of flooding in the state, good and regular maintenance of the drainage systems must be carried out.

  • Sheraton Lagos unveils Jazz Unplugged

    Sheraton Lagos unveils Jazz Unplugged

    With mellow jazz music being played by a live band, the whole of the Sheraton Lagos Hotel’s lobby was enveloped in music when last Tuesday the hotel unveiled its latest product, Jazz Unplugged.

    Jazz Unplugged is a kind of mid-week fun where guests can come in after the working hours to relax and have a good time.

    The first edition of Jazz Unplugged, which has gained acceptance based on the number people present, was sponsored by Frontera, Guikder and Jameson and some other brands.

    Speaking at the event, the Sheraton Lagos General Manager, Mr. Alexander Gasseur, said Jazz Unplugged was part of the extra mile the staff put in to satisfy the hotel’s guests.

    He continued: “It is an evening which we organize three times a week between 7 and 9pm where people can come after work chill, relax , hear some good jazz, have some good drinks, taste some good wine,have some good food and generally enjoy themselves. “

     

  • Lagos seals 13 buildings for pollution

    The Lagos State government yesterday sealed off 13 buildings for discharging sewage into drainage channels.

    The buildings, situated on Nnamdi Azikiwe Street on Lagos Island, were sealed by officials of the State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) and the Lagos State Taskforce.

    Leader of the enforcement team Mr. Kayode Bello said the sealing of the buildings became necessary, following incessant complaints by residents.

    He said the environment was littered with faeces.

    LASEPA’s General Manager Rasheed Shabi said they gave occupants notices to leave the buildings, but they did not comply.

    He said the sealed buildings had no toilets and channelled their waste into drains. Shabi said the sewage end up in the lagoon, killing the aquatic animals.

  • Lagos to acquire Lekki Concession Company

    Lagos to acquire Lekki Concession Company

    •Assembly approves supplementary budget

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has given its nod to the Executive to acquire the concession rights and toll revenue benefits held by the Lekki Concession Company (LCC), the concessionaire for the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe expressway.

    The House gave its approval at an emergency plenary session yesterday.

    It also approved Governor Babatunde Fashola’s request for a 2013 supplementary budget.

    The supplementary budget proposal was read on the floor by the Clerk, Ganiyu Abiru.

    After questioning the Commissioners for Budget and Economic Planning Ben Akabueze; Finance Ayo Gbeleyi and Works and Infrastructure Obafemi Hamzat, the House approved the amendment of the budget.

    With the revision, the budget has increased from N499.605 billion to N507.105 billion. The Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) was reduced by N22.5 billion and External Loans to N30 billion. Both have been added to the Bond Issue Requirement, which now totals N87.5 billion.

    Internal Loans was increased from N44.419 billion to N51.919 billion and Recurrent Expenditure reduced from N229.729 billion to N214.729 billion. Capital Expenditure was supplemented from N269.876 billion to N292.376 billion.

    The governor said the amendment will accelerate the transfer of ownership of the Lekki-Epe expressway to the state.

    The Assembly commiserated with the family of the first Speaker of the House, Mr. Oladosu Osinowo, who died on August 12 at 72.

     

  • Beans: From Northeast to Lagos

    Beans: From Northeast to Lagos

    Though many markets, supermarkets, and neighbourhood kiosks sell beans, the official beans ‘warehouse’ in Lagos State is the Irepodun Market, Iddo. Traders popularly refer to it as Iddo-Elewa.

    There, the stalls are all laden with bags of beans and the heavy duty vehicles and trailers that throng the market daily deliver just one product – beans.

    According to Abdulfatai Akanji, the secretary-general of the Irepodun Market Association, the bulk of the beans consignment comes from the Northwest region of the country.

    Whether, it is oloyin or banjara, drum, Olo 1, or Olo 2, it is largely Yobe, Gombe, and Borno states that produce the beans consumed in Nigeria. And in those states, the bulk of the farming of beans takes place in the rural areas.

    After harvest, the beans farmers take their commodity to specialised beans market where traders from other parts of the country come to buy them.

    This is usually a tough journey. Akanji said: “Farmers from the remote areas do bring their goods after harvesting to the major cities where they have larger markets. Some of these markets are daily, weekly or five-day markets. Whenever they bring their beans there, our people from here who are traders would go there and purchase some of those from the farmers.”

    In Kano, the beans market is called Dawanau; in Borno State, it is the Muna market Maiduguri while it is Potiskum market in Yobe State. These markets operate daily and it is to those markets that the Iddo traders from Lagos go to buy beans.

    Akanji also said that though trade in beans is huge in Kano, planting of beans doesn’t thrive as much. With the transaction between the traders and the farmers over, the traders then pool resources to charter trailers to convey the beans down to Lagos.

    This is usually a 30-tonne truck loads about 300 one hundred kilograms bags of beans or 600 fifty-kilogram bags. And this journey takes about three to five days, according to Akanji, depending on how sound the engine of the truck is. For Lagos-bound trucks from Kano, it usually takes about three days.

    And daily, as trucks arrive in Irepodun market, retailers, restaurants, and individuals in need of beans in large quantity also throng daily to Iddo-Elewa to buy beans.

    “People from Badagry, Epe, Lekki, Ikorodu, Ikotun, and from all over Lagos State,” he said, “come here to buy beans.”

  • Lagos plans big for Fed Cup finals

    Lagos plans big for Fed Cup finals

    With Enyimba Football Club of Aba, two times winner of Federation Cup and Warri Wolves Football Club, first time finalists in the championship set for a classical final, Lagos is set to host one of the best Federation Cup finals in recent times

    The road to Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere which began with States’ Preliminaries a few months ago will climax with a spectacular display of football on the 15th of next month with the two Glo Premier league sides ready to fight for the ultimate prize.

    The women’s finals will also for the first time in the history of the championship hold on the same day, with Rivers Angels Football Club taking on Nasawara Queens Football Club making it a full blend of men and women football. Teslim Balogun Stadium will, therefore, parade the best four clubs in the premier knock-out competition .

    Chairman of Lagos State FA, Seyi Akinwunmi expressed gratitude to the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola and the Commissioner for Sports, Waheed Enitan Oshodi for bringing the Federation Cup finals to Lagos for the third time in as many years. He said hosting the Federation cup finals in Lagos is another way by which the state government demonstrates its commitment to sports development, particularly football, urging the good people of Lagos to support this move by coming out en-mass to watch the finals.

    Akinwunmi, who is also a member of the Federation Cup Planning Committee, stated that all the logistics needed for a successful hosting is being worked on, adding that the state a few weeks back had a very successful meeting with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on plans for a befitting 2013 finals.

  • Okada riders protesting in Lagos

    Okada riders protesting in Lagos

  • Lagos to host mobile apps summit

    LAGOS State may soon host mobile application summit, expected to draw key players in the industry together.

    With Unleasing the power of mobile application as its theme, the event is being backed by 70th Precinct and E2 Marketing.

    The firm’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Osamede Umweni, said: “The summit will bring together the brightest minds in mobile technology. We are gathering over 300 of the most interesting mobile app developers, investors, company executives, entrepreneurs, brand managers, policy-makers, marketers, carriers, content developers and aggregators, advertisers, mobile devices manufactures and the press for a day of in-depth discussion, and powerful networking on the future of mobile applications in Nigeria.”

    He frowned at a situation where local content in the mobile phone industry is less than one per cent 12 years after the revolution.

    He said Gatner (a market research firm) estimates that mobile phone users will pay more than $25billion to buy ‘mobile applications’- games, social networking tools, productivity and entertainment – based mini programmes for mobile phones despite the fact that 80 per cent of these will be free downloads this year.

  • Shekau: Lagos Assembly urges caution

    Shekau: Lagos Assembly urges caution

    The Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the military defence headquarters not to rely on the “hasty speculations” made by the Joint Task Force (JTF) in Borno States that the leader of the Boko Haram sect, Abubakar Shekau, may have died in Amitchide, a border community in Cameroon, after an encounter with troops in June this year.

    Speaking with reporters in his office at the Assembly complex yesterday, the House’s spokesman and Information Committee Chairman, Mr. Segun Olulade, said given the sect’s sophistication, reliance on the JTF’s speculation can be risky unless there is concrete confirmation.

    He urged the JTF to intensify its operations in Chad and Cameroon borders and Boko Haram concentration camps to curb their activities.

    Olulade said there were many occasions when the death of Osama Bin Ladin was speculated and celebrated even before he allegedly masterminded the bombing of the World Trade Centre in the United States (U.S.) on September 11, 2001, adding that the fact that Shekau was injured during a crossfire with troops in Sambisa Forest was not enough reason to believe he is dead.

    He hailed the JTF men for their exploits, especially the killing of Shekau’s second-in-command, Momodu Bama, and 17 members of the sect, as well as the arrest of 24 members.

    Urging the JTF not to relax, the lawmaker said the war against terrorism must be fought tirelessly to ensure peace and development.