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We will not relent until we restore sanity to Apapa port roads — Sanwo-Olu
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-olu, has said that his administration will not rest until they bring perpetrators of Apapa gridlock to book.
Sanwo-Olu made the disclosure during the inauguration of the newly reconfigured Lekki First, Second and Abraham Adesanya Roundabouts in Lagos on Wednesday.
He commended the support of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and other maritime stakeholders, while pleading with the terminal operators such as Dangote, Flour Mills, Sifax and Folawiyo Group, among others, to assist in achieving their mandate.
“Our promise to solve transportation and gridlock in Lagos, especially Apapa, we will do it well. We are going to stay there, we are going to put resources there and ensure we do what will make Apapa port access road free of traffic.
“We are not commissioning Lekki/Epe routes, we are handing over because it is part of our campaign promises and infrastructure that we have done.
“ Why we are hanging over traffic improvement infrastructure is because these are campaign promises to ease transportation and traffic management in Lagos. So we are putting infrastructure in place to reduce travel time.
“It is very deliberate from First, Second and Abraham Adesanya Roundabouts, everybody in this corridor have smooth movements.
“Apart from the reconfigured of some Roundabouts, we also did drainage improvement,” Sanwo-Olu said.
In his opening remarks, the Commissioner for Environment, Dr Frederic Oladeinde, said that reconfiguring of some Lekki Roundabouts was testimonial to Mr Governor’s belief, trust, and confidence in the ministry as government agency saddled with the responsibility of driving the ongoing reforms in the transport sector.
Oladeinde recalled that part of the report submitted by the Transition Committee was the identification of 60 traffic gridlock areas in the metropolis, which needed urgent government attention.
“ One of the solutions recommended to Mr Governor was the reconfiguration and remodelling of some of the existing roundabouts and junctions that could no longer cope with the current volume of vehicles that ply them.
“ The improvement works was planned to allow for more vehicular movements especially during peak hours.
“It was discovered that most of the existing roundabouts/ junctions were prepared mainly for manual traffic control system; which in reality, could not meet the 21st century technology driven traffic control system needed in an emerging smart city with fast growing population like ours,” Oladeinde said.
He said that with the governor’s support, commitment, hard work and great leadership, six major Junction/Roundabout Improvement Projects have been successfully completed, with three already delivered for public use.
Oladeinde added that these include: Allen Avenue Roundabout, Maryland Junction and Ikotun Roundabout.
He added that there has been significant improvement in traffic management along these corridors as commuters’ travel time was saved since the completion of these Junction/Roundabout Improvement projects,
Also speaking, the Managing Director, Planet Project Ltd, Mr Biodun Otunola, said that the mandate was to remove the two roundabouts and turn it to junction.
“Lekki first and second roundabouts consist of 1.4 kilometers of road, we have been able to rehabilitate 47, 000 square roots, 550 meters of drainages clear of 4 meters, walkway of 4.1 kilometers.
“ We have been able to constructs 30 traffic light across board, over 100 traffic sign, 27 street lights and road mapping over 40 kilometers,” Otunola said.
He said that before now it takes about an hour to move from one junction to another, adding that now it takes about less than 15 minutes after the reconfiguring exercise.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Kamar Olowoshago, in his closing remarks, said the commissioning of these projects was one of the early intervention programmes for efficient traffic management and control.
Olowoshago said the rehabilitation would bring significant improvements to the traffic situation on these corridors.
By Jeleel Olawale
A non-governmental organisation, Kunle Ayoola Foundation, has provided a sum of N20million loan facility to empower petty traders in their businesses.
The organisation that focuses on easing the burden of widows, orphans and youths also granted scholarships to some prospective undergraduates.
A philanthropist and founder of the Foundation, Kunle Ayoola disclosed during a press conference that many residents of Ile-Ife received free medical treatments for their ailments while food items were distributed.
Explaining reason behind the humanitarian gestures, Ayoola said it was his own way of reaching to the needy and addressing economic challenges bedeviling Nigeria.
While calling on other well-meaning Nigerians to be generous towards other citizens, especially the vulnerable, Ayoola disclosed that the foundation organised various programmes for a week to address the immediate needs of the public.
He said, “Kunle Ayoola Foundation (KAF) is a non-governmental organization and non- profit. It is focused on easing the burden of widows, orphans and youth. The Foundation was founded in Nigeria on 27th of August 2020 with the passion of empowering the people.
“The four day event started on Wednesday 26th at KAF Secretariat in Ile-Ife with a walk to live body fitness exercise and there was free medicals to the people. We also distributed food items to the indigent members of the society.
“Bearing in mind the economic challenges confronting us as a nation, we decided to empower petty traders by providing the sum of N20 million loan facility. We also have out scholarships to many candidates that KAF had already given free JAMB forms and they performed well in the just concluded 2024 exams.”
The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has decried the negative impact of internet crimes popularly known as “yahoo yahoo’’ on the country.
Olukoyede disclosed that several international companies had to shut down their Nigerian operations following massive theft of their finances through local wire fraud.
He noted that in 2022, over $500m was lost as a result of the activities of Internet fraudsters.
A statement by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the EFCC chairman spoke at the Global Peace Movement International awards on Thursday, where he was named the Man of the Year.
He said, “In 2022, we lost over $500 million in our economy to yahoo boys. The statistics are there. In the same year, about 71 international companies left Nigeria because they hacked their accounts.
“We can’t get credit cards in Nigeria because of our poor credit rating because of the activities of these cyber criminals. So, the best we can get is debit cards.
“Do you know that there are some international merchants that you cannot use Nigerian cards on their platforms? Display your green passport outside the country and see if they will not take you aside and search you thoroughly.”
He stated that no shade of economic and financial crime would go unaddressed under his leadership of the EFCC.
Olukoyede added that people stealing money in high places started from local governments and school associations.
He said, “We will do the mini; we will do the mega. If you don’t do the mini, the mini will become the mega. Some of these people stealing money in high places started from the local governments, they started as leaders of associations in schools, where they stole money and they did nothing to them and it became part of their lives.”
Olukoyede promised not to disappoint Nigerians and not to spare the corrupt.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced the clearing of all pension backlogs in the state on Thursday.
In a statement on X.com on Thursday, Sanwo-Olu stated that with a payment of ₦4.46 billion to 2,000 retirees, the state has fulfilled its commitment to eliminate outstanding pension arrears.
The statement read, “Today, we effectively cleared all pension backlog in Lagos State with the payment of ₦4,461,659,536.82 to 2,000 retirees.
“In February, we paid ₦3.1 billion to 1,013 retirees with a promise to settle all arrears and current pension liabilities, and that promise has been fulfilled today.”
He further stated that since assuming office, his administration has paid a total of over ₦68 billion into the Retirement Savings Accounts of retirees across various government departments.
He added that the “Pay As You Go” pension model utilised by the state will ensure that future retirees receive their full benefits and gratuity immediately upon retirement.
Sanwo-Olu added, “Since the inception of this administration, we have paid a sum of ₦68,164,627,407.21 into the Retirement Savings Accounts of retirees in the Mainstream, Local Government, State Universal Basic Board (SUBEB), Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) and other Parastatals of the State Government. We are very happy with this achievement.
“Employees of the Lagos State Government who retire from the civil service will now get their full pension benefits and gratuity immediately after retirement as Lagos State continues to lead in pension benefits administration with a Pay As You Go template.”
In his statement, Sanwo-Olu stated that to further enhance their well-being, the state launched a new Health Insurance Scheme specifically designed for retirees.
“We also launched a Health Insurance Scheme tailored specifically for our retirees. This scheme will provide access to a wide range of medical services, from routine check-ups to specialised treatments,” he added.
In February that Sanwo-Olu paid N3.149 billion to 1,013 retirees in its 103rd retirement bond certificate presentation.
The governor had also promised that another N4 billion outstanding will be paid in March while the government will try to clear all backlogs by April.
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