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Tag: Lagosians

  • LG polls: Ashafa urges Lagosians to vote APC

    LG polls: Ashafa urges Lagosians to vote APC

    The Senator represen-ting Lagos East senatorial district, Senator Gbenga Ashafa, has called upon Lagos East electorate to go out en masse and vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the forthcoming council elections in Lagos State. He spoke at the 18th edition of his senatorial town hall meeting, held at CMD road, Ikosi-Ketu, Lagos, yesterday.

    “I urge you all to troop out en-masse to support the candidates of our party, when they emerge, for the upcoming local government elections. By doing this, we would be able to harness the development we are witnessing in Lagos State at the grass-root level  through the synchronised efforts of state and local governments,” he said.

    He commended the support of his constituents so far since his election into the national assembly and urged them to throw their full weight and support behind APC during the upcoming elections. According to him, the success of APC at the forthcoming council election will aid the party to win the 2019 general elections.

    “Victory for APC at the council election will further help Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to continue and improve on his relentless efforts to transform Lagos to the state of his dream,” he added. He initiated an empowerment programme targeted at empowering 500 widows in the district, with the first batch of 50 women receiving their funds from the senator at the event.

    The event also witnessed a medical outreach powered by a strong team of medical personnel from Steno Memorial Foundation. The outreach attended to over 1500 constituents who came in for free qualitative medical services ranging from blood pressure, body mass, blood glucose, cholesterol, diabetes, hearing and dental check ups, and medical advices.

     

  • Ambode to Lagosians: we won’t betray your trust

    Ambode to Lagosians: we won’t betray your trust

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has assured Lagosians that his administration will not disappoint them.

    Ambode spoke at the Community Day held in 20 locations across the state as part of activities marking the 50th anniversary of the state.

    At Sky Power, Ikeja where three councils – Ikeja, Ojodu and Onigbongbo – held theirs, the governor said Lagos has survived for 50 years because good people are in the majority.

    Represented by Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation (WAPA) Mrs Lola Akande, Ambode said the good people see Lagos as a collective responsibility, an unfinished business that is always developing capacity to serve the citizens.

    “With your herculean efforts, you give us confidence and courage to boldly combat the problems which confront us and the minority behind those challenges. Whether it is crime, filth or social nuisance, we have left no stone unturned because you have entrusted to us your lives, day and night. I pledge here and again that we shall never betray that trust,” he said.

    Earlier in the address, Special Adviser to the Governor on Community and Communications, Mr Kehinde Bamigbetan, said the idea of holding the Community Day at 20 venues was to make it easy for the participants.

    He thanked Governor Ambode for giving the organisers the inspiration to make it a reality.

    Bamigbetan said: “The Governor, it was, who changed the template of grassroots event management by turning a single-venue One Lagos Fiesta to five-venue event. This achieved greater sense of belonging across the five divisions of the state, reversal of direction of traffic of entertainment enthusiasts from the Bar Beach and dispersal to five venues and stimulation of commerce around the entertainment hubs. And of course, it reduced crime.”

    Chairman, Community Development Committee (CDC) Alhaji Sulukaleem Osiberu, thanked the governor for his commitment to community development.

    Ambode, Osiberu said, reposed confidence in community leaders by encouraging them to take ownership of the state’s projects in their localities.

    He urged participants to take interest in the activities of the Community Development Associations (CDAs) in their neighbourhood.

  • Lagosians advised to have regular HIV screening

    Lagosians advised to have regular HIV screening

    Residents of Lagos and its environ should avail themselves of the free HIV counselling and testing every six months, if they tested negative during screening, Lagos State AIDS Control Agency(LSACA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Oluseyi Temowo has said.

    He stated this at this year’s Workers’Day, which coincided with the Golden Jubilee of the state in Agege Stadium.

    Temowo said an HIV-positive person could be symptom-free for about 10 years and infect others, if unchecked and untreated. “Being an HIV-positive person does not translate to death with appropriate medication. That is why knowing one’s status is very important,” he explained.

    He said access to HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) services would avail an individual the opportunity to take steps to stop the progression to AIDS through  lifestyle modifications and change in health-seeking behaviour.

    The celebration had as theme- Labour relations in an Economic recession: An appraisal.

    Th agency brougt to the venue  its mobile HIV counselling and testing truck, where over 257 received free HIV counselling and testing.

    Temowo implored residents of the state to visit the General Hospital close to them to get free HIV counselling and testing and that its mobile trucks could be moved to reach some difficult areas of the state for that purpose, if invited.

    He said all should remember that abstinence was the best option.

    “Be faithful to your partner, use condom correctly and consistently. Together, we will achieve an HIV/AIDS-free generation and HIV-free Lagos State to celebrate and continue the golden jubilee of the state with the theme- Enhance the heritage advance the future.

    “And together we all can achieve the eradication of the virus by 2030 through 90-90-90 initiative, which means  90 percent of the people living with HIV know their status, 90 percent of people who know their status are accessing anti-retroviral treatment and 90 percent of people on anti-retroviral have suppressed viral load,” he said.

  • Easter: LASG urge residents to celebrate with fresh, wholesome local foods

    As Christians globally prepare to celebrate Easter, the Lagos State Government on Thursday urged the state residents to eat fresh, wholesome and delicious foods grown in Nigeria.

    Mr Sanni Okanlawon, the Special Adviser to Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode on Food Security, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the state frowned at consumption of unwholesome imported foods.

    Okanlawon told NAN the state Ministry of Agriculture had begun sale of Lake Rice in the Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state.

    “It is very important that we give Lagosians the best of healthy and fresh foods, especially a very significant staple crop such as rice.

    “In that regard, for almost a week now, sales of our trail blazing Lake Rice has been on in some centres such as Adeyemi Auditorium in Alausa Secretariat, LTV8, Agriculture Development Authority, Oko-Oba.

    “It is at the Lagos State Agriculture Input Supply Authority, among other places. We want to make sure that Lagosians got the best,’’Okanlawon said.

    The special adviser also told NAN that the LGAs had been coming to receive their consignments which would be sold to buyers.

    Okanlawan added that the ministry wished Lagos residents a hitch-free and peaceful Easter celebration.

  • Lawyer wants Lagosians to use mediation centres

    A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Mr Patrick Antia, has urged residents of the state to make use of the Citizen Mediation Centre (CMC) to resolve their disputes.

    Antia spoke when he led some other human rights lawyers to the CMC, Iba Centre, to find out the level of dispute resolution at the office.

    The centre is among many others set up across the state to provide platforms for Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and also decongest the conventional courts.

    They are also part of efforts to promote peaceful coexistence among the citizens.

    Antia, who expressed satisfaction with the spirit behind the establishment of the centres, said they had helped to quell brewing crisis among residents.

    “The speed at which disputes are being resolved is commendable; very much unlike in the conventional courts.

    “Matters, as I have come to know, are resolved here at a win-win solution; a paradigm where both the complaint and defendant go home without acrimony,’’ Antia said.

    He appealed to the residents to avail themselves of the services of the centre, instead of taking to violence to seek redress of perceived wrong doing.

    “Majority of crises bordering on rent can be resolved here quickly,” he said.

    The Office of the Citizens’ Mediation Centre was established in 1999 as a unit under the Directorate of citizens’ Right of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the CMC later became a separate entity by Law No.6 of 2007.

     

  • Lagosians, get set… 181 roads, rent-to-own flats, jobs coming

    As Lagos warms up to commemorate its landmark golden jubilee anniversary on May 27, there is huge optimism and excitement in the air. The sixth town hall of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode provides insights into what to expect and all eyes are on Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to lengthen his long list of capital projects, writes WALE AJETUNMOBI

    Chief R.O Ajayi, Olumide Folami, Dr. Pascal Edomime, Yeye Dupe Ojo and Alhaja Dalemo Olukoga live in Ketu axis of Lagos State. Last Thursday, they all attended the sixth quarterly town hall meeting of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode. They did not go empty handed. They went with baskets of requests.

    They urged the governor to fix roads, such as Kujore Street, Quadri-Anibaba Road and others. They also wanted a secondary school for Agiliti and Maidan communities. Their bags of requests also had spaces for a new market on available land space at Fola Ahmed Street, fixing of the Itoikin road and transformation of the Agboyi-Ketu community.

    Ambode was ready for them too. He came with plans that will see new roads, link bridges, pedestrian bridge, jobs and others being delivered to Lagosians soon.

    Last year, he announced plans by his administration to construct 114 roads in all the 57 local councils and Local Council development Authorities (LCDAs) simultaneously. He gave a timeline of in six months. There were reservations in some quarters about the possibility of fulfilling the promise.

    Time, however, proved wrong the Doubting Thomas. At the town hall meeting last week, Ambode again unfolded yet another plan, which looks insurmountable. He announced his readiness to increase the number of the roads from 114 to 181.

    Speaking at the meeting held at the Ajelogo Housing Scheme, Ajelogo Market Road, Akanimodo, Mile 12, Ambode explained the rationale behind scaling up the road improvement project.

    The governor said: “I want to pronounce here that you should watch out next week in the newspapers, we are advertising 181 roads which would be done in all our local governments.

    “What we have found out is that if we decided to continue with two, some of those roads are not linking each other to the main road, so most likely you would see that if we are supposed to do some road in some local governments, it would only make economic sense if there is a linkage. So you would see in the advert that some local governments would have like three, some would have four roads, but the average is 181 and if you divide that by 57, that would be a minimum of three roads from each local government.”

    Ambode said the choice of the roads to be constructed had been made by the local governments in conjunction with the engineers.

    The governor said the choice of Akanimodo, Mile 12 as venue for the meeting was to show that the axis had not been left behind in the developmental progress.

    He said in the last quarter, his administration kicked off its “Rent-To-Own and Rental Housing Policy” aimed at providing affordable units across the three Senatorial Districts, disclosing that there are 4,355 housing units available with over 500 applicants prequalified so far, while allocation would commence next week.

    The governor said his administration would rehabilitate the Oko-Oba Abattoir and Lairage Complex, Agege to increase meat production output, develop the red meat value chain and restructure the complex.

    Ambode unveiled plan to improve transportation in the metropolis, with the rehabilitation of roads, such as Marwa/Depot Road, Ijegun-Egba in Amuwo Odofin, 500metres-long Imeke-Ajido Bridge in Badagry, Adisa Ajibulu in Oshodi, Adisa Balogun-Igboho Street, Alapere in Kosofe Local Government as well as the signalisation and junction improvement on the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

    He also said the Neighbourhood Safety Corps would become operational in this quarter with the recruitment of 5700 personnel, adding that 100 would be deployed to each local government to complement the efforts of other security agencies.

    2017, said the governor, holds great expectations for Lagos, which is set to mark its landmark Golden Jubilee on May 27.

    Urban regeneration initiatives, the governor said, will see Agric-Isawo-Arepo Road in Ikorodu, Ajelogo–Akanimodo Road Rehabilitation, Oshodi to Murtala Mohammed Airport Road and Ketu-Alapere Inner Roads Phase II wearing new looks. Also to benefit from this are Oke Oso–Araga–Poka in Epe, Topo Garage to VIP Chalet in Badagry, Ladipo Market Road, Multilayer Car Park, Mushin.

    Bus Terminals and depots are to be established in Yaba, Ikeja, Oyingbo, Anthony, Ketu and Toll Gate.

    More beneficiaries will receive funding from the N25billion Employment Trust Fund this month.

    Ambode said: “As we continue the task of ensuring good governance in our dear State, I am confident that 2017 will bring succor and new opportunities that will foster prosperity for Lagos State and all its residents. Our party, the APC, remains focused on making Lagos the progressive sign post for all. I thank all our party leaders and members for their loyalty and support.”

    Oba of Lagos Oba Rilwan Akiolu urged the governor to give priority to the construction of Adeniji-Adele Road and ensure the construction of other roads that deserve utmost attention in Lagos Island.

    He also urged the governor to improve the standard of markets in the area to enviable standards, while urging total reconstruction of non-approved and unauthorised buildings already built within major markets in Lagos Island.

    On security, Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni said with the continued support of the state government, the Command increased the number of personnel in Ketu-Epe Police Post from two to seventy to effectively combat kidnapping and other crimes in Agbowa, Itoikin and environs, as well as transformed the hitherto abandoned Iyun Police Post to anti-kidnapping unit, while two gun boats were moved to Ejirin.

    On provision of health centres, Special Adviser to the governor on Primary Health Care, Dr. Femi Onanuga, said the government has 288 Primary Health Centres (PHCs) with plans to construct another two, as well as renovation work on 35 PHCs.

    Onanuga said government has also perfected plans to equip 35 PHCs with another two, while the total number of PHCs in the State would be increased to 290, adding that Governor Ambode has approved that PHCs, from now onwards, should offer 24hours service as against the former 8hours service.

    He also disclosed that a public spirited Lagosian has already donated a PHC worth N70million to government along Agbelekale-Aboru axis.

    Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Babatunde Adejare said the Cleaner Lagos Initiative (CLI) of the present administration would be implemented and a total of 40, 000 people would be employed starting from June 2017.

    Ambode directed that a stakeholder’s meeting should be convened on the issue of Ilaje Road in Bariga raised by one Elder Omoniyi owing to the fact that the road was narrow and some houses would have to give way for the construction.

    On Irawo Road, Ambode ordered the Public Works Corporation to move to site within seven days and complete the project to appreciate the communal effort of the people, while promising to look into all the issues raised by residents.

    A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Kosofe II, Tunde Buraimoh and Prince Rotimi Agunsoye representing Kosofe Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives hailed the idea behind the meeting, saying that it was important for the government and the governed to meet and decide on issue of governance.

    “There is no gainsaying that without any equivocation, without mincing words, I say categorically, emphatically without any fear of correction and contradiction that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is God-sent to Lagos. He is fantastic, he is someone who is even a noiseless engine. He is not the type that will use N1, 000 to do a project and use N10, 000 on publicity. The Governor is doing what he was supposed to do as matter of routine and achievement in governance has become a routine in Lagos.

    “The governor is not cosmetics; he does not do propaganda but yet every corner, every locality in Lagos is now a construction site from Oshodi to Alimosho to Epe to Kosofe. I say kudos to him,” Agunloye said.

     

  • Lagosians urged to donate towards improved security

    The Executive Secretary of the Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), Dr. Abdurrazaq Balogun has appealed to Lagosians to donate to the Fund for improved security.

    Balogun stated that the military, paramilitary and other security agencies  needed the resources and interventions to combat crime.

    According to him, without adequate security, Lagosians cannot prosper in their endeavors be it social, economic, political or religious.

    He said: “As security is everyone’s business, I use this medium to encourage Lagosians to rekindle our resolve to achieve a better society by investing in our security, which is paramount to the ability of security agencies to fight crime and keep us safe.

    “To also be more vigilant and to endeavor to contact the Law enforcement agents through our emergency and toll free numbers 112/767 when you see anything suspicious.”

    The CEO urged every Lagos resident to play his/her part by donating generously to the Fund in order to sustain the model of funding of our security agencies  which will further translate into a more robust infrastructural development, employment and the well-being of the entire people of Lagos State.”

  • Lagosians trained on agriculture

    Lagosians trained on agriculture

    Another batch of 150 Lagosians yesterday benefitted from the ongoing agricultural empowerment training organised by the Lagos State Government. The training was in conjunction with National Images Agricultural Empowerment Training Scheme at Agege Local Government’s Secretariat.
    The project, according to its Director Mr. Oluwaseyi Bamigbade, was to engage youths and Lagosians to embrace agriculture, saying it’s the only way of bailing the country out of recession.
    The participants were trained on cat-fish production, cassava, wheat and rice processing as well as marketing techniques and soilless vegetable production. They were also exposed to construction of mobile vegetable field box and its operations.
    The participants were made to know the best way to form cooperative societies that would make them have access to credit facilities from reputable and specialised financial institutions.
    Certificates were also given to those who attended the training.
    Bamigbade said the training would be replicated in all the remaining local governments and local council development areas (LCDAs).
    He said the training will resume on February 16 at Amuwo-Odofin Local Government.

  • Be law abiding, monarch tells Lagosians

    Be law abiding, monarch tells Lagosians

    A monarch has enjoined the public not to take the laws on its hands but to allow the government to fight in justice and resolve dispute to enthrone peace in Lagos State.
    The Ayangburen of Ikorodu, Oba Kabiru Shotobi, spoke at his palace, when the Public Advice Centre of the Ministry of Justice visited him.
    The visit was to make the activities of PAC known to Ikorodu people. PAC provides free and independent information as well as legal service to Lagosians, among others.
    Oba Shotobi said would ensure that the rights of the less privileged are not violated.
    The initiative, he added, is a back up for traditional rulers, who are the closest to the grass roots.
    Oba Alaiyeluwa, Oba Abdul Akeem Adeoriyomi Oyebo, the Obateru of Egba Land, said PAC would help people to know where to go when on trouble.
    “PAC is a centre where dispute will be settled without going to court or involving the police,” he said.
    PAC Director, Mrs Tola Akinsanya, said the centre is aimed at ensuring peaceful co-existence in the state.
    According to her, PAC services are free in line with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s promise to bring succour to the people.
    PAC, she added, serves as the first port of call for the public when in distress and to those seeking information on their legal rights and responsibilities.
    “PAC serves as an interface and provides information and legal advice to members of the public dealing with agencies of government, human rights, desks, state welfare department and other justice sector institutions.”
    “PAC also seeks to ensure that residents are not only aware of the governmental and non governmental provisions available to them for the protection of their rights, but it also gives the necessary assistance.
    “We proffer advice and information that residents need for the problem they face, which will educate the citizens and impact their lives positively. We also respond to issues through the right channels to ensure cohesion of activities of government and its agencies. We improve he policies and practices that affect the lives of residents,” she said.

  • Free medical check for 10,000 Lagosians

    Free medical check for 10,000 Lagosians

    Over 10,000 indigent Lagosians will benefit from free healthcare at a medical outreach organised by the US-based Community Dentistry on Wheels and Methodist Church Nigeria, Diocese of Lagos, which began yesterday.

    It will hold at on Wesley Cathedral Olowogbowo on Lagos Island.

    Founder of Community Dentistry on Wheels Dr Anu Esuola, said participants had been receiving free screening for hypertension, dental cavity, eye cataract, glaucoma and other ailments.

    Esuola said they were also getting free treatment and drugs.

    She said the outreach, which is funded by her husband and donor companies, is her give-back scheme to her country.

    “I love Nigeria and the downtrodden and this is a way to demonstrate this in concrete terms,” Esuola, a dentist, said.

    The Methodist Archbishop of Lagos, Most Rev. Luke Odubanjo, said the church decided to partner with the outreach in continuation of its commitment to the underprivileged.

    “It is our sacred duty to take care of the poor and their well-being. We believe this will enable us reach out to them for lasting impact,” he said.