THISISLAGOS MIDDAY NEWS UPDATE MAY 14, 2018
Ambode urged to halt unlawful, haphazard building planning (Vanguard)
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has been called upon to wade into the alleged illegal and unlawful construction, haphazard reconstruction and of building in violation of extant physical planning laws of Lagos State. Some property owners: Ralph Lewu, Emmanuel Orjiakor, Ade Adeyemi, Seun Omotoba, Tope Oyebanjo, Kayode Idowu, Olumide Akpata, Dayo Adepoju and Hojo Rufus Maduabuchi being the property owners/landlords of Oladimeji Residents Association made the call in a petition against one Muyiwa Akingbola alongside his workers and persons unknown at Jay Jay Oladimeji Close, off Freedomway, Lekki Phase 1, Lagos State, by their counsel, Adeshola Abimbola. Read more
Adebule: expect more from Ambode (Nation)
Lagos State Deputy Governor Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule has hailed Lagosians for their support for the Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration. Adebule assured them that more dividends of democracy are on the way. She attributed the success of Saturday’s All Progressives Congress (APC) congress in the state to the maturity displayed by the party’s leaders. She noted that their insistence on equality of all members as well as free and credible congress helped the party to achieve success in the exercise. Adebule also praised the Congress Committee for ensuring peaceful, free and credible congress. She urged the newly elected party officials at various council areas to carry their members along and mobilise their people at the grassroots to ensure the success of the party in future elections. Read more
‘Use PVCs to pick who governs you’ (Punch)
A non-governmental organisation, Lagos Development Initiative (LDI), has urged residents of the state to get their Permanent Voter Cards and use same to elect who governs them in 2019. The Deputy State Chairman of LDI, Samuel Adesanya, stated this at the inauguration of the Alimosho Federal Constituency chapter of the group. He urged Lagosians to re-elect Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, pointing out that the governor had been leading the state well with massive infrastructural projects and programmes across the state. Read more
Adebule hails APC LG primary (Punch)
The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule, on Sunday said the Saturday’s All Progressives LG Congress in the state was a success despite reports of violence. She said the success recorded on Saturday was due to quality leadership in the state, as well as insistence on equality of all members. Adebule, who also commended APC LG Congress Committee for ensuring a peaceful, free and credible congress, said such added value to the success already attained by the government. She said, “It is our hope that the newly elected party officials at various local government areas will carry their members along and mobilise the people at the grass roots to ensure the success of the party in future elections.” Read more
Lagos begins free health services in councils tomorrow (Guardian)
Lagos State Government has said that its yearly free medical expedition programme to offer free treatment for common ailments as well as screening for hypertension, diabetes, eye care and provision of eye glasses, dental care, family planning services, HIV counselling and testing, among others, will kick off tomorrow. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, in a statement yesterday, noted that the Eko Health Mission programme would hold between May 15 and August 31, 2018 visiting selected local councils and local council development areas of the state. According to Idris, the medical mission team will be visiting selected councils and local development areas for three days each starting at Ajeromi Local Council Secretariat on Tuesday to Thursday, May 15 -17, 2018; Iba Local Council Development Secretariat on Tuesday to Thursday, May 22-24, 2018 and Apapa-Ignamu Local Council Secretariat on Wednesday to Friday, May 30 to June 1, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. daily. Read more
As Lagos Residents yearn for safe drinking water (Independent)
Water is life goes the adage, drawn from its necessity for the survival of living organisms; besides quenching thirst, cooking, bathing, washing and irrigating crops among other uses. However, water can take life because of waterborne-related diseases that are caused by consumption of unsafe water. It is against the foregoing background that the state government in 1910 established the Lagos State Water Corporation (LSWC), with the construction of Iju Waterworks. Its vision was to sustainably meet potable water demand in the state through international best practice. Read more
Stop patronising touts for property registration, LASG tells residents (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has warned residents and property owners in the state to desist from patronising touts and third-party agents when registering their properties. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Urban Development, Mrs.Yetunde Onabule, stated that residents should register their properties by themselves at the designated land registry or engage the services of seasoned professionals. “The Land Registry is now very conducive for all transactions, it is easy to access and displays required documents for all kinds of registration. Therefore, I enjoin you to please make the best use of it, desist from patronising touts and third parties in registering titles, and save yourselves from embarrassments and financial loss,” she said. Read more
Lagos deploys facility managers in state-owned estates (Punch)
The Commissioner for Housing, Lagos State, Gbolahan Lawal, says the government has made it mandatory for facility managers to be engaged for the management of all existing and new state-owned housing estates. Lawal made this known at a ceremony to hand over keys to 150 allottees under the Lagos State Government Rent-to-Own initiative. He said the move became necessary to prevent housing estates across the state from degenerating into slums. “Evidence of this abounds in many of the state government housing estates. Facility managers will ensure that the estates are well catered for and are in good, clean, hygienic and environmental friendly conditions,” he said. Read more
Lagos to hike price of Sangotedo Golden Jubilee Scheme plots (Guardian)
A new price hike is in the offing for the Lagos State Golden Jubilee project in Sangotedo, Lekki, after authorities wrapped up provision of infrastructural facilities in the site and services scheme. Allocations to the scheme created last year by the government to commemorate the Golden Jubilee anniversary of the state was suspended by the governor following lack of desired infrastructure. The Guardian learnt that before the suspension, each plot had a price tag of N10 million. Senior officials say the price will not be realistic any more as the government has invested on amenities. Situated within the Lekki Peninsula Sub-region and accessible through the Monastery road, Lekki-Epe Expressway, the scheme aimed at reassuring the teaming populace of the Lagos State Government’s commitment towards provision of a safe and secured living environment Read more
Lagos Airport records 45.38%, 36.08% Passenger, Aircraft movements in 2017 (Independent)
The Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, has once again proven to be the busiest airport in the country with a massive record of passenger and aircraft movements in 2017. A report obtained from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) puts the total passenger movement at Lagos airport, domestic and international, at 6,553,151 out of 14,440,169 movements in the year under review. The figure represents 45.38 percent of the total air travellers’ traffic across the country in the past year while the other 30 airports and airfields, including Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu airports were responsible for 54.62 percentage movements within the same period. Read more
3,000MW electricity is achievable – LASG (Punch)
The Lagos State Government has said it planned to generate 3,000 megawatts of electricity through its embedded power project. The Special Adviser to the Governor on Civic Engagement, Benjamin Olabinjo, stated this on Friday at a sensitisation programme on the Lagos State Power Sector Reform Law, 2018, in Ikeja. “The government’s decision to make a bold intervention in the power sector has made it imperative to develop a legal framework for a sustainable power sector development,” he added. The special adviser said the government had embarked on several energy-related projects over the last few years, including the Independent Power Plants, the Light-up Lagos Initiative and the Solar Energy Projects. Read more
Cleric laments rising cases of divorce in churches (Guardian)
Pastor Adebola Ogunleye of the Foursquare Gospel Church on Sunday in Lagos said the rate of divorce among Christians was alarming. Delivering a sermon entitled, “Maximizing Godly Impact for the Family”, the cleric said family strife was on the rise and urged brethren to address root causes of marriage problems leading to divorce. “Today, it is no longer news that pastors are beating up their wives and divorce has crept into the church. Divorce of convenience is what we see in the church today. It is becoming a vogue in church, which must stop,” he said. Read more
Cannes at Large: After a Tribute to Pierre Rissient, Martin Scorsese and Cate Clanchett ‘cut the tape’ (Nation)
It was a sad one for the global film community, with the passing, few weeks to this year’s Cannes, of renowned historian and director, Pierre Rissient who died at the age of 81. Thus, a tribute to the veteran formed part of the opening day of the 71st Festival de Cannes, on Tuesday, May 8, 2018. For more than fifty years, Pierre was one of the most important members of the Cannes community and of the Festival, putting all of his creative energy into helping it show films from distant countries. This year of 2018 was once again going to be the deceased’s year, as he was due to bring back to the festival the Korean director Lee Chang-dong, who he had greatly helped to become known around the world, as he had done with so many others before. Read more
Lagos woos film makers at Cannes Festival (Nation)
The Lagos State Government has invited film makers and producers to take advantage of the massive infrastructure and the enabling environment provided by the state government to shoot their films in the State. Permanent Secretary Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, stated this at the weekend at the ongoing Cannes International Film Festival in France. He spoke before an international audience, while unveiling the magazine – Cinema in Lagos – produced for the state government. The magazine focusses on the arts, entertainment and the culture of Lagos. Read more
Documentary: Lagos tells Nollywood’s story at Cannes Film Festival (Nation)
For most foreigners who have heard about the exploit of Nollywood as the second largest producer of home video in the world, it was an opportunity to know how the film industry evolved from the pre colonial era to what today, has become the leading motion picture industry in Africa. A documentary produced by Golden Effects for the Lagos Tourism tells it all in six minutes, to visitors at the Lagos State Pavilion, located at the Pantiero-Side, at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival in France. Tagged ‘Lagos and Cinema’, the documentary captured the huge impact that Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria and economic nerve of the country plays in the journey of Nollywood, a generic name for film industries from the Eastern, Southern, Northern and Western parts of Nigeria. Read more
Pro-Chancellor showers cash on best UNILAG graduates (Nation)
The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman, Governing Council, the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Dr. Wale Babalakin (SAN), has showered cash on 13 best graduating students of the University of Lagos. He also described the Nigerian Intelligentuals as “endangered species”. The lawyer-businessmam who spoke during the 49th Convocation Ceremony of UNILAG, gave out N150, 000 cash each to 11 best graduating students from the Faculty of Law and two of their counterparts from the Distant Learning Institute. Read more
Halogen Security, LASG to collaborate on city surveillance (Punch)
The management of Halogen Security Company Limited has expressed its readiness to collaborate with the Lagos State Government to deploy cutting-edge crime prevention smart solutions capable of securing over 21 million people in Lagos. This is coming as the state intensifies efforts towards building a secured smart city fit for global investments in partnership with the private sector. In a statement obtained on Sunday, the firm said that as a notable security solutions provider to key sectors of the nation’s economy and a thought leader in security and allied businesses, Halogen Security had always developed intelligent risk-reduction facilities critical to security management. Read more
Lagos, too commercially-active not to have a consumer protection body —Oluwakemi Olugbode, GM, LASCOPA (Tribune)
The General Manager of the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), Mrs. Olugbode Oluwakemi, in this interview, with Akin Adewakun, justifies the inauguration of the state’s relatively new consumer protection agency, the Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency (LASCOPA), noting that it would have amounted to criminal neglect, if the state did not have a regulatory body, where consumers in the state could make a recourse to. Excerpts: After our inauguration on January 3rd, we secured this place and we moved in at the end of February and we started our first activity, it was a road show. Immediately after the road show, we started receiving complaints from consumers, on different issues. Read more
Battle over Best Western Hotel, Ikeja property shifts to Appeal court (Guardian)
Legal fireworks over the property housing the Best Western Ikeja Hotel, a four Star hospitality facility situated at 12, Allen Avenue and owned by Suru World Wide Ventures Limited has shifted to the appellant court. The hotel is one of the disputed property recently sealed up by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) over alleged N24.2billon indebtedness.Parties in the matter, which include, Suru World Wide Ventures Limited (plaintiff), Eco Bank Plc, AMCON and Mr. Edward Akinlade had been involved in a fierce legal battle over the hotel and other properties in Ikeja following credit facilities extended to Mr. Akinlade, the Managing Director of Suru World Wide Ventures Limited by the defunct Oceanic Bank (Now Ecobank). Read more
Church queries govt’s role in land dispute (Nation)
Who owns the disputed land on which a church stands at Makoko, Yaba, Lagos Mainland? This is the puzzle The Act of Apostle Church and members of the community are seeking to unravel, following the invasion of the church last Thursday by the police and others. The others were the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbers, and some people described as hoodlums. Four persons were feared killed during the invasion. A top official of the church, Bamidele Ogunmayi, told The Nation that the federal Government, Lagos State Government and the Coker family are laying claim to the land. Read more
Investigate killings at LG congress, bring culprits to book ―Agege APC leaders (Tribune)
Leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Agege Federal Constituency on Sunday were unanimous in their call for investigations into the circumstances that led to the death of a party member, Mr Nurudeen Lanase, at the party’s local government congress in Agege Local Government Area last Saturday. The leaders, including, the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa; the State’s Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure, Dr Samuel Babatunde Adejare; House of Representatives member, Hon. Taofeek Abiodun Adaranijo; Hon. Oluyinka Ogundimu, member representing Agege State Constituency 2 in the State House of Assembly, among others, who all condemned the sad incident, equally called on relevant security agencies to ensure that culprits indicted in the incident were brought to book. Read more
Bullion van driver arraigned for driving against traffic in Lagos (Punch)
A man, Oke Onyeche, has been arraigned before the Lagos State Mobile Court at Oshodi for allegedly driving a bullion van against traffic. Onyeche, a 43-year-old bullion van driver, was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Amos Olajuwon on two counts of obstruction and driving against traffic, contrary to the Lagos State Road Traffic Law of 2012. he defendant pleaded guilty. The reportedly said he drove against traffic in order to get to his destination on time, adding that he never knew he would be caught. The police prosecutor, Oseni Ibrahim, said the arraignment was to serve as a deterrent to other road users, particularly those fond of flouting the law. Read more
‘How we steal phones from sex workers in Ogun, resell to their colleagues in Lagos’ (Guardian)
Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State police command have arrested two suspects, who allegedly specialise in stealing mobile phones from their girlfriends and commercial sex hawkers after lodging them in motels and sell to other prostitutes. The suspects, Semiu Obanla, 35, and David Edet, 32, both married, were arrested at an hotel in Abule-Egba, Lagos, after a stolen phone was tracked to the hotel where they lodged. In his confession to the police, Semiu said: “David and I met at a site in Ikorodu where we both worked as artisans before extending the working relationship to friendship. Read more
NBBF holds 2018 stakeholders meeting this week (Guardian)
As part of efforts to begin a new league season this year, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has finalised plans to meet with all the stakeholders on May 16 in Lagos and May 18 in Abuja, the federation has announced. The meeting, it said, is to deliberate on issues concerning the game. According to NBBF, the annual stakeholders meeting, which will lead to the 2018 league season, would be used in highlighting gray areas in the sport. A letter sent to all stakeholders by the secretariat of the NBBF states that the meeting for the Atlantic Conference will hold at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos, while the NIS Hostel, Package B of the National Stadium will host the conveners in Abuja. Read more