The Nation Newspaper

Tag: lagos

  • Govt: law to reintroduce monthly clean-up ready soon

    Lagos State Government on Wednesday told residents that an enabling law to permit reintroduction of the monthly sanitation would be enacted soon.

    The government’s resolve was made by the Commissioner for The Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tunji Bello, during a stakeholders’ meeting with Association of Commodity Market Women and Men led by the Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Chief Folasade Tinubu-Ojo.

    Bello said the invalidation of the exercise by a court sometime ago is a temporary setback, which will be reversed very soon.

    He said the meeting, which also had the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ronke Odeneye and Managing Director Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegeshin in attendance, was convened to seek the buy-in of market leaders, women and men on the government’s zero tolerance for indiscriminate dumping of waste.

    Read Also: Lawmaker seeks federal help on roads

    Bello said markets which had not engaged the service of PSP waste operators should link up with LAWMA to ensure removal of waste.

    He said in conjunction with the appointed PSP waste operators, a point in the market must be identified where the waste generated should be gathered before being carted away by the PSP operator.

    The commissioner told the market leaders that the government would not hesitate to sanction PSP operators who failed to perform their duties efficiently.

    He said the government would have no option but to shut any market that harbours refuse or dumps same on the road.

    He said as a form of motivation, competitions would be re-introduced to recognise and reward markets adjudged as the cleanest.

    Mrs. Tinubu-Ojo said she will ensure that market sanitation becomes a daily task all market leaders will adopt.

    She said her association was ready to cooperate with the government to adopt the methods proposed, to ensure cleanliness in markets and their environs.

  • Council chief names building after Lagos Speaker

    The Chairman of Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State, Hon Ganiyu Kola Egunjobi has started construction work on a new legislative building named after the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa.

    The compositions of the building, which will have curtain wall design, on completion include: 74-seater gallery, all councillors’ offices, 18-seater conference room, and a parking lot, among others.

    Speaking at the ceremony, Egunjobi said a confluence of factors informed the council’s decision to have a new legislative building, which is named after the Lagos Speaker, who represents Agege Constituency 01 in the State House of Assembly.

    He cited the need to create an enabling environment that would inspire quality legislation and make it much more convenient for the councillors to perform legislative functions vested in them.

    “Many factors informed this project; one, no society can develop without laws that are framed to foster fairness, justice, growth and development.

    “It is also imperative that the environmental condition where laws are made is conducive enough and devoid of any kind of impediments and distractions, which are the reasons for this project,” he explained.

    The council chief justified the naming of the new legislative building after Obasa, saying the Lagos Speaker, who doubles as the Chairman of the Speakers’ Conference is an illustrious son of Agege and has contributed immensely to the development of the area and Lagos in general

    He said: “It is a necessary to honour and immortalise the most successful legislator of all time, from our community, in the person of Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa.

    “Obasa is a lawmaker extraordinaire, who cuts his teeth in law making as a councillor representing Ward E in old Agege Local Government Area, comprising our sister council, Orile between 1999 and 2002, and was at a time during the period, the Deputy Leader of the legislative arm.

    “The story of modern Lagos and its meteoric rise in the area of growth and development brought about by good governance, an offshoot of cerebral legislation will be incomplete without his name being made mention of.

    “He has to his credit: the introduction of town hall meeting in all the 40 constituencies of the state, initiation of four private bills, including that of the Neighbourhood Watch, the anti-kidnapping, the anti-land grabbing and the cancer institute bills.’’

  • Two arraigned for ‘threatening to kill’

    Two men, Ismail Sanni, 35, and Goriola Junaid, 39, were on Monday arraigned at an Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos for allegedly threatening to kill the Chairman of Ferry Side, Ejalonibu, Ebute-Ero car park, Alhaji Mutairu Oke.

    They were also alleged to have maliciously damaged his properties valued at N2million.

    The defendants, of no fixed address, are facing a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, malicious damage, stealing, threatening to kill and conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace before Magistrate Mrs. M. A. Agbaje.

    Prosecuting Sergeant Tope Adegsie told the court that the duo and others at large committed the offences on August 30.

    He said the incident occurred at about 5pm, at Ferry Side, Ejalonibu, Ebute-Ero, Lagos Island.

    Read Also: Lawyer, two others arraigned for allegedly defrauding woman

    Adegsie alleged that the defendants damaged the office apartment of the complainant valued at N2million.

    “The defendants stole N500,000 from the complainant’s three bank accounts through the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cards. They also stole his tax clearance, voter’s card and driving licence.

    “The defendants stabbed Monsuru Fasasi, a car park attendant to the complainant, on his right hand, back and inflicted a deep cut on his body,” he alleged.

    The prosecutor said the defendants conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace by threatening to kill the complainant.

    The defendants pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Agbaje granted them N200,000 bail each with two sureties each in the like sum.

    She said the sureties must produce evidence of tax payment to the Lagos State Government and have their addresses verified.

    The case was adjourned till October 9.

  • Traders lament bad road, environment at Ojuwoye market

    A cross section of traders at the popular Ojuwoye Market, Mushin, Lagos, on Friday lamented what they described as the deplorable condition of the access roads in the area and the filthy environment at the market.

    They explained that the situation was adversely affecting  their businesses particularly during the rainy season.

    The traders urged concerned authorities to take drastic measures to redress the situation.

    A grocery store owner, Friday Ikechukwu said the deplorable condition of the only access road in the market hampers easy transportation of goods and movement of shoppers.

    Read Also: Traders recount losses after scavengers, miscreants clash in Lagos market

    He also said that one of the major challenges facing traders was insecurity adding that ‘’ some of my goods were stolen about three days ago.’’

    A fabric merchant, Mrs Rofiat Adebayo attributed the deplorable environment to lack of good drainage system.

    “I have been trading in this market for over 20 years.  The access road in this market is bad because there is  no adequate drainage to let the water flow and this area is congested.

    A tomato seller who asked not to be named said she suffered loss whenever it rained.

    “I have been selling tomatoes for over 15 years now. The condition of the environment is bad and I hardly open for business whenever it rains.

    “Both the state and local government authorities should come to our aid by giving facelift to the access road and do something about the filthy environment in this market which is as a result of poor drainage system.”

  • I never travelled out before, says teacher who won reality show

    It was one of her dreams to travel out of the country.  But when it came true last Sunday, Vivian Ifeagwu, a Primary Four teacher at Imperial Gate School, Lekki, Lagos, did not believe it.

    She will be travelling to Dubai as part of her reward for winning the first-ever Teachers’ Reality TV Show last Sunday.

    She beat 14 other teachers to win the first prize of N1.5 million and a trip to Dubai in a keen competition which lasted for two weeks. The first runner-up, Oladimeji Olawale, won N1m while the second runner-up, John Ojonugwa Attah, won N500,000. Also, the schools where they teach will each receive N500,000.

    The Reality Show, an initiative of Anub Media Limited, with the support of the Federal Ministry of Education and Teacher Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), was for teachers aged between 21 and 45.

    Seven male and eight female teachers with the highest votes were initially shortlisted to be in the ‘House’ located in Abuja from August 10.  They spent two weeks in the house, performing various tasks and assignments.  The housemates were evicted until they were whittled down to six at the finale last Friday. They were awarded marks on how well they performed their tasks by the judges, a jury and the votes they had.

    Speaking on her win, Ms Ifeagwu said: “I was speechless.”

    She continued: “I had mixed feelings. You know when you have prayed and then God answered your prayers. Earlier this year, I did a vision board and I talked of travelling out of Nigeria because I’ve never travelled out.”

    Ms Ifeagwu said she heard about the reality show on the social media and shared the message before applying.

    “I heard about the show when someone, Barry Ifedi, posted the link on a WhatsApp group, ‘Thinking School’, I belong to. I was sharing with others before I realised that I was yet to apply.”

    While in the house, Ifeagwu said she loved the drama tasks the most. Unsurprisingly, when asked what she would have done had she not been teaching, she said it would be acting.

    “I would write my scripts and also be an actor of that script.  Drama flows from me. I love dramatising to teach my children. Creativity has always been one of my strengths. In fact, it is the number one strength I have acquired as a teacher. Most of my topics in class, I try to dramatise, I try to use stories for the children,” she said.

    Ifeagwu started teaching in 2008 in Bayelsa State, during her National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) year. She studied Biochemistry at the Imo State University, Owerri. And after realising that teaching was a “calling” for her, she obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Education at National Teachers Institute (NTI). Presently, she is rounding off a Master’s in Planning and Administrative Education at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and intends to go for a PhD.

    She, however, thinks it is dire how teachers are treated in the country. “In my society, teachers are looked down (on), especially when you say you are a primary school teacher or a nursery school teacher. They feel you do not have anything upstairs, that you are just working with children and jumping up and down with them. That really gets to me sometimes. And I keep asking God, how can teachers be appreciated as they should be appreciated because they really do a lot as the foundation for children, not only at the foundation, but at the secondary school, not to talk of our lecturers.

    “Teachers are nation-builders. And if they are nation-builders and they make other professions, I think they should be appreciated more than they do in my country.”

    According to the show convener, Ubaka Enuagwuna, the show sought to highlight the life of teachers. “Our aim was to create a paradigm shift in the way teachers are perceived in the country,” he said, adding: “We want teachers to be first class citizens just like in the developed countries of the world. Teachers make other profession possible. Why can’t they be given the right recognition and supported?”

  • We shut Benin border over rice smuggling, says Buhari

    Massive smuggling of rice across the western border is responsible for its partial closure, President Muhammadu Buhari said on Wednesday.

    The President added that he would meet with presidents of neighbouring Benin and Niger on how to stop smuggling.

    The closure is also to allow Nigeria’s security forces develop a strategy on how to halt the dangerous trend with its negative impact on the government’s economic programme.

    This was the first time the reason for the closure of the Seme border near Badagry in Lagos State, was given since the commencement of exercise, ‘Ex-Swift Response, jointly conducted by the Customs, Immigration, police and military personnel and coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser. It is meant to last 28 days.

    The partial closure is simultaneously ongoing in Nigeria’s border in three other geo-political zones.

    President Buhari gave the reasons during an audience with Beninois leader Patrice Talon on the margins of the Seventh Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD7), in Yokohama, Japan.

    Read Also: Lawmaker calls for calm as residents groan over joint border security exercise

    President’s spokesman Femi Adesina, in a statement said President Buhari expressed great concern over rice smuggling.

    The president said the activities of the smugglers threatened the self-sufficiency already attained due to his administration’s agricultural policies.

    “Now that our people in the rural areas are going back to their farms, and the country has saved huge sums of money which would otherwise have been expended on importing rice using our scarce foreign reserves.

    “We cannot allow smuggling of the product at such alarming proportions to continue,” he said.

    Responding to the concerns raised by President Talon on the magnitude of suffering caused by the closure, President Buhari said he had taken note and would reconsider reopening it in the not too distant future.

    He explained that a meeting with his counterparts from Benin and Niger Republics would soon be called to determine strict and comprehensive measures to curtail the level of smuggling across their borders.

    The volume of rice import from Thailand in 2015 by Nigeria was 1.8 metric tons.

    It came down to zero metric tons in 2017 when the Federal Government banned the importation of the staple food item to boost local production.

    The action triggered a phenomenal rise in the importation of the product in neighbouring Benin Republic and Cameroon.

    As a result of the smuggling and acts of sabotage by some unpatriotic elements within the security agencies, the tons of rice imported by the neighbouring countries found their way into local markets in Nigeria.

    The development is threatening the gains achieved by the Buhari administration in local rice production.

    To promote the consumption of locally-produced food items, the President recently ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to block importers of food items from accessing any of the government windows for foreign exchange (forex).

    President Talon said he called on the Nigerian President as a result of the severe impact the closure of the Nigerian border was having on his people.

  • Firms plan festival to raise N10m scholarship for students

    Scholarx and iManage Africa have announced plans to hold a festival, AcadaFest, to help raise up to N10 million to sponsor university tuition for deserving students in Nigeria.

    The event scheduled for September 15, 2019 at the Muri Okunola Park, Vitoria Island, Lagos, would feature Music from top acts like Waje, Show Dem Camp, Bez Idakula and Johnny Drille.

    It will also showcase Food and Book vendors like Dundu Nation, Azdamtreats, Rovingheights Books.

    A statement by CEO of ScholarX, Bola Lawal, noted that the festival is being sponsored  by FCMB, Tecno Mobile, Okadabooks, Wallets.Africa, Pulse.ng  and others,  which will allow the entire proceeds from ticket sales to go towards the Scholarship Fund.

    He said with the economic inequalities in Nigeria, there was need for collaboration by Nigerians outside government to help the situation.

    “I don’t think it’s a secret that we have access to education problem in Nigeria, largely due to economic inequalities caused by high poverty levels. What we as a collective; need to improve upon is how to help make things better? Yes, we know government (at all level) need to step up their efforts, but we can’t wait, we must act. And this is what ScholarX is all about. Using technology, we want to connect as many students as we can to viable funding sources. AcadaFest is another step in the right direction. We are very grateful that iManage Africa joined us in making this a reality,” Lawal said.

    Godwin Tom, CEO, iManage Africa, said collaborating with ScholarX was an opportunity he had sought for to give back to the society.

    He said: “Like many people in Nigeria who are willing to contribute or support the future of many young people, I always struggled with how best to do so and ScholarX created a solution for me and people like me. I needed to find a way to get more people to know about the tremendous work they are doing. Acadafest is an opportunity to do and send some deserving students to school at the same time. Everyone wins!” –

    Lawal, called for members of the public to support the festival by purchasing tickets from the firm’s website.

    ScholarX is an education Finance platform that has fully funded 600 students with $70,000 in tuition raised, and $100,000 in scholarships managed and 300 Diaspora Donors.

    iManage Africa is a talent manager/brand consultant firm in Nigeria, which has managed stars like Wizkid, and currently manages: Wande Coal, Ice Prince, Bez, Show Dem Camp, Beverly Naya and planned and executed sold out concerts.

  • Govt promises to be responsible for victims’ medical bills

    Lagos State Government has promised to take full responsibility of the medical bills of victims of the accident involving a full load cement truck and a passenger (BRT) bus, which occurred on Tuesday at Asolo on the Lagos Ikorodu Road.

    Commissioner for Health Prof Akin Abayomi who disclosed this on Tuesday during a visit to the victims at the General Hospital, Ikorodu, commiserated with them and assured them of quality and adequate care at the facility.

    He said of the 53 accident victims that were brought to the hospital, one of them was brought in dead, while two others died in the hospital due to the severity of injuries sustained.’

    Read Also: Lagos State Governor’s wife to fight sexual, domestic violence

    Abayomi said eight others were referred to other state-owned specialist facilities, noting that five of the patients were referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), while three others were taken to the General Hospital, Gbagada for further treatment.

    The commissioner hailed the swift action of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), LASAMBUS, LASTMA and other first responders in the prompt rescue of the accident victims.

    He noted that though the victims sustained different degree of injuries, they are responding well to treatment.

    He urged the families of the victims to be calm and cooperate with the medical team to ensure quick recovery.

    Abayomi assured that the government will do everything possible to ensure that the victims are discharged soon.

  • Three die as truck rams into BRT

    Two employees of Primero Transport Services Ltd and a female passenger were killed on Tuesday after a truck rammed into a Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) vehicle at Majidun in Ikorodu.

    Over 55 other passengers sustained injuries. The BRT driver was said to be unconscious. He lost his leg.

    It was gathered that the cement-laden truck had a brake failure and suddenly skidded into the BRT lane, crushing an oncoming mass transit bus with number plate LSR228XS.

    The BRT, it was learnt, had 60 passengers on board, with 20 of them standing.

    Primero boss Fola Tinubu said there was nothing the BRT driver could do, as the truck jumped from its lane and hit the bus head-on.

    He said: “A truck jumped from the regular lane on to the BRT lane and hit our bus head-on. There was nothing our driver could do to prevent the accident.

    Read Also: 17 die in Kwara auto accident

    “Unfortunately, we lost two of our workers and one passenger in the accident. We are working with the authorities to apprehend the truck driver.

    “Right now our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the deceased and we are praying for full recovery for the injured.

    “Our vehicles are fully insured and our passengers are also insured, but this will not bring back the dead. I pray that God should grant the deceased’s souls eternal rest. We will continue to investigate the accident.”

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr. Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, said one death was recorded in the crash.

    He said the bus was carrying 40 seated and 20 standing passengers, adding that all the passengers on board suffered injuries.

    “All passengers on board suffered various degrees of injuries, with one female passenger dying. The driver suffered severe life threatening injuries, with his leg cut off.

    “The combined efforts of the agency’s assets (Medical unit, Tiger unit, Papa Eagle and Cobra units) were on ground working alongside Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps (LNSC), Police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA) to ease traffic and ensure a swift recovery of the truck. Recovery operation is ongoing,” Oke-Osanyintolu added.

  • Physically challenged seeks prayers, more fund

    Miss Ijachi Blessing Maria, the 17-year-old girl with severe bowing of both limbs, whose story was first published in Life Magazine section of this paper last month (July 3), seeking N2.5 million for the correction of her deformities at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos, was scheduled for surgery yesterday. Though she is yet to fully realise the total cost needed for the operation, she is very hopeful.

    As the Benue State-born girl moved into hospital last Monday, preparatory to the surgery, she thanked donors, who have so far responded to her appeal for the N2.5million  required for the operation, adding that she has so far realised N2,030,000. She is, therefore, pleading for more financial support and prayers from the public, corporate organisations, religious houses and leaders, governments and non-governmental organisations.

    Blessing specially thanked the media for taking up her case and restoring her hope for life, stating: “But without you, there is nothing I could have done. In fact, I have already lost hope in life, but you and other good spirited Nigerians have restored my hope. Please, help me to appeal for public understanding and pardon as I return again to plead for more financial support as I have no other option, but to do so.

    “On arriving the hospital on Monday, I was told that the cost of the operation I was given early last year had risen by over N800, 000. I sincerely appeal for this sum N800, 000 and it shouldn’t be what would stop me from going ahead with this operation.  I know with your support, those of Nigerians and the Almighty father, I will get this money and I will be relieved of this predicament once and for all. Thank them all for me, God will bless you all and grant you His grace and glory. My account details remain John Blessing Maria, GT Bank Account No. 0468466784. Donors should please make their contributions to the account and help me with prayers for the success of the operation. By His grace, I will return alive, hail and healthier to your joy and glory.”

    Blessing has experienced 12 years of unbaiting harsh pains from severe bowing of both limbs and dropped out of school in Senior Secondary School (SSS) 1 in 2016 from the excruciating pains and inability to walk to and from school. She will remain in hospital for four weeks after the operation to fully recover from the surgery before she would be discharged.

    She started having problems with her legs from age two and half and was taken to the General Hospital, Ikeja, from where she was referred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi (NOHIL), Lagos.

    “Igbobi prescribed a surgery for me at that age, my dad was required to donate blood for me for the operation, but he was sick at the time and died. We couldn’t raise the money after my dad’s death, so, it was impossible for us to go back to Igbobi for the operation,” Blessing said, adding that her mother told her of the harrowing experiences the family went through since then.

    She managed to go through elementary school and then Junior Secondary School (JSS) at the Ikeja Junior Secondary School, Oshodi, Lagos. But, with the pains and level of deformity worsening as she grew older, it became impossible for her to walk to school daily, sit all through in the class and walk back home.

    Described by her teachers as exceptionally brilliant, Blessing painfully dropped out of school in Form 1 at the Ikeja Senior Secondary School in 2016.

    “It was a very painful end to the education of a most academically promising child,” one of her teachers then, remarked of Blessing, who remains committed to returning to school once she is through with the surgery and certified okay.

    The hope-raising medical report for Blessing signed by Dr. Izuagba Emeka B., Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Padiatric Orthopaedics and Limb Reconstruction Unit, NOHIL, dated March 26, 2019 and entitled: Re: Medical Report on Ijachi Blessing Maria/ Female/17years, Hospital No. 639273, reads: “The above named patient of our hospital was first seen on 17/09/2018 with complaints of severe bowing of both limbs of 12years duration. There is associated knee pain, difficulty in walking or running.

    “She initially presented to the hospital 7 years ago for treatment, but defaulted as she could not afford the cost of the required surgery. The deformities have since progressively worsened up to the present state.

    “On presentation, she was thoroughly re-examined and a diagnosis of severe Bilateral Infantile Blount disease to rule out skeletal dysplasia was made following clinical assessment and X-ray imaging studies.

    “She requires a surgical treatment of gradual correction of lower limb deformities using Ring Fixator/Taylor Spatial Frame due to the grotesque nature of the deformities.”