“I want to sincerely thank Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for bringing this town hall meeting to Oto Awori. I never believed that in my lifetime that this place will host the Governor and his cabinet members. Before now they would always ask us to come to Ikeja, but this time around, they have come to our own community”.
Those were the words of Alhaji Abimbola Suraju, a market leader in Oto-Awori last Friday when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led members of the State Executive Council and other top officials of the State Government to Shibiri/Ekunpa Area Office in Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area (LCDA, venue of the second quarterly Town Hall Meeting for the year and seventh in the series.
Oto-Awori, one of the 37 LCDAs carved out from Ojo Local Government, has never hosted such delegation in recent years and the excitement on the thousands of residents that trooped to the venue to catch a glimpse of the Governor and listen to what he had in stock for them was enough to tell the story.
The Governor, as was expected did not disappoint. During his opening remarks, he said he was specifically excited to be in the community to get first hand information on the needs of the community and how his administration could respond accordingly.
For him, Oto-Awori was part and parcel of his promise to run an all inclusive government, thus no community would be left behind in the quest by his administration to ensure all round development of the State.
“The train of our Quarterly Town Hall meeting has arrived in Ojo, the home of our dependable and reliable Deputy Governor – Dr. Mrs. Idiat Oluranti Adebule. I salute the good people of Ojo and the Lagos West Senatorial Zone. We are very happy to be here with you today,” the Governor had said in his remarks.
Thus, the Governor took over one hour to allow residents cutting across community leaders, traditional rulers, market women, youth leaders and party leaders in the area to ask questions.
Responding to the request for a General Hospital to be constructed in the area, Governor Ambode said three new facilities have been catered for in the 2017 budget.
“Talking about General Hospitals, in the budget we have designated General Hospitals for three areas and Ojo Local Government is one of them. It is in the pipeline, it’s just a matter of time, we are already closing in on it,” he said.
Governor Ambode also assured that efforts would be made to improve healthcare service delivery in the riverine area in Oto Awori, saying that residents in such areas have remained relevant in the government’s achievements over the years.
“This area is traditionally and historically known to be a major supporter of government and then we must give them back for the support which they have always been known for,” he said.
The Governor also acceded to the request of the residents for the rehabilitation of the access roads linking the area to the Alimosho General Hospital which they currently use pending the construction of a nearby General Hospital and at the meeting immediately directed the State Public Works Corporation to immediately fix the roads to improve accessibility to the facility.
Irked by the number of uncompleted road projects across the State, Governor Ambode also directed contractors handling the projects to immediately return to their various sites, warning that his administration would not hesitate to terminate such contracts.
“If we are able to do a link bridge in 11 months, if we are able to do Ajah flyover in 13 months and Abule Egba flyover in 13 months and we are going to commission all of them next month, how can these roads be there forever? So, obviously we should use the same spirit of delivering service to do all the outstanding roads. The Ministry of Works must go back to these sites, I must know what is going on within the next few days,” the Governor said.
He listed some of the projects to include Mile 10 Road, Mowo Road, Tedi Road, Ilaje Road, Goriola Oseni Road, Sabo Mosafejo Road and Imude Orisa Road where only 1.5km of the road was covered by the contractor.
“These are contracts already awarded, it’s for our own contractors to go there and finish the job, so the responsibility is on us to make sure you deliver these roads within the shortest possible time and that’s what it should be,” he said.
The Governor also said that he had approved that all the mini waterworks across the State, numbering about 41 should be functional within the next 12 weeks to ensure that residents have access to clean and portable water.
Addressing issues concerning the physically challenged, Governor Ambode also directed that the Civil Service Comission and the Local Government Civil Service Commission should put modalities in place to employ at least 250 physically challenged persons into the State Civil Service.
He also ordered the Chairman of the State’s Sports Commission to offset all arrears of allowances owed the physically challenged athletes in the State next week.
Highlighting some of his administration’s strides in the last quarter, the Governor said the Neighborhood Watch was rebranded and launched as the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps and provided with equipment to combat illegal activities within the populace, explaining that the Corps will complement the efforts of the police in curbing crime and criminality in the state.
He also said that within the quarter under review the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund continued to fulfill its mandate of providing subsidized loans to our entrepreneurs, revealing that N1.7 billion was approved as loans to 1,400 businesses out of which N1.2 billion has already been disbursed to 800 people.
“By the end of this month, loans to another 1,000 businesses will be approved, taking the total loans approved above 2,000. To further serve Lagos residents, the Fund will soon open the application process for skills development and training to help our unemployed youths take up existing jobs within the Lagos economy. I urge you to visit the Fund’s website or their liaison offices in the Local Governments to apply for their various programs,” Governor Ambode said.
Under agriculture, the Governor said his administration has commenced the upgrade of the 167-hectare Songhai Model Farm in Avia-Igborosun, Badagry to encourage organic agriculture and train citizens interested in agro-business for local consumption or export, while 540 fishermen across the State were trained on the use of fishing equipment to improve their skills as well as optimize their understanding of the trade and boost income.
Besides, the Governor while responding to a request for the State Government to utilise the 300 hectares of arable lands in the area said he would visit the area with his team to access the land and look at the possibilities of boosting the economy of the area through mechanised farming.
Projecting for the next quarter, Governor Ambode said the Government would kick start the implementation of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, implement the construction of 181 roads across the 57 LGs/LCDAs, complete the Abule-Egba and Ajah flyover bridges, further signalization of Lekki – Ajah express road and continuation of Road network upgrade in all the three Senatorial Zones.
“Furthermore, initiatives for Tourism will be intensified by commencing Development of Heritage Centre for Leadership (Presidential Lodge), Lagos History Centre, J.K Randle Centre, Transformation of the Onikan Museum, Development of tourism hubs in Lagos-West, Lagos-East, Construction of 6 Cultural Theatres in Alimosho, Badagry, Epe, Ikorodu, Ikeja and Lagos Mainland, and continuation of Epe and Badagry Waterfront development as well as other tourist potentials in the area,” he said.
Governor Ambode also said that he was particularly excited that the 7th edition of the Town Hall meeting coincides with the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the creation of the State while he took time to appreciate the founding founders and predecessors of the State whom he said had worked assiduously in the last five decades for the growth and progress of Lagos State.
“We appreciate the vision, tenacity of purpose and hard work which helped to shape our past and laid the foundation on which to build the prosperous future of our dear State,” he said.
At the end of the meeting, the Governor had succeeded in raising the hopes of residents. Perhaps, they were not oblivious of the outcome of the six previous editions of the Town Hall Meeting which the Governor had hosted since he assumed office.
For them, the Governor has become synonymous with keeping his words and if the promises he made to them are anything to go by, then Oto-Awori and its environs will soon become a huge construction site.
“I want to sincerely thank Governor Akinwunmi Ambode for bringing this town hall meeting to Oto Awori. I never believed that in my lifetime that this place will host the Governor and his cabinet members. Before now they would always ask us to come to Ikeja, but this time around, they have come to our own community”.
Those were the words of Alhaji Abimbola Suraju, a market leader in Oto-Awori last Friday when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode led members of the State Executive Council and other top officials of the State Government to Shibiri/Ekunpa Area Office in Oto-Awori Local Council Development Area (LCDA, venue of the second quarterly Town Hall Meeting for the year and seventh in the series.
Oto-Awori, one of the 37 LCDAs carved out from Ojo Local Government, has never hosted such delegation in recent years and the excitement on the thousands of residents that trooped to the venue to catch a glimpse of the Governor and listen to what he had in stock for them was enough to tell the story.
The Governor, as was expected did not disappoint. During his opening remarks, he said he was specifically excited to be in the community to get first hand information on the needs of the community and how his administration could respond accordingly.
For him, Oto-Awori was part and parcel of his promise to run an all inclusive government, thus no community would be left behind in the quest by his administration to ensure all round development of the State.
“The train of our Quarterly Town Hall meeting has arrived in Ojo, the home of our dependable and reliable Deputy Governor – Dr. Mrs. Idiat Oluranti Adebule. I salute the good people of Ojo and the Lagos West Senatorial Zone. We are very happy to be here with you today,” the Governor had said in his remarks.
Thus, the Governor took over one hour to allow residents cutting across community leaders, traditional rulers, market women, youth leaders and party leaders in the area to ask questions.
Responding to the request for a General Hospital to be constructed in the area, Governor Ambode said three new facilities have been catered for in the 2017 budget.
“Talking about General Hospitals, in the budget we have designated General Hospitals for three areas and Ojo Local Government is one of them. It is in the pipeline, it’s just a matter of time, we are already closing in on it,” he said.
Governor Ambode also assured that efforts would be made to improve healthcare service delivery in the riverine area in Oto Awori, saying that residents in such areas have remained relevant in the government’s achievements over the years.
“This area is traditionally and historically known to be a major supporter of government and then we must give them back for the support which they have always been known for,” he said.
The Governor also acceded to the request of the residents for the rehabilitation of the access roads linking the area to the Alimosho General Hospital which they currently use pending the construction of a nearby General Hospital and at the meeting immediately directed the State Public Works Corporation to immediately fix the roads to improve accessibility to the facility.
Irked by the number of uncompleted road projects across the State, Governor Ambode also directed contractors handling the projects to immediately return to their various sites, warning that his administration would not hesitate to terminate such contracts.
“If we are able to do a link bridge in 11 months, if we are able to do Ajah flyover in 13 months and Abule Egba flyover in 13 months and we are going to commission all of them next month, how can these roads be there forever? So, obviously we should use the same spirit of delivering service to do all the outstanding roads. The Ministry of Works must go back to these sites, I must know what is going on within the next few days,” the Governor said.
He listed some of the projects to include Mile 10 Road, Mowo Road, Tedi Road, Ilaje Road, Goriola Oseni Road, Sabo Mosafejo Road and Imude Orisa Road where only 1.5km of the road was covered by the contractor.
“These are contracts already awarded, it’s for our own contractors to go there and finish the job, so the responsibility is on us to make sure you deliver these roads within the shortest possible time and that’s what it should be,” he said.
The Governor also said that he had approved that all the mini waterworks across the State, numbering about 41 should be functional within the next 12 weeks to ensure that residents have access to clean and portable water.
Addressing issues concerning the physically challenged, Governor Ambode also directed that the Civil Service Comission and the Local Government Civil Service Commission should put modalities in place to employ at least 250 physically challenged persons into the State Civil Service.
He also ordered the Chairman of the State’s Sports Commission to offset all arrears of allowances owed the physically challenged athletes in the State next week.
Highlighting some of his administration’s strides in the last quarter, the Governor said the Neighborhood Watch was rebranded and launched as the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps and provided with equipment to combat illegal activities within the populace, explaining that the Corps will complement the efforts of the police in curbing crime and criminality in the state.
He also said that within the quarter under review the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund continued to fulfill its mandate of providing subsidized loans to our entrepreneurs, revealing that N1.7 billion was approved as loans to 1,400 businesses out of which N1.2 billion has already been disbursed to 800 people.
“By the end of this month, loans to another 1,000 businesses will be approved, taking the total loans approved above 2,000. To further serve Lagos residents, the Fund will soon open the application process for skills development and training to help our unemployed youths take up existing jobs within the Lagos economy. I urge you to visit the Fund’s website or their liaison offices in the Local Governments to apply for their various programs,” Governor Ambode said.
Under agriculture, the Governor said his administration has commenced the upgrade of the 167-hectare Songhai Model Farm in Avia-Igborosun, Badagry to encourage organic agriculture and train citizens interested in agro-business for local consumption or export, while 540 fishermen across the State were trained on the use of fishing equipment to improve their skills as well as optimize their understanding of the trade and boost income.
Besides, the Governor while responding to a request for the State Government to utilise the 300 hectares of arable lands in the area said he would visit the area with his team to access the land and look at the possibilities of boosting the economy of the area through mechanised farming.
Independence NG
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