By Rukayat Moisemhe

Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos, has promised relief in areas of education, transport infrastructure, healthcare and the environment for residents and businesses across the Eti-Osa corridor.

Sanwo-Olu made the pledge during an engagement with residents and stakeholders of Lekki, Etiosa, Ibeju Lekki and Epe, on Sunday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event was to discuss activities and plans of his administration for the community and the state in general.

The governor said that properties, businesses and tenants that might be affected once the building of the fourth mainland bridge starts would be fully compensated.

He explained that the bridge must be built to bring modern development to the state.

Sanwo-Olu also read “riot act” against noise pollution, lawlessness and other environmental degradation factors, endangering lives and properties in the axis.

He stated that when rebuilding the Ilasan area for a better health and environment status befitting the area, nobody would be left out.

“The slum, health hazards and way of life is not fit for Ilasan area and in feeling the plight of the residents of the area, we are committed to addressing what must be done to result in a win-win situation for residents and the environment.

“Residents are advised to bring acts of lawlessness and bad behaviour along the corridor to the knowledge of government.

“For the youth, once the leaders approve of an area for us, we would build a stadium, more primary schools and other important facilities in this axis.

“We are also committed to rebuilding the hospital at the Ibeju Lekki axis and also build a General Hospital at Ajah this year,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu reiterated his commitment to providing relief on the road transportation challenges experienced on the Lekki-Epe expressway.

He said that his administration would continue to build regional roads and ferry routes, to solve some of the issues.

The governor, however, stressed that the promised coastal road was not forgotten and would be built after the regional roads were finished.

“Also, the Jakande road would be rebuilt to address traffic situation and we shall also consider the beautification of the Lekki-Epe expressway,” he said.

Earlier, Mr Gbemi Adelekan, Secretary, Lekki Estate Residents and Stakeholders Association (LERSA) and other residents highlighted several areas of concerns from 1004 to Epe.

According to him, they include building of coastal road to address the traffic situation on the Lekki-Epe expressway, and regeneration of Ilasan Housing Estate.

Other areas of concern, the residents pointed out, were the traffic situation at the Jakande junction, the flooding situation at Lafiaji, Orchid road, and others.

“We also call for more primary and secondary schools across the Lekki corridor, more functional healthcare centres and a youth facility for more inclusiveness,” he said.

Mrs Aramide Adeyoye, Special Adviser to the Governor on Works and Infrastructure, reiterated the focus of the current administration to delivering critical infrastructure aimed at easing the lives and businesses of residents in the axis.

According to her, eight roads will be upgraded in Ikoyi, and focus was on Ado-Badore road, Orchid to Ogombo road and up to Abraham Adesanya would be rehabilitated. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

By Abigael Joshua

Prof. Oba Abdulraheem, the Kwara’s New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) governorship candidate, has promised to embark on realistic, dynamic political and economic reforms if voted into power.

Oba, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said he would create a governable environment that promotes and supports socio-economic well-being of the people through his Strategic Actions to Change Kwara (SACK) strategy.

“We want a Kwara State that works for all, propped by a determined focus on shared prosperity for all, driven by a vibrant economy and underpinned by quality service based on equity and justice.

“The ultimate goal of Government and Governance is the welfare and security of the people,” the governorship candidate said.

He said his government would pursue vigorous value-orientation to minimise corrupt practices, reduce and, ultimately, eliminate waste and leakages in public financing.

Explaining his education agenda, Oba who was a former Vice Chancellor of the University of Ilorin, said there would be a deliberate focus on educational infrastructural renewal, arresting and reversing the decay at the basic education level.

He added that there would be unhindered access to free, qualitative basic education for all in Kwara.

“There will be drastic reduction in out-of-school children population; progressive decongestion and expansion of instructional space and facilities, promoting ICT and e-learning.

“I will embark on capacity-building through re-conceptualizing the teacher training education in order to match the goals of the Universal Basic Education.

“There will be improved conditions/incentives for trainee teachers, restoration of rural posting and incentives for basic education teachers,” he said.

Oba said the professional focus of the colleges of Education and polytechnics would remain sacrosanct, while there there would be enhanced conditions of service, including career opportunities for trained teachers.

According to the NNPP governorship candidate, education is a change-agent which will be deployed as the flagship of his party’s change agenda. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Razak Owolabi

Stakeholders at a Consultative Worship on Standardisation of Private Shelters and Safe Homes

By Angela Atabo

Stakeholders in the humanitarian sector have called for the harmonisation and standardisation of shelter homes operations with accordance the provisions of Regulation 2019.

They made the call at a Consultative Workshop on Standardising Private Shelters and Safe Homes –Northern Region organised by Palladium with other stakeholders in Abuja.

Abdulganiyu Abubakar , National President, Network Against Child Trafficking Abuse and Labour(NACTAL-Nigeria), said that the meeting was a stakeholders’ engagement on the regulation and management of private shelters and homes in Nigeria .

According to Abubakar, private shelters and homes are institutions that provide care for survivors, victims of trafficking, abuse and exploitation.

He said: “We are here today to interact between the government of Nigeria and CSOs from the northern part of Nigeria on how to ensure that all shelters and private homes meet the minimum standard of care.

“We are dealing with human beings, we are dealing with lives, so there should be minimum standard for operations to ensure that we respect the dignity of human lives .

“So, by the end of today, it is expected that all the organisations would have a sheer understanding of the minimum requirements for the operationalisation of shelters and care homes in Nigeria.’’

Abubakar advised the stakeholders to be driven by passion as well as commitment and ensure they adhered to all the rules and regulations governing the establishment and management of such homes.

He also urged them to work in close collaboration with the government of Nigeria and other relevant agencies.

He added: “Regulation 2019 just came and NAPTIP is trying as much as possible to ensure that CSOs and private individuals running these homes comply with the provisions of these regulations.’’

Abubakar said that NACTAL is a network of CSOs all over Nigeria working very closely with NAPTIP to ensure that its members operate within the confines of the laws.

Ms Lydia Odeh , Chief of Party, Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE), assured the stakeholders of support towards their activities.

Odeh said that the ultimate goal was to provide quality care to survivors.

She said: “What we are really trying to do is to aggregate as much input as possible so that as NAPTIP goes back to review some of these procedures that they are putting in place to support the work that you are doing actually has your input in it .

“Whatever works the government is doing in this area ;whatever work that you are doing as private operators, the ultimate goal is that we are providing quality care to the survivors.

“The project is time-bound, it is on till 2025, so it’s an opportunity to leverage our resource, leverage the kind of alliances that we have and the kind of reach that we have to really drive this project to where it can go.’’

Mr Arinze Orakwue, Director of Training and Manpower Development, NAPTIP commended Palladium for orgnising the workshop.

Orakwue said that the workshop was a testimony of the commitment of Palladium to make sure that standardisation of shelter operations was achieved.

He said that the SCALE project was of critical importance to NAPTIP’s mandate and its effort to deepen participation of the society.

Orajkwue said: `We all know that this issue is core to the work that NAPTIP does, rehabilitation is not just one of the departments, rehabilitation is critical because shelter is part of rehabilitation.

“NAPTIP is here to guide, listen and learn because it is a workshop ;the purpose is to generate protocols for standadisation of shelter.

”This is to ensure that anytime you see it you will know that what obtains here, is what should be obtained here.

“We don’t want haphazard issues, we want to have a central theme that guides our operations that leads us into the things we do.’’(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Ibironke Ariyo

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says it has intercepted a consignment of 1,340 kilogrammes of cannabis sativa being conveyed from Ogbese in Ondo state to Odukpani in Cross River.

The Director, Media and Advocacy, NDLEA, Mr Femi Babafemi, disclosed this on Sunday in a statement issued in Abuja.

He said that the items were loaded in a truck belonging to the Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) and heading to Okurikang Okoyong in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River.

Babafemi said that following credible intelligence, the movement was monitored for three weeks and upon arrival, 130 bags of cannabis were seized.

The seized drugs, weighed 1.430 tons and were recovered from the LNG truck and 13 motorcycles which were hired by the cartel to convey the consignment deep into the Odukpani forest, were impounded.

Babafemi also said that in Kano, four suspects: Ado Shuaibu; Yahaya Shuaibu; Mamman Sani and Umar Musa Yakubu were arrested in connection with 229 blocks of skunk weighing 131.1kgs.

He said that Musa was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 7, at Tumfafi village, Kano, while Ado, Yahaya and Mamman were nabbed on Saturday, Feb. 11, at Garin Balarabe, Maigatari, Jigawa state.

“Another suspect, Aisha Muhammad, was arrested in Koki area of Kano with 17kgs cannabis,” he said.

According to him, no fewer than four members of a syndicate using dispatch motorcycles to distribute illicit drugs in Lekki area of Lagos were arrested on Sunday, Feb. 5.

“They include: Tijani Hakeem; Eric Maku; Ahmed Jubril and Adobi Chris.

“At the time of their arrest, 1.88kgs of Loud and assorted paraphernalia were recovered from them,” he said.

Babafemi quoted the NDLEA Chairman, Retired, Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, as commending the officers, men and women for their commitment and professionalism towards ridding Nigeria of the menace of illicit drugs.

Marwa said the agency would continue to target any one or group involved in the criminal trade without fear or favour.

He urged all NDLEA officers across the country to remain unrelenting in the pursuit of the corporate goal. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

ICA/BEN/VAO

Edited by Vincent Obi

By Aderogba George

A group of ladies on a platform tagged “A Woman With A Story (AWWAS), has begun efforts to encourage their fellow women to tell their life experiences/stories through creative arts.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the whole idea is about imbibing “creative expression and creative therapy” on women who have been abused and are dealing with emotional trauma.

The ladies, during their visit to Ushafa Pottery Centre, FCT, Abuja, where indigenous women are known for making local pots, stated that the idea was an initiative of Dankauna Foundation.

Miss Haye Okoh, the Project Coordinator for AWWAS, stated that the association intended to achieve an Africa where there would be no hiding place for any form of victimisation of women.

She said that AWWAS encouraged women to use different forms of creative expression like illustrative dance, photography, writing and other forms of creative arts to tell their emotional stories.

“So this year we are focusing on pottery as our creative arts because we know that pottery itself is a history marker.

“A lot of tribes and culture have used potteries to tell stories about their tribes, about their cultures, about different things that happened in their lives.

“So there are different tribes that have events that can be recounted on pieces of pot or ceramics; so we come here to Ushafa today to appreciate their craft.

“Ushafa women are known for pottery, their women are known to be potters, so we have come to do sort of fusion or a union between what we do as ours and what they do as potters.

“We are here to tell them that it is not just about making pots beautiful, but they must apply the techniques of story telling to their pots, to their creative arts.

“Expression of story on the pots whether good or bad gives the pots more value and makes it more long lasting,” she stressed.

She said that AWWAS was currently having discussion with some relevant organisations who were into dealing with domestic abuse against women, so that it could reach out to its targeted audience.

Mrs Tracy Isaac, the founder of Business Academy Africa, a partner with AWWAS, encouraged the women to continue the good work and make it more skillful and lively for the generation unborn.

Isaac who is also the initiator of “Sheboss”, a project meant to encourage women businesswise, appreciated the pottery women for possessing a unique and unusual skill.

According to her, the women have unusual and unique way of expressing their culture and heritage through the pot making.

She said it was important they kept pushing and showing the world the version of themselves.

She said that the pot making was a sort of expression, unlike the other crafts, adding that local pots was still one of the crafts that still had some history and story behind its production.

She disclosed that local pots production had been a craft passed down from one generation to another, adding that the craft must be kept and made more lively.

“The current reality of the world now is that the world is evolving, your customers don’t really come to you anymore, you have to go to your customers.

“This women have unusual and unique way of expressing their culture and heritage, so it is important that they keep pushing, and showing the world the version of themselves.

“Business Academic Africa, we are partnering with AWWAS; we come here on a needs assessment base; we have seen the women and we have understood their pains/points.

“Now we will go back and seat with other team members and create a programme that will allow them to create solid businesses; Sheboss is helping female community entrepreneurs to solve problems In their community.

“One of the ways that we can help them is by giving them the means to be seen globally so that their arts can be shared by people here and people outside, and if they are able to make that, they will make more money,” she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

By Oluwatope Lawanson

The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Obafemi Hamzat, has urged Nigerians to vote for a visionary and credible leader like the first civilian Governor of the state, late Alhaji Lateef Jakande, in the coming elections.

Hamzat gave the advice during the 2nd year Remembrance/Anniversary Prayers for Jakande at Ilupeju, Lagos on Saturday.

The deputy governor praised the late Jakande for the numerous developmental and people-oriented programmes and policies he initiated and the indelible footprints he left in the state.

He stated that the country needed a visionary leader with integrity, selflessness, who was highly committed and passionate about the wellbeing of the citizens and growth of the country.

Hamzat, therefore, charged politicians in the country to emulate the virtues of late Jakande whom he described as a fantastic leader.

He said the late Jakande was a quintessential politician and an administrator par excellence who had the foresight on the development of the State.

The deputy governor also advised Lagos residents to ensure they did the right thing by voting for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the State.

“APC government has done well and needs to continue what it has started so as to make life easier for all.

“I urge you to vote massively for the Presidential Candidate of APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for his capability, antecedents, connectivity, and the boldness to move the country forward.

“Nigerians must desist from any form of sentiments and vote for a president that has a track record of success.

”Vote for a leader who can identify talents, skills, and intellect for the good of the people like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.

In his sermon, Imam Hakeem Awwal said the attributes of a good leader include being courageous, with listening ears to the yearnings and aspirations of the citizens.

He noted that a good leader must also have integrity, among others, which he said the late Jakande had.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that prayers were later offered for the repose of the soul of the deceased.

Prayers were also offered for the family, children, the state, and nation in general.

The highlight of the event was the launch of the Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande Health Foundation.

It was set up to assist the less privileged and needy in the society to access good health care and education. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Oluwole Sogunle