The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode

  • Ambode tasks information agencies on public confidence

    Ambode tasks information agencies on public confidence

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Friday at the maiden edition of the retreat for public officers in Lagos State, charged information agencies in the State to ensure they effectively build public confidence in government policies and programmes.

    The Governor, who was represented at the event by the State’s Head of Service Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, said that the retreat was organized among other reasons to afford public affairs officer opportunity to reassess the effectiveness of the information machinery of government, identify areas where they can improve and proffer solutions.

    Ambode while speaking on the importance of centrality of information to human existence noted that the right to information is an inalienable rights guaranteed by the United Nations declarations.

    He therefore described the prompt approval to redesignate information officers in the state’s civil service to public affairs officers as not just doing needful and necessary but also an attestation to the unflinching commitment of his administration to human capital development.

    While promising to sustain the development, he said that “the tripod policy thrust of security, infrastructure development and job creation cannot be effectively implemented without properly disseminating, reinforcing and linkage by strategic and dynamic information machinery.”

    He said that the various information organs of the state have the capacity to perform more than they presently also urged public affairs officers to perform optimally in order to be more visible and relevant so that the people can key into the various reforms the administration is undertaking in the area of traffic control, taxation, employment generation and public security.

    According to the governor, “Considering the cosmopolitan nature of Lagos, one critical area that public affairs officers must be ready to contend with is crisis management”

    Earlier in his welcome address, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, explained that the acceptance and subsequent hosting of the retreat by the Governor was borne out of his belief in the responsibilities entrusted in the Ministry of Information and Strategy and its officers to be well equipped and prepared for the challenges in present day public information management.

    He also noted that the retreat will help participants in outlining strategies for a rejuvenated public sector information management.

    Ayorinde urged public affairs officers to use the occasion of the retreat to interact, rub minds on contemporary issues and challenges that affects the profession as well as acquiring knowledge and forge new network necessary for the growth of the profession.

  • Lagos will continue to celebrate Braithwaite’s ideals – Ambode

    Lagos will continue to celebrate Braithwaite’s ideals – Ambode

    • Our Dad has left a vacuum, so hard to fill – Daughter

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Wednesday paid a condolence visit to the family of the late foremost nationalist and prominent lawyer, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite in Victoria Island, saying the state government will continue to celebrate the ideal he stood for.

    The governor, who was accompanied on the visit by members of the State Executive Council, said his demise was a major loss not just to Lagos State but also Nigeria.

    He said: “On behalf of Lagos State, I want to say that this is something that thoroughly touched us; we are concerned about it and we would like to take deeper part in whatever you want to do to honour him because this is a great loss to Lagos and this is a great loss of a great man of Lagos and we intend to celebrate him in that manner also.

    “Whatever it is that we do even as a government or as a party, they are things that always project us. If there is any person that is on the side of the masses or the poor, this is one thing that Dr. Tunji Braithwaite believed in. He preached it; confessed it and fought it during his lifetime.

    “He was always thoroughbred. That is why we have come here not only console or say just anything. But we must equally point out that everything I am also doing is on the side of the poor and is on the side of the majority, which he believed in; which he confessed; which he stood for during his lifetime.

    “Notwithstanding, whatever challenges we have on the way, the only thing we have joy about is that he lived a Christian life from the beginning to the end. I just shared his widow some of the legacies that the Braithwaite left in Anglican Church in Epe and the things they continue to do also. My prayer is that wherever he left his sermon, we will take it up and also make sure that the philosophy of what he believed in does not die here.

    “I want to console with the rest of the family. The name Braithwaite will never die. I believe strong that any time that we are reading any legal matter or any other issue that relate to constitutionalism in Nigeria, his own side of the story will remain indelible.”

    Speaking on behalf of the family Dr. Omowunmi Braithwaite thanked the governor for finding time, despite his busy schedule to come and commiserate with them.

    She said her father’s demise had left a void in their lives that will forever remain difficult to fill, but they were drawing strength from his legacies and his love for God.

    “We love our father; he has left a huge void in our lives and his footsteps impossible to fill. But we take comfort in what he has left as a legacy, as you have said, for us as a family and the nation.

    “Daddy did not compromise under any circumstances with his family. We thank God for the fact that he was such a forthright and God-fearing man and fearless on many levels and as I have said to some other people, he was not up for sale at any level.

    “We thank God for him because great people are born not made and daddy was a great man. I know he will live forever in our hearts and he will go down in Nigerian history as one of the greatest men who ever lived in Nigeria,” she said.

  • Lekki Building Collapse: Ambode sacks GM, three others

    Lekki Building Collapse: Ambode sacks GM, three others

    In the wake of the Lekki Gardens building collapse, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday approved the dismissal of the General Manager of the Building Control Agency (LASBCA) Engr. Adeigbe Olushola.

    The Governor also approved the dismissal of the Head of Inspection and Quality Control in the Agency, Adeoye Thomas Adeyemi, the Zonal District Officer in the Agency, Dosunmu Gbadebo, while the Zonal Head of Eti-Osa West of the Agency, Mrs. Akinde Adenike Sherifat was compulsorily retired from the Civil Service.

    Governor Ambode in a statement signed by the State Head of Service, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, said the affected officers were dismissed having been indicted of negligence, which according to him, is an act of misconduct under the Public Service Rule 040401.

    Rule 040401 of the Public Service act of misconduct states inter alia: “a willful act of omission or general misconduct to the scandal of the pubic or to the prejudice of discipline and proper administration of the State Government” should be visited with dismissal from the Public Service in line with the Public Service Rule 040503.

    The Head of Service said the disciplinary measure was the outcome of the recommendations of the Personnel Management Board to Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, who was personally grieved by the high number of fatalities that occurred as a result of the building collapse.

    She also warned public officials, private building owners or contractors who violate or subvert building regulations that it would no longer be business as usual, saying that the dismissal of the officers will serve as a wake-up call to public servants.

    “It is also a clarion call to them to be alive to their responsibilities as any act of negligence will face sanctions, while hardworking officers will be rewarded appropriately,” the Head of Service said.

    It would be recalled that on Tuesday, March 8, 2016, a building under construction at Lekki Gardens, Ikusenla Road, Ikate Elegushi, collapsed as a result of which many people died, and the State Government immediately mobilised all its rescue team comprising the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI), among others, which led to the successful rescue of over 15 persons alive.

  • Building collapse: Death toll rises to 29

    Building collapse: Death toll rises to 29

    The death toll at the collapsed five-storey structure located at the end of Kushenla Road, Chisco bus stop, Ikate Elegushi in Lekki area of Lagos State, which collapsed on Tuesday morning has hit 29.

    South West Spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mr. Ibrahim Farinloye confirmed to our reporter that more bodies were recovered from the rubbles Wednesday bringing the death toll to 29.

    General Manager of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Mr. Micheal Akindele who also confirmed the death toll, said 18 bodies were recovered on Tuesday.

    Meanwhile, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has ordered the suspension of work in the area by Lekki Gardens, the construction company behind the collapsed building.

    The Governor in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, also asked all the directors of the said Lekki Gardens Company, to report to the Commissioner of Police, within the next 24-hours, in their own interest.

    Ambode who also expressed condolences on behalf of the government over the death of construction site workers, who lost their lives on Tuesday as a result of the collapse, said the initial enquirers by the state government showed that safety standards had been dangerously compromised, coupled with weak supervision which must have led to the collapse of the building.

    He said the state government will no not fold its arms and allow unnecessary loss of lives and property.

    “Such criminal neglect will no longer go without appropriate consequences,” he said

    He however commended the timely response and intervention by the combined men of the Lagos State Emergency Authority (LASEMA), the Lagos State Fire Service, Lagos State Ambulance Service (LASAMBUS), Red Cross, National Emergency Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Building Control Agency and the Rapid Response Service (RRS), which helped to save the lives of about 15 persons who were retrieved from the rubbles alive

     

  • Mile 12 Clash: Lagos meets market, community leaders

    Mile 12 Clash: Lagos meets market, community leaders

    The Lagos State Government Friday met with all the stakeholders from Mile 12 market, Agiliti community, Maidan and its environs aimed at finding a lasting solution to the violence that led to the closure of the Mile 12 market with a promise that a harmonious and effective solution would be put in place in the next few days.

    Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, who presided over the meeting held at the State Secretariat, Alausa, said that all the leaders agreed on the need to cohabit in peace irrespective of their religion, culture or tribes.

    Bello urged the leaders to go back and assure their people to maintain the peace, stating that the State Government would consider the inputs of all those present in arriving at a decision.

    Addressing the leaders which included those of the various sections of the Mile 12 market, traditional rulers from Agiliti, Maidan, leaders of the transport unions, commercial motorcyclists, community development associations and leaders from the communities, Bello said leaders also agreed to go back to their communities and assure their people of government’s desire to ensure that lasting peace reigns in that community.

    The SSG who said the issue of disagreement is not new in the area said what is uppermost is that everybody should see the next person as his brother, hence everyone at the meeting must leave with an open mind of cohabiting peacefully with their neighbours and avoid bloodletting.

    He reiterated the directive of the State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode that the market remains closed and all trading activities be suspended to aid security agencies restore calm to the affected areas.

    He gave an assurance to the market leaders from Mile 12 that the State Government is studying the situation and would address all the issues that have arisen decisively with a view to ensuring that it does not recur again.

    Speaking at the meeting, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr I.O Edgal who stood in for the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni said the Police High Command has secured the Agiliti area and its environs and peace has now returned to the community.

    He said the clash and resultant loss of lives was very unfortunate and that going by the level of destruction on ground, it was not commensurate with what was reported to have precipitated the clash.

    Other participants at the meeting including the Iyaloja of Mile 12 market, Alhaja Iyabo Ahmed, Baale of Maidan, Chief Baale Ogunjobi, Baale of Agiliti, Chief Jimoh Onikosi, Serikin Nupe, Alhaji Jibril Magaji, Chairman, Shukura yam, Alhaji Mohammed Damdana, Chairman of CDA Central, Elder M.A Showande, were all resolute in appealing to the State Government to ensure that the issue is resolved on time so that they can go ahead with their various businesses.

    Other Government functionaries in attendance include the Special Advisers to the Governor on Civic Engagement, Hon Kehinde Joseph, Community Development and Communication, Hon Kehinde Bamigbetan and Permanent Secretaries from Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Fola Adeyemi and Cabinet Office, Mr Olushola Odupitan.

  • Ambode promises jobs from hospitality sector

    Ambode promises jobs from hospitality sector

    Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Friday pledged that his administration will seize the opportunity of the huge potentials in the hospitality sector to create jobs for youths in the state.

    The governor, who spoke at the official commissioning of The George, a hospitality centre in Ikoyi‎, Lagos, said the government will expand the frontiers of the hospitality industry in the state to attract investment.

    He said the current economic realities in the country had made it necessary for the state to explore a non-oil sector to ensure sustainable revenue growth.

    Ambode said relevant policies and incentives will be put in place‎ to create an enabling environment for the development of the sector, which according to him is a key driver of his administration’s agenda.

    “This is a happy occasion because it has reaffirmed the status of Lagos State as first choice investment destination. It also confirms the untapped opportunities in tourism and hospitality sector in the state.

    “Lagos State is known as the Centre of Excellence for a number of reasons‎. One of these is the accommodating nature of our people and the various tourism and recreation sites that abound in the state.

    “We are committed to putting in place relevant policies and incentives that would create an enabling environment for the development of the hospitality sector as a key driver of our administration’s development agenda,” the governor said.

    He also called on other investors to key into the various opportunities that abound in the tourism belt spread across the state.

    “Lagos is open for business. We assure you of the safety of your investments ‎and we will continue working to make your investment worthwhile in all cases,” he added.

     

     

  • Ambode assures pensioners of better life

    Ambode assures pensioners of better life

    •Launches Okada allowed stickers  

    The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has assured senior citizens of government’s support and prompt payment of their entitlement, if elected.

    Addressing members of the Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), at the Blue Roof Center, Ikeja, he said the APC placed much emphasis on the welfare of the people, noting that he would make life better for them.

    “My father served in Lagos State, he served for 34 years and six months. He was unable to collect his gratuity. Ten years after his death I became the auditor-general for local government.

    “So, I had the opportunity for the first time to encounter pensioners, in view of my personal experience, I decided that I will correct the pains and agony encountered by pensioners.

    “The APC is after the welfare of our senior citizens, they will not be made to suffer for nothing. We are not only after the welfare of those who served in Lagos State but also those who did not serve in the state.

    “As senior citizens we need to take care of all of you. This administration is working on the harmonisation of the benefits of our senior citizens.”

    He added that government had built recreational centres, called ‘Welfare Villa’ in some locations, where senior citizens can relax and entertain themselves free of charge.

    Responding, NUP State Secretary Oludara Awoseye said they will support Ambode because of the innovation he brought to the management of local government, noting that the APC candidates ensured that pensioners received their entitlement promptly.

    He said: “There was a time we were owed five months, we planned to stage a protest, but somebody advised us to approach Ambode which we did and he solved the problem for us.

    “We appreciate all that you did for us when you served at the local government; we are particularly convinced that you will not leave us now that you are aspiring to be the governor. We will support and vote for you because you are dependable and reliable,” he said.

    Ambode launched the ‘Okada Allowed Stickers’ campaign, calling on motorcycle operators to ply the approved 9000 roads and stay off 475 roads for their safety.

    He said the government of the progressives had responded to the needs and yearnings of Lagosians by providing basic amenities.

    He said the safety of the commuters was the motive behind the traffic law awareness effort of the Support Group for Ambode 2015 as the right step in the right direction

    He praised the volunteer group for the radical shift it  recorded in campaign management, stating that he was overwhelmed by the passion and commitment which made many professionals in the volunteer group to leave their businesses and commit their time to his election.

    Noting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) deliberately misinformed the public to score cheap political points, he said the sticker campaign will expose their campaign of misinformation and show that the Babatunde Fashola administration  meant well.

    The Chairman of the group,  Demola Seriki, said the group discovered that the campaign of misinformation of the PDP was misleading many commercial motorcycles operators to assume that they were banned from operating on all routes.

    He said the group studied the Lagos Traffic Law and interacted with stakeholders,  such as the Ministry of Transportation, Local Government, Lagos State Signage and Advertising Agency and grassroots politicians to design the sticker campaign.

    Seriki said each LASAA street pole on roads that commercial motorcyclists could ply, according to the traffic law, would be decorated with the sticker.

    He pleaded with law enforcement agencies to be humane in enforcing the law, noting that complaints from operators were mainly on extortion.

    Similarly, he called on operators to obey the laws by using helmets and carrying the approved number of passengers to ensure their safety.

    Present at the launch were the former Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Adenrele Adeniran-Ogunsanya,; former Auditor-General of Local Governments  M.M. Hassan; former Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment Sesan Olanrewaju; former Chairman, Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Kamal Baiyewu, among others.

  • Ambode solicits lawmakers’ support

    Ambode solicits lawmakers’ support

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Lagos State, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has called on members of the House of Assembly to support his election bid.

    The APC candidate said that he and Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji had been friends for 25 years.

    He said  Ikuforiji, who was a governorship aspirant, had been a rallying point for the aspirants after the election.

    “Ikuforiji ensured that we were united after the primaries. We are all winners and we will work together for the progress of the state and we will move the state forward together.

    “I came here to seek the support of the 40 lawmakers in the Assembly. The state cannot move forward, unless the legislature and the executive work together. I believe in team spirit.

    “Once we win the election, we will work together  to develop the state. Our functions are different, but our objectives are the same,” he said.

    Ambode, a former accountant-general of the state, said if he got the support of the 40 lawmakers, he has got the grassroots.

    The governorship candidate added that Lagos needs someone, who can continue with what is on ground.

    “We can all see that oil revenue is dwindling and it is about $60 per barrel. We need someone who can come up with additional sources of revenue without making life difficult for the people.

    “We will continue with our tradition of improving Lagos State without depending on oil,” he said.

    Ikuforiji said Ambode and the APC presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, represent the change the country needs.

    “Buhari would be declared winner of the presidential election after the February 15 election, while Ambode would be declared  winner in Lagos State,” he said.

  • Ambode ends consultation, pledges open-door policy

    Ambode ends consultation, pledges open-door policy

    AHEAD of the December 4 primaries, a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, at the weekend, ended his consultation with relevant stakeholders on his ambition.

    While pledging to operate an open-door policy if voted as governor next year, Ambode also rallied support for the APC at the grassroots and urged party faithful and leaders in all local councils to embark on a house-to-house campaign in order to secure a landslide victory for the party in the 2015 general elections.

    He gave the charge at a meeting in Ikoyi with leaders of Lagos Deserves More Campaign Group after his consultation tour of 20 local governments and 37 local council development areas (LCDAs) in the state.

    At the meeting, the governorship aspirant promised to respect diverse views and interests if he emerges as the party’s flag bearer and elected the governor of the state in the next governorship election.

    Ambode, who served as the Auditor-General and Accountant-General of the state between 2001 and 2012, urged the party faithful in the state to team up with him “to take Lagos to the next level.”

    The aspirant promised to be a true example of ‘servant leader’, which he said, should be the hallmark of every elected public official, assuring that he would run an open-door policy that would allow every resident in the state “to make input in the process of decision making.”

  • Lagos 2015: Fear grips APC guber aspirants

    Lagos 2015: Fear grips APC guber aspirants

    • As ‘consensus’ plot fails

    A gang up plot by some All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirants in Lagos State against a frontline aspirant, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, has hit the rocks, The Nation can report.

    The aspirants had convened a meeting at a hotel in Maryland, Lagos at the weekend with a view to picking one of them as a consensus candidate to face Ambode who they saw as the man to beat in the December 4 primaries.

    A source familiar with the development said: “They arrived at a plot to select one of them as a consensus candidate ahead of the primaries coming up on December 4, 2014. Their plan was to pool their resources together in support of their consensus candidate against Ambode at the primaries.

    “Believing erroneously that Tinubu is behind Ambode’s aspiration, and hoping to deal a devastating political blow on both of them at the primaries, the aspirants, at an earlier meeting, agreed to meet and produce a consensus candidate in good time to allow for time to project their choice candidate as acceptable to them all.”

    The meeting which had in attendance Dr. Leke Pitan, Dr. Femi Hamzat, Senator Ganiyu Solomom, Adeyemi Ikuforiji and Tokunbo Wahab, amongst others, however, failed to achieve its objective as no one was ready to sacrifice his ambition for another.

    Hamzat was said to have sent out a three word text message inviting participants to the meeting.

    The only non governorship aspirant at the meeting, Muiz Banire, sources claimed, moderated the meeting even though he is believed to be rooting strongly for Dr. Pitan.

    Ambode, sources said, was not at the meeting because he was informed a few hours before its commencement.

    Sources said this was deliberate since he was the target of the gang-up.

    The decision to invite him was also said to be an attempt to fulfill all righteousness.

    However, as the deliberation got underway, several of the aspirants expressed desire to forgo their ambitions in the interest of the group’s effort towards stopping Ambode at the primaries.

    Sources said: “The meeting started well and progressed smoothly. After some deliberations, some of the aspirants, including Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji, Tokunbo Wahab and Ganiyu Solomon, agreed to drop their governorship ambitions for a consensus candidate.

    “Consequently, more aspirants were persuaded to step down to allow for the emergence of two aspirants amongst which others will elect a consensus candidate. At the end of the process, the duo of Leke Pitan and Femi Hamzat were left in the race for consensus,” our source said.

    “However, there was soon a twist after Hamzat, perhaps sensing that the imminent voting would go against him, raised some objections to the planned election of a consensus candidate and stormed out.

    “Hamzat, sensing that the decision to be taken may not favour him, objected to certain parts of the process and at that point, things started to fall apart at the parley. All efforts to allay his fear fell on deaf ears,” our source added.

    That ended the discussion.

    Consequently, there is serious panic in their camps ahead of the primaries.

    Ikuforiji in his reaction dismissed the notion. In a text message to our reporter he said, “Please don’t listen to rumours. Everyone will go for primaries.” However, several calls made to Hamzat were unanswered as at the time of going to press.