The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Meeting

  • On Buhari’s absence at FEC meeting

    SIR: My simple reaction to President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence for the third consecutive time at the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting is that the government should come clean on the exact current state of the president’s health. There is nothing to be ashamed of about this. PMB is over 74, for God’s sake. Even younger elements fall ill. There is no need for a shadowing faceless cabal to hold PMB down in a simulated prison, incognito and incommunicado, denying millions of Nigerians who elected him, including those who did not, of his presence, action and Presidency. It is simply callous and inconsiderate of them.

    There is no need to put Nigeria on a dangerous precipice, through needless anxiety, curiosity, guesswork, permutations, doubts, analysis, gossips, rumours and conspiracy theories. As President of Nigeria, PMB ceased to be a private citizen from May 29, 2015, when he was sworn into office as President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He automatically became public property, whose deeds, misdeeds, action and inaction, are subjected to rigorous public scrutiny. This is one of the dire prices leaders pay for choosing voluntarily to be leaders. PMB can return to the UK for further medical attention, and rest, whilst his Vice, Prof Yemi Osibanjo, SAN, acts in his place. This happened before for 49 days and heavens did not fall. Heavens will not now fall. I personally, on my part and from my little corner, wish President Buhari speedy recovery, uncommon energy and vigour and God’s guidance and protection, to be able to lead Nigeria to the promised land.

     

    • Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN,

    Lagos.

  • Police hold town hall meeting on herdsmen

    As part of a proactive measure to address invasion and clash of herdsmen and host communities in Abia, the divisional police in Obingwa Local Government of Abia State has met with stakeholders and herdsmen.

    Also, the state’s Chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), Alhaji Hassan Buba, has urged communities to get the telephone numbers of herdsmen who enter their areas to graze their cattle.

    Buba spoke at a town hall meeting, which featured leaders of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders, traditional rulers, town unions and youth groups at Eastern Ngwa Police Division in Umuobiakwa.

    The union leader said the move would enable communities to check herdsmen’s invasion of farms and destruction of crops.

    He said: “We appeal for cooperation between herdsmen and their host communities. I plead with the traditional rulers of the various communities to get the telephone numbers of any herdsman, who comes into their area to graze cattle. They should forward such telephone numbers to us to check trouble makers.

    “If a herdsman refuses to cooperate and release his telephone number, the community should report any infraction to security agencies and avoid taking the laws into their hands. This will go a long to forestall clashes between herdsmen and their host communities.”

  • Ikpeazu’s wife kicks off August Meeting

    Ikpeazu’s wife kicks off August Meeting

    The women look forward to the eight month of the year during which they gather and discuss their welfare and way forward for their people. It is called the August Meeting

    This year’s edition was not different in Abia State as the wife of the governor Mrs Nkechi Ikpeazu met with  grassroots women, giving them a feel of what the state government has been doing in the last one year.

    The wife of past governors of the state had always taken a day to kickstart the women’s August meeting in the state, which is normally done in a chosen area within the state before different communities in the state commence their own.

    This year, Mrs Ikpeazu decided to take the kickoof of the programme  to all the three senatorial zones of the state to make the women to have a feel of what the incumbent administration has been doing especially for the women of the state in the last one year.

    Speaking dring the flag-off of this year’s August meeting with the theme, ‘Education for Better Life’, Mrs Ikpeazu said that August meetings have always been a platform for women to discuss some communal matters and do fund raising program to carry out community projects.

    Mrs Ikpeazu said that last year the august meeting was rebranded and turned into more meaningful conferences where women can come and learn and be educated about topical issues.

    She said that this year’s august meeting for Abia women could be said to be a successful one as the women in the state have been taught things about agriculture, “This would enable them to increase their farm produce output and thereby make more money for themselves and their families”.

    The governor’s wife said that this year’s August meeting will provide the needed opportunities for the women of the state to learn and improve themselves, stressing that it would make their lives better.

    She recalled that last year that women groups in the state during the august meeting were encouraged to carry out community projects that will empower them, “I believed that we succeeded as many of our women have shifted their focus to skill acquisition and empowerment instead of building community halls.”

    Mrs Ikpeazu said, “Women are now more focused on emerging issues that have direct bearing on their wellbeing, after our last year’s August meeting, we noticed that a couple of women groups embarked on building collective businesses like bakeries, water treatment and bottling plans and I want to commend their efforts as it will put money in their pockets”.

    She commended their husband, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for providing the women of the state the required platform like the august meeting to express themselves and for making gender and children issues first-line charge in its policy formulation and implementation.

    Mrs Ikpeazu noted that Governor Ikpeazu has approved the disbursement of interest free loans to indigent women to support them in any trade or business of their choice, “This program will be launched in the next two weeks and women from all parts of the stat will benefit”.

    She said, “We have been supporting our women especially the indigent ones and those without skills to learn a trade and become self-reliant and empowered, currently we are training about one hundred women in various skills across the state”.

    In her reaction the wife of the transition chairman of Ugwunagbo local government area, Mrs Theresa Onuoha Uche commended the wife of the governor for bringing this year’s august meeting to the door steps of the rural people.

    Mrs Uche noted that the wife of the governor has been able to uplift the indigent people in the state especially women, stressing that whatever they are learning at this year’s august meeting will be taken to the rural areas for the women there to benefit as well.

    The highlight of this year’s august meeting was the lectures delivered by Prof Christopher Ogbonna Emerole who spoke on Motivating Women into Meaningful Farming, The Menace of Rape in Our Contemporary Society by Bar. Mrs Uzoamaka Ikonne and Overview of Sickle Cell Disease by Dr Mildred Oluchi Ukoha.

  • Meeting the herding challenge

    Meeting the herding challenge

    The controversy over how to deal with the time bomb that defines the frequent violent clashes between herders and crop farmers is an unfortunate example of our habitual politicisation of issues of economic and social importance. What it requires is simply getting our bearing right and calling a spade by its proper name.

    What are the issues? Herders naturally promote their economic interests by taking care of their cattle, shepherding them to good pasture not minding the economic interests of crop farmers and their farmlands which their cattle feed on indiscriminately. Naturally too, farmers resent the impunity that appears to characterise the actions of herders. They are resentful because it appears to them that herders are subject to no laws or to different codes which protect them from justice. After all, they see many of these herders with AK-47 flung around their shoulders. Do they have the legally approved licence to carry such lethal weapons in pursuit of their economic interests at the expense of the farmer’s interests?

    While some farmers resist confrontation, deciding to have their gods avenge the ill-treatment in the hands of a powerful foe, others have decided to take their destinies into their hands, fighting with whatever they have, what they regard as economic oppression and tyranny of the mighty and powerful. In the midst of what appears to be a raging silent battle for economic and cultural survival, amidst all that have been our terrible lot at the dawn of the 21st century, there are conflicting reports of prospects of governmental intervention. One such was the idea of a grazing land, which has recently come up in media reports but which has now been denied again in media reports. My intention here is to offer some clarifications which I hope can lead to a morally and economically adequate resolution.

    First, we need to understand the commonalities and the differences between farming and herding. In terms of commonalities, I would like to suggest that they are both farming activities. We entertain no controversy when we talk about crop farming and livestock farming. Farming is defined commonly as the activity of growing crops or raising livestock for food or as raw materials. The synonyms for farming include agriculture, cultivation and land management.

    Second, from the foregoing it follows that farming has a number of divisions or sectors including, livestock, grain production, crop production, land management, etc. and whoever is engaged in any of these activities is by definition a farmer. By the same token, a farm is defined as an area of land that is devoted to the activity of producing food crops or raising animals for food and/or raw materials. For farming, farms or farmlands are necessities. And a farmer therefore is someone engaged in the business of farming, which as we just agreed, include cultivating crops and raising livestock. I suggest that herding is one category of farming and a herder is one category of farmer.

    What’s the difference? Herding is an agricultural or farming device to manage animals domesticated for supply of food or raw materials. While crop farming is space-confined, herding can but doesn’t have to be unconfined. Furthermore, while livestock farming is farming for subsistence and for sale by farm owners, herding is usually done by third parties working for livestock farmers or by individual families as small holders.

    Herding has been described as a way of life. It is claimed that herders are culturally nomadic and they cannot live domesticated life. This may be true to some extent. However, it is not supported by experience of recent times. There are stories in the holy scriptures about middle easterners of Abrahamic religions living nomads lives, including Abraham and Lot, Jacob and his in-law, Joseph and his brothers, Moses and his in-law, and David and his Jesse brothers.

    But where is the nomadic way of life in present day Israel! Or with contemporary Bedouin Arabs? Many have settled for urban life enjoying modern facilities including schools and health care. No condition, they say, is permanent and a culture that condemns a large number of human groups to a life of perpetual hardship and suffering is not worth keeping. By the way, as our Minister of Agriculture once observed, the cattle reared in the harsh conditions of nomadic herding are also an unhappy lot.

    If herding is another method of raising domesticated animals, then it is livestock farming. It prevailed as a method under two related realities which no longer exist. First, there was large expanse of land most of which was unclaimed by any specific groups or individuals. Second, the land was unsuitable for crop farming and the shrub and plants on the land was good for the animals. Neither of these realities now exists.

    The land that Nigerian herders frequent with their cattle belong to individuals and families, though by virtue of military fiat much of these lands now belong to state governments. And the approval for the use of most of these lands is now vested in the state governments. It follows that the lands are not free for use as grazing land by herders.

    While small land owners get away with the use of the land once claimed by their ancestors, commercial farmers can only have access to the quantity of land they need by lease or purchase from the government. Herders hardly do any of these and they freely graze their cattle on the lands trespassing on farmlands with impunity.

    This accounts for the frequent clashes that have occurred between herders and farmers who cultivate the lands across the length and breadth of the country. It is incorrect to see this as a north-south conflict. Rather it is a conflict between the economic interests of crop farmers from north and south on the one hand and livestock farmers who practise nomadic herding in the north and south.

    Clarifying the matter this way enables us to deal with it in a rational way. First, both livestock farmers and crop farmers need suitable land for their farming activities. Second, the former can still use herders once they have a legitimate claim to adequate land that does not conflict with the valid claims of crop farmers. Third, having a legitimate claim to land means that livestock farmers, just as their crop farming counterparts, lease or purchase specific parcels of land for their farming operations.

    This is the economically rational approach to livestock farming.This is what private ranches are about in modern livestock farming. The advantage of ranches includes the opportunity to graze cattle and other animals in well nurtured environment with adequate facilities for education and healthcare for those that still choose herding as a job. Furthermore, the cattle that they raise by this method can be given adequate care, with good feeding grass and shrub specifically planted for the purpose as well as veterinary care for the animals.

    The denial that there is a grazing land bill before NASS is a great relief. It would not have worked if the goal was to stop the frequent violent clashes between farmers and herders and it would have aggravated the tension. The beginning of wisdom and resolution of the crisis is the recognition that it is too late in this day and age to subscribe to the practice of open range grazing land for cattle or other domestic animals. For besides the conflict it generates, it is also economically unviable. At a time when we are encouraging commercial crop farming, it is counterproductive to encourage open grazing which destroys farmlands and pit crop farmers against herders.

    Livestock farmers who employ the services of herders must not be allowed to put their economic interest above national interest. The nation has a primary interest in harmonious relationship among its various groups. In addition, it also has an abiding interest in the economic prosperity of all its citizens. Private ranching as a globally tested method of livestock farming is the best approach to the promotion of the interests of livestock farmers and herders that work for them as well as the interests of crop farmers.

  • Council holds stakeholders’ meeting

    Council holds stakeholders’ meeting

    The Ejigbo Local Council Development Area (LCDA) of Lagos State has held its stakeholders’ meeting at the council’s secretariat. Supervisor for Agriculture, Femi Ibile said the stakeholders’ meeting was aimed at carrying them along in the council’s activities such as construction of the two roads within the community.

    The Executive Secretary of Ejigbo LCDA, Hon. Jaiye Alabi said notice has been given from the Lagos State government that all gated streets in the community must be open from 5:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.

    He added that between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. security must be put in place to prevent criminals from unleashing their deadly acts on the residents.

    Alabi further said that a law has been enacted by state government and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is continuing with the law which the past governors worked with, even as he is working with all communities to see that things are fulfilled.

    Meanwhile, the Executive Secretary has advised stakeholders to take care of their environment and be careful of the kind of foods they eat to avoid contracting Lassa fever.

    He urged them not to eat foods which rat has eaten or urinated on, adding that foodstuffs must be kept properly to avoid rat urinating or eating them.

    “Cleanliness is next to godliness, health is wealth. We will carry out our responsibility with the little income we make to fumigate, sanitise and give access to the community

    .”We are trying to get a firm dealing with fumigation to reduce Lassa fever.

    “Governance is about information, governance is about communication. It is better we are informed on what is going from the government to the people so that they will assist us.

    “There are some efforts the community must also do so that the government will wake up for their assistance. He called on the Community Development Association (CDA) to work together with the Community Development Council (CDC) to improve the community.

    He praised the past administration for its commitment to road construction, most especially Ejigbo-Ilamose Canoe-Ajao Link Road.

    “Roads are the problems of Ejigbo. To ease the flow of gridlock, Lagos State government in conjunction with Ejigbo council have started constructing Peter Agha/January 27 Street (mass burial bridge) to link Ilamose – Canoe Bridge.

    “Also, construction of Lafenwa-Coker and Fadu Street also is going on. Twenty-three culverts have been constructed while 33 streets have been graded. Fifty citizens of the community will be trained as environment officers to arrest those who litter the streets with dirt. He said the community must be clean.

    He pleaded that the “change” promised by the All Progressives Congress (APC) must start with the people.

     

  • Security meeting holds Dec 15

    Security meeting holds Dec 15

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will, on December 15, host the annual town hall meeting on security organised by the State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF).

    In a statement by LSSTF Executive Secretary Abdurrazaq Balogun, Ambode will render an account of the Trust Fund at the meeting, present the audit report and solicit  donations to the Fund.

    Balogun said the meeting would also provide an avenue for the governor to share his ideas on security and get a  feedback from decision makers and stakeholders.

    The commissioner of police will present the state’s security report to the public.

  • Ambode unveils score card at town hall meeting

    Ambode unveils score card at town hall meeting

    To many, the other name of Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State is Tinubu country. It is so-called because of the support the area has given former Lagos State GovernorAsiwaju Bola Tinubu over the years. Governor Akinwunmi Ambode held a town-hall meeting there last week. WALE ADEPOJU reports that it was a moment of revelations for the people and their governor.

    Alhaji Femi Olowolagba, a popular resident of Ipaja/Ayobo Local Council Development Area (LCDA), has a dream. His dream is for millennium schools to spring up on the outskirts of Lagos. Like Owolagba, Pastor Okere Boniface also has a dream. He wants Abaranje, a community in Alimosho,  to have public schools of note and good roads. His day will be made when pupils no longer have to trek long distances to  school and vehicles no longer have to hit the pothole-riddled roads that dot his environ.

    The concerns of Alhaji Adeleke Okunnowo, who is the Secretary-General, Okooba Mosque, Orile-Agege, and Mr. Gift Oriseke are quite different. Okunnowo seeks a situation where the law prohibiting mosques and other places of worship from using external speakers become extinct. Oriseke’s dream is about how members of the Mosan Community Farmers’ Association will receive assistance from government for fish farming and others.

    Tuesday last week provided Olowolagba and others the opportunity to dialogue with their governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, on their aspirations. The venue was the inaugural edition of his quarterly town-hall meeting at the premises of the Abesan Primary and Secondary schools.

    Speaking at the meeting, Comrade Kabir Olusola, Secretary, Majiyagbe Community Development Association (CDA), urged the governor to make jobs available to the poor. He said nowadays children of common people hardly find jobs.

    “Before you get a job, the employers and human resource executives would ask you to bring a letter from a top politician or a wealthy individual in the society and at the end of the day, it is the children of the rich that will get the job,” he said.

    The Iyaloja-general of Ikeja, Alhaja Adiat Apena urged the governor to rehabilitate the major roads in Ikeja, adding that they were in deplorable conditions. She said something should be done on the street lights as virtually all major streets in the area are unlit.

    For Hon. Bisi Yusuf, Alimosho Local Government Area and its environs deserve special treatment from the governor because the people gave him “101 per cent support during his election”. He added that upgrading the infrastructure in the area would be a good way to start.

    Hon. Yusuf, who described Alimosho as the Tinubu country, said the governor should urgently construct a flyover at cement bus stop, before Dopemu under bridge to make things easy for people going to Egbeda, Ikotun and Igando from Oshodi and Lagos Island.

    According to him, those going to Egbeda, Idimu and Ikotun do not have any reason using the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway beyond Dopemu.

    He also urged the governor to widen the Dopemu and Iyana-Ipaja bridges to ensure speedy vehicular movement and de-congestion. All these, he said, will ensure there is total decongestion of Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway.

    Hon. Yusuf also urged the governor to construct the Isheri-Oshun Road. He advised the governor to work on the waterways in the area, as alternative means of transportation.

    “People from Igando up to Ojo and other parts of Lagos and Ogun states can benefit from it,” he said.

    Comrade Fisayo Makinde, a representative of people with disability, urged the governor to assist them. He said they were marginalised and urged the governor to include some physically-challenged people on the commissioners’ list.

    While the people were talking, the governor, who was flanked by his deputy, Dr. Aderanti Adebule, Oba Akiolu of Lagos, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, and Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos, Chief Henry Ajomale, was taking notes. After they all poured out their heart, the governor responded.

    Ambode acknowledged that people of Alimosho gave him 100 per cent support, adding that that was why he chose the area for his first town-hall meeting.

    “I will look positively in providing some secondary schools next year,” he said.

    He said the state would also provide schools in Abaranje and its environs. The governor also promised to look into the roads linking Abaranje to Ijegun, Igando and their environs.

    “We will send the ministry of works to look at the roads,” he said.

    On the issue of noise pollution, he said people must respect the law. “Let us curb the noise we make. People should learn to obey the law. So, let us not use the instruments, loud speakers to disturb others,” Ambode said frankly.

    On agriculture, he said he would exploit the possibility of partnership to boost the sector. On employment, he assured that employment trust fund would be inaugurated to ensure cheap finance for people to create jobs for themselves.

    Responding to the question on bad roads in Ikeja, he said he would solve it, adding that the state would fix the street lights.

    On the Isheri-Oshun Road, he said it would be completed next year. He added that the jetty will be worked on.

    “I am still committed to the mini-stadium in Abesan and I will finish it next year too,” he promised.

    Ambode said the state had always made provision for slots in the government for the physically-challenged persons, adding that he would do same under his administration.

    “This may not be in the cabinet but i won’t forget you,” he said.

    On employment, he said: “we will be setting up zonal offices so that youths can have access to job opportunities.”

    Ambode appealed to the people on two major subjects: security and the environment. He urged them to take community security seriously.

    “Let us know our neighbours. This should be taken seriously. We don’t want any bad thing to happen to you,” he added.

    The governor was presented with some gifts by the six executive secretaries in the LCDAs under Alimosho.

    The meeting also afforded the governor the opportunity to speak on how far he has taken the state in the first quarter. The first quarter, said the governor, has witnessed the stabilisation of the finances.

    He said: “I am determined to be accountable for every revenue and expenditure of the state. One of our first key tasks was to stabilise the finances of the state. We embarked on a financial re-engineering and reviewed the revenue and expenditure framework of the state. These efforts, coupled with the realignment of ministries, departments and agencies, have saved the government almost n3 billion every month. This has provided us with more funds to inject into capital projects and the initial funds to establish the employment trust fund which we promised our youths.

    “Today, a major landmark of our administration is the reduction in the cost of governance. We want a lean government with quality service delivery.

    “Lagos State government is proud to declare that it has consistently met its obligations, especially prompt payment of workers’ salaries without seeking any bailout from the federal government

    “In August, this administration approved the release of N11 billion for the payment of arrears of pensions owed to pensioners since 2010. We have, on monthly basis, consistently been presenting retirees on the contributory pension scheme their bond certificates and have also approved the appointment of four additional pension fund administrators to further boost the processes and accord staff a wider range of options.

    “We are currently reviewing our loans with our bankers with a view to restructuring them in order to free up funds for further infrastructural development.”

     

    Civil service reforms

    The governor also told the people about the reforms happening in the civil service.

    “At the onset, we promised to offer a government of continuity with improvement. With my knowledge of the civil service as the engine room of any government, we chose to commence this journey by repositioning the state civil service in order to make it more efficient and cost-effective, with a vision of delivering better service to the citizens. We are building a civil service that is well structured with officials who have the right attitude, skills and are well-motivated to deliver the goals of this administration.

    “In the course of the reporting period, 20 new permanent secretaries were appointed following their track record of excellent performances. This is to create opportunity for upward movement of career civil servants and also reward diligence, dedication and hard work. I am happy to inform you that the permanent secretaries have held the fort and kept the wheel of governance at a steady pace in the absence of commissioners and special advisers. I thank them for doing so.”

     

    Security

    Despite the enormity of the security challenges in the state, steps have also been taken to improve on what he inherited on May 29.

    Ambode said: “We promised you a safer lagos. We have reviewed the security infrastructure and have put in motion plans to address the lapses.

    “We are aware of pockets of violence and robberies that have occurred in different parts of the state. We are investigating these occurrences and our security agencies have swung into action to curb further incidents.

    “We have established an integrated security and emergency control platform, all of which are aimed at strengthening the security apparatus in the state.

    “The safety and security of every resident of Lagos is non-negotiable. We will leave no stone unturned in our drive to ensure a crime-free state.

    “Equipment and vehicles of various needs were donated to all our security agencies to boost their efforts in combating crime.

    “As we tackle violent crime, we are also tackling domestic violence and other gender-related crimes. We have intensified our awareness campaigns on domestic violence through the domestic and sexual violence response team. Our traditional rulers and market leaders have associated with this resolve to put the unwholesome practice in check.

    “Recently, 190 officials of the state emergency command and control centre were trained on how to receive reports of sexual and gender-based violence, especially with the approval to use the 112 toll-free lines to report cases of rape, defilement, domestic violence, child abuse, neglect, maltreatment and other sexual assaults.

    “Let me use this opportunity to express my profound appreciation to members of the organised private sector (OPS) for their support, collaboration and donations towards the state security trust fund. The recent fund-raising of almost n1billion from the organised private sector is a strong indication of your confidence in our administration to tackle security in the state.”

     

    Health

    Realising that a healthy Lagos is a wealthy Lagos, the administration, according to the governor, has provided 20 mobile intensive care unit ambulances at the cost of n145.240 million. They have been deployed in all ambulance points in the state. With the new acquisition, the governor said the state now has 36 mobile intensive care unit ambulances.

    “We have also provided additional 26 transport ambulances at the cost of n257.4 million. They have also been deployed across all our general hospitals. We have created ambulance points across the state to enable our people to have easy access to them. The ambulance service can be reached by calling the toll-free line 112.

    “Our administration, in the last three months, has installed 22 power generating sets ranging from 350 – 500 KVA as additional back-up sets across all our general hospitals at the cost of N270 million to ensure 24-hour power supply. In addition, 26 mobile x-ray machines which the state procured at the cost N519.656 million are being installed at all our general hospitals.

    “Similarly, we have granted approval for the recruitment of more paramedic staff and special medical co-ordinators to ensure 24-hour service in our health facilities.”

    One area which the governor touched on that pleased the people is the Ayinke House, which used to be the Mecca for expectant mothers.

    “The abandoned Ayinke House project which is more or less our baby factory for pregnant women has been re-awarded and the contractor is on site to finish and deliver this project within the next 3-6 months,” the governor said.

     

    Education

    Education has not been neglected in the last four months, the governor noted, adding that “there is work to be done” because of the enormity of the challenges in the sector.

    He said: “The governing councils of our tertiary institutions were inaugurated with prominent selfless Lagosians offering their hands of fellowship to rescue these institutions. We are on course.

    “The recruitment of 1,300 primary school teachers is ongoing to fill the gap in key subject areas that we have identified.

    “The government is concerned about the disparity in quality between public and private schools. We have decided to pay attention to all children, irrespective of where they go to school. The gap in quality must be bridged.

    “Desks, chairs and other needs have been approved for procurement immediately. The security of schools is also receiving attention.”

     

    Transport

    Ambode identified transportation as one of the biggest challenges facing lagosians.

    He said: “In recent weeks, the menace of trucks on our roads has caused us untold hardships and loss of man hours and revenue. This administration will stop at nothing to find a lasting solution to this challenge and ensure our people can move from one part of the state to another with less traffic impediment.

    “The Apapa traffic gridlock is the most worrying. Today, this traffic is affecting other parts of the state and slowing down businesses. We have met with various stakeholders to find solutions to this problem. We have also appealed to the federal government to mobilise the contractor awarded the construction of Apapa Trailer Park and road networks to immediately return to site.”

    He went on: “We are looking at long-term solutions to traffic challenges that our people face daily. We have identified some of the causes of the traffic among which are poor design of junctions, bad location of bus stops, movement of heavy vehicles, bad roads and bad driving behaviours. We have started implementing solutions already. In the meantime, we want to inform the tanker drivers and other road users that the Lagos State traffic law is still in force and would be applied on any offender.”

     

    Road infrastructure

    Lagos roads should be in good condition, the governor admitted, adding that “we must all remember that the appropriation law for 2015 – the approved budget – does not include most of the roads we met in bad condition and this is a major limiting factor in execution.”

    He added that the Ejigbo–Ikotun Road, Okota-Cele Road, Metalbox Road and Acme Road in Ikeja are being rehabilitated, while work has started on Brown Street, Oshodi, Ladipo Street as well as Mushin Road.

    He added that 181 roads across the state, touching every local government, including federal roads, have been maintained. They include Agege Motor Road, Herbert Macauley Way, Yaba, Murtala Mohammed Way, Isolo, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island and several others. The state has had to cough out N1.386 billion for this construction and rehabilitation.

     

    What will tomorrow bring?

    Ambode said there would be better tales to tell in the next quarter.

    His words:  “You cannot run a 4-year marathon at top speed from the onset. Like any other well-bred CEO, I have put in place all the ingredients needed to run a successful race.

    “We will continue to woo investors to Lagos. We are assisting businesses and creating environment conducive to these investors to start business and employ our people.”

    The people will certainly be waiting and watching.

     

  • Ambode begins town hall meeting in Alimoso

    Ambode begins town hall meeting in Alimoso

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode will tomorrow begin a quarterly town hall meeting to engage with Lagosians on the activities of his government.

    The maiden edition will be hosted by the Lagos West senatorial district, at the Abesan mini stadium/ground, Abesan Housing Estate, Ipaja.

    A stastement by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information Mr Fola Adeyemi said the arrangenment is a fulfillment of the campaign promise of the governor.

    Adeyemi added that the importance attached to the forum “is borne out of the fact that it will allow for divergent opinions and views from various sources,” adding that ‘the desire to maximize the diverse potentials in the state informed the need to embrace this generally acceptable window of interaction from all stakeholders in the state.”

    The Permanent Secretary said the people being the bedrock of any society must be actively involved in governance. “This administration is a people-oriented government,” he added.

    He also pointed out that some of Ambode’s achievements within the first quarter include the reconstruction of Ejigbo-Ikotun Road, Isolo- Ikotun road, Brown Street, provision of 20 mobile care units’ ambulances and 26 ambulances deployed across various General Hospitals, among others.

    He said the administration is poised to deliver on its  campaign promises by improving on the standard of living of the people; attract foreign investment and build a prosperous Lagos.

  • Ambode to hold quarterly meeting

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is to begin a quarterly rendering of account of stewardship.

    The governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna, said the quarterly rendering of account, which will take the form of town hall meetings, will take the government round the state.

    He said the town hall meetings would afford his administration the opportunity to render its account and feel the pulse of the people and get firsthand knowledge of their needs and concerns.

    “The maiden edition of our quarterly report will be rendered in the first week of October and will continue in that tradition every three months going forward.

    “At the end of each quarter, our government will report to the people on the journey so far and the task ahead,” he said.

    Ambode said his administration’s efforts in the last three months had been geared towards making sure that public institutions work in the interest of the people.

    “We are committed to making the various public institutions work for the benefit of the people. That, in my view, is why we were elected.

    “So, our government will use the town hall meetings to get feelers from the populace on how government affects them and what they want from government.

    “The populace will also have the opportunity to know what we have been doing and what we intend to do to make the state safer, cleaner and more prosperous for all,” he said.

  • Our meeting with Aregbesola, by Ife Traditional Council

    Our meeting with Aregbesola, by Ife Traditional Council

    The Ife Traditional Council yesterday clarified their last week’s meeting with Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the vacant stool of Ooni of Ife.

    They expressed misgiving over reports on some national newspapers.

    Speaking at a meeting held at the Ooni of Ife’s palace in Ile-Ife yesterday, Chief Ijaodola, the Lowa of Ife, said:  “Indeed, it is true that we held a meeting with the Osun State Governor, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, in his office in Oke-Fia, Osogbo, last Friday”. According to him, the meeting was held on the governor’s invitation.

    The meeting, Chief Ijaodola said, was earlier scheduled to hold before last Friday, but some traditional engagements involving the Chiefs made it impossible.

    According to Chief Ijaodola, 13 of the 16 Traditional Chiefs attended the meeting. Two of the 16 chiefs were said to be indisposed. One of the Chiefs, the Akogun, is dead.

    The House of Oduduwa, as the Ife Palace is known, has 16 chiefs comprising eight on the left and eight on the right, that is, eight Inner and eight Outer Chiefs, forming the Traditional Council.

    Chief Ijaodola said, apart from the governor, who was the convener of the meeting, the Osun State government was also represented by four other top officials, namely, Alhaji Moshood Olalekan Adeoti, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, the Chief of Staff (COS), Mr. Mufutau Oluwadare, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, as well as, a representative of the Justice Ministry.

    [ad id=”403656″]According to Chief Ijaodola, the meeting, which was held behind closed doors, was presided over by the governor.

    Opening the meeting, Chief Ijaodola said, the gorvernor told the gathering that the state government had, in recent time, been inundated with security reports that tension was building up in the ancient city of Ile-Ife following the demise of the immediate past Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and urged the Ife Traditional Council to prevent any breakdown of law and order in the town.

    Oba Sijuwade joined his ancestors after a brief illness, at a highbrow hospital in London, on Tuesday, July 28. The announcement of his death by the media caused a lot of controversy with the Ife Traditional Council maintaining that the first class monarch was still alive and that if anything had happened to him, it was the responsibility of the Traditional Council to make the news public and not that of any other person through whatever medium. However, his transition was later made public when the Ife Traditional Council alongside members of the Sijuwade family including Tokunbo, his first son, finally broke the news to the Osun State governor at the Governor’s Office in Oshogbo on August 12. The remains of the departed monarch have since been buried  at the Ife Palace.

    Chief Ijaodola said, the governor touched on the succession to the vacant stool at the meeting. According to him, the governor told them point blank that “the choice of a new Ooni, is the sole responsibility and prerogative of the Ife kingmakers” and that he, the governor, has no candidate for the vacant stool and so he will not impose any candidate on the kingmakers. According to Chief Ijaodola, the governor later requested the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs who had come to the meeting with a file on the Ooni’s succession issue, to brief the gathering on what the law says on the succession.

    After the Permanent Secretary’s briefing, Chief Ijaodola said three members of the Traditional Council including himself spoke and at the end of the meeting, the council chiefs assured the governor that they were capable of maintaining peace in the ancient town. He also said that they told the governor that, though they had noticed an influx of some shady characters into the town in recent time, they were not folding their arms. According to Chief Ijaodola, the Traditional Chiefs, therefore, implored the governor to beef up security in the ancient city as a way of forestalling the occurrence of any untoward development. Chief Ijaodola said since that Friday’s meeting, the government has swung into action as an increase in security presence had been noticed in the town.

    On the successor to the Ooni, Chief Ijaodola said the Ife Traditional Council would today (Monday) address a news conference in the ancient town on the issue.

    Apart from Chief Ijaodola, yesterday’s news conference at the palace was attended by seven others. They are Chief Adekola Adeyeye, the Jaaran of Ife, Oba Sakaniyawu Adewusi, the Obaloran, Ilode Quarters, Ife, Oba Zacheus, the Wasin of Ilare Quarters, Ile-Ife, Oba Jimoh Arifayo Awe, Arode of Ile-Ife, Oba Arasanmi, Erebese of Ile-Ife, Oba Adebowale Olafare, the Lowate of Ile-Ife and Idowu Salami, the Traditional Secretary to the Ooni of Ile-Ife.