Defies rain to render stewardship at town hall meeting

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Amid heavy rainfall, residents of Alimosho filed out in their large numbers to listen to Lagos State governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to render his account of stewardship at the maiden edition of his quarterly town hall meeting.

The event, which took place at Abesan Mini Stadium, Lagos, Abesan Housing Estate, Ipaja, saw Ambode revealing that   efforts to stabilise the finances of the state had helped to save about N3billion monthly.

In attendance at the occasion were the state deputy  governor, Dr. Idiat Adebule; Senator Oluremi Tinubu, representing Lagos Central District; Senator Solomon Olamilekan, representing Lagos West; All Progressives Congress APC) Chairman, Lagos Chapter, Chief Henry Ajomale; members of the state House of Assembly; Oba Rilwanu Akiolu I; Chief Kemi Nelson, APC Women Leader, Lagos Chapter; Permanent Secretaries; traditional chiefs; as well as leaders of market women and men.

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode (m); his Deputy, Dr (Mrs) Idiat Adebule (right) taking notes during Ambode’s First Quarterly Town Hall Meeting, themed, “Community Inclusion in Governance,” held at the Abesan Mini Stadium, Ayobo-Ipaja, Lagos on Tuesday, October 6, 2015

The event revealed that a template for budget appropriations will be determined by the outcome of town hall meetings, considering the requests and response of Ambode in Abesan.

Several observations, demands as well as lapses in government were made by residents before the governor who promised to address all concerns raised in next year’s budget.

Addressing the enthusiastic crowd, Ambode said his administration embarked on financial re-engineering and reviewed the revenue and expenditure framework of the state, saying the efforts, coupled with the realignment of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, have saved 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”, he said..

The governor who reiterated his vision to make Lagos globally competitive in all sectors, said his administration had mapped out long-term programmes that will lead the state on the path to becoming a truly competitive city-state.

Ambode explained that the forum was in fulfilment of his promise in his inaugural speech, on May 29th, to operate a government of inclusion where he, as governor, would have regular interactions with the people to discuss plans, programmes and progress of his administration as well as rub minds on issues bordering on the development of the state.

According to him, he decided to change from the traditional “100 Days Address” to an interactive quarterly report as one of the many platforms designed to bring government closer to the people.

Achievements

Highlighting his administration’s strides in the last four months, the governor said that, apart from using the period to set up an institutional framework to pilot the programmes and policies of government, remarkable interventions and reforms were made in the areas of road rehabilitation, health care, security, service delivery, transportation and education.

Road infrastructure

Ambode revealed that about N1.3billion had been spent on construction and rehabilitation of over 190 roads across the state, most of which were not catered for in the 2015 budget.

He listed  the roads to include Agege Motor Road, Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba, Murtala Muhammed Way, Isolo, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Dopemu Road, Agege, Akowonjo Road, Akowonjo, Obalende Bridge, Obalende, Isaac John Road, GRA and Apapa Road, Ebute Meta.

Other roads include Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Toyota-Charity Axis, Olufemi Street, Shomolu, Billy Street, Epe, Aswani Road, Isolo, Yekini Street, Shogunle, Oshodi, Isawo Road, Ikorodu, some of which are federal roads.

“As I speak, work has commenced on the Ago Palace Way-Okota Road. The state, in conjunction with your local governments and local council development area, is coming to your neighborhood soon”, the governor said.

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

“Till date, we have committed N1.386billion to road construction and rehabilitation. We will pump more funds into road infrastructure in this present quarter”.

Ambode said he was determined to be accountable for every revenue and expenditure of the state.

Security

Speaking on security, he said his government is aware of pockets of violence and robberies that have occurred in different parts of the state, saying investigations were on the occurrences by the security agencies.

“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 Lagosian is non-negotiable”, the governor said.

“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 in the state”.

The governor expressed appreciation to members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) for their support towards the State Security Trust Fund; even as he said the 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.

Transportation

Ambode, who noted that transportation was one of the biggest challenges facing residents, lamented that, in recent weeks, the menace of trucks on the roads had caused government untold hardships and loss of man-hours and revenue.

He stressed that the Apapa traffic gridlock was the most worrisome, saying, “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 mobilize the contractor awarded the construction of Apapa Trailer Park and road networks to immediately return to site.

“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 behavior. We have started implementing solutions already. In the meantime, we appeal to the tanker drivers and other road users that the Lagos State Traffic Law is still in force and would be applied on any offender.”

Health

On the health sector, Ambode said his government had provided 20 Mobile Intensive Care Unit ambulances at a cost of N145.240 million deployed in all the state’s ambulance points, bringing it to a total of 36 Mobile Intensive Care Unit ambulances.

“We have also provided additional 26 transport ambulances at the cost of N257.4 million deployed across all our General Hospitals. We have created Ambulance Points across the state for easy access to our people. The ambulance service can be reached by calling the Toll-Free Line 112”, the governor said.

According to him, contract for the abandoned Ayinke House Project, which is like government’s baby factory for pregnant women had been re-awarded and the contractor is on site to finish and deliver the project within 3-6months.

Education

Speaking on interventions in the education sector, Ambode said his administration had identified areas needing quick interventions, just as he assured that the challenges in the sector will be addressed accordingly.

He said that, in the first quarter, the inauguration of Governing Councils for tertiary institutions, ongoing recruitment of 1300 primary school teachers, procurement of desk and chairs are part of the solutions towards revamping the sector.

Projecting into the second quarter, the governor promised to plough more resources to sectors needing attention, enjoining residents of the state to  support and cooperate with  government by paying their taxes.

Earlier in his welcome address, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Strategy, Mr Fola Adeyemi, said the town hall meeting, the first of its kind in the state, was in line with  Ambode’s electioneering campaign to involve the masses in governance.

Residents’ speak

Most of the requests made by representatives of   community development associations, residents and stakeholders at the event bordered on the need for infrastructural renewal as well as establishment of more Millennium Schools in  Lagos West Senatorial District.

All concerns raised, Ambode promised to put in the budget which elicited applause from the crowd.

The next town hall parley is slated to hold in Lagos Central Senatorial District.