By Fabian Ekeruche

The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab on Saturday  re-opened the Alayabiagba Market in Boundary, Ajegunle, after adherence to all prescribed sanitation measures by the state.

This is contained in a statement signed by Mrs Folashade Kadiri, Director, Public Affairs, of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and made available to newsmen in Lagos.

Speaking at Ajegunle, Kadiri quoted Wahab as saying that the government decided to re-open the market after it certified that all checklist given to the officials of the market had been fully addressed.

Wahab said that the checklist included placement of Double Dino Bin within the market as well as the erection of a fence at the entrance of the market.

According to him, the government will further ensure sustainability of all sanitation laws guiding the establishment of market spaces.

He urged traders in the market to respect the environment and  ensure proper waste disposal at all times.

“We must stop littering our market with wastes, segregate and bag our wastes and always patronise PSP operators, stopping illegal dumpsites on road medians, kerbs, open spaces, and road setbacks and start policing our environment,” Wahab said.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the commissioner  and his team alongside executives of Lekki Residents Association went round some of the drainage channels and black spots to inspect indiscriminate refuse dumping.

The team discovered contravention in terms of construction on drainage alignments as well as sealing up of setbacks for drains with concrete by the property owners.

Wahab said that the ultimate goal of clearing and dredging of all drainage channels and canals  was to allow easy passage of rainstorm water.

“This explains why government has made continuous dredging of major drainage channels and canals spread across the state a priority,” Wahab said.

He said that directives had been given for contravention notices to be served on some of the commercial property owners on Admiralty Way for contravening the state environmental laws

He stressed that the poor state of the drainage system management by commercial buildings had seriously affected the road networks in Lekki axis in spite of the continuous rehabilitation of the roads by the state government.

He emphasised that government has zero tolerance to environmental abuse, especially drainage blockage using a classic example of the Durosimi Etti channel which is littered with waste and parked shuttle buses, asking that the space should be beautified.

He also dislodged an illegal mechanic workshop on a setback at Admiralty Way opposite Parktonian Hotels, adding that if they attempted to return, all the vehicles would be towed away.

The statement quoted the Special Adviser on Environment, Mr. Olakunle Rotimi – Akodu, as appealing to the people to desist from dumping refuse into the drains.

Rotimi-Akiodu added that clogging of the drains had been compounded by the activities of residents who had turned many major drainage channels into refuse dumps including tertiary drains across the state.

He also reiterated the warning issued to all property owners who had built on setbacks of drainage channels or drainage alignments to remove such structures as they constitute major impediments to free flow of water into the various drainage channels.

The statement quoted the Managing Director of LAWMA, Dr Muyiwa Gbedegesin, as saying that the authority is now better positioned to ensure  a cleaner Lagos at all times.

The locations visited included Durosimi-Etti, Kayode Animashawun/Olubunmi Owa amongst others, all on Admiralty Road.

The statement said that the commissioner was accompanied on the inspection by the Permanent Secretary Drainage Services,  Lekan Shodeinde and thePermanent Secretary Environmental Services, Gaji Omobolaji. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Julius Toba-Jegede

By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal

Hoteliers in Kwara appealed to Gov. Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq on Saturday to save them from harassment, coercion, intimidation, extortion and unlawful locking up of their facilities by the state’s revenue agency.

They alleged that officials of Kwara Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) regularly locked up their hotels without court order and that the action could lead to a collapse of the hospitality industry in the state.

President of the Association of Hotel Owners in Kwara, Alhaji Dauda Akande, and its General Secretary, Mr Babatunde Oladunmoye, represented the hoteliers in making the appeal.

They alleged that KWIRS regularly used the police to harass, intimidate, arrest, detain and charge members with criminal offences.

They alleged also that there was complete lack of synergy between KWIRS and the ministries, departments and agencies responsible for fixing and negotiating taxes and levies.

They stated that the lack of synergy had resulted in the serving of “crazy bills’’ on hoteliers as demand notices.

“Our members are not in the position to pay the huge bills under the current national economic situation.

“Currently our members pay more than 20 different taxes and levies to the federal, state and local governments.

“Over regulation and multiplicity of taxes is currently a huge disincentive to investments in Kwara’s hospitality and tourism industry,’’ they stated.

The officials stated also that association members were regularly served inaccurate demand notices that included bills dating back to the Covid-19 era when the pandemic demanded the shutting of all hotels.

“The collapse of the hotel business in Kwara will result in job losses and an increase in crime rates.

“We request that commercial properties paying commercial land charges to Kwara State Geographic Information Service should be exempted from business premises levy because this amounts to double taxation on the commercial property.

“Agencies established for social services like Kwara Environmental Protection Agency, and the Fire Service should be well-funded by government and not be converted to revenue-generating agencies with yearly revenue targets.

“Business associations should be allowed to pay taxes and levies from their members directly to government revenue accounts.

“This is to prevent extortion and diversion of percentages of the taxes and levies to private pockets through collusion and conspiracies,’’ the association stressed.

It warned KWIRS to stop locking hotels without court order since it could not be the judge in its own case, adding that the agency should follow due process in all tax matters.

“Our association may have no other choice than to approach a court of competent jurisdiction for redress if the locking up of our hotels without due process continues,’’ the association also warned.

Responding to the allegations, however, Head of Corporate Affairs at the KWIRS, Mrs Titi Ogunwale, explained that both parties had been engaged in series of dialogues and discussions.

She expressed surprise at the hoteliers’ allegations and explained that meetings were held and resolutions were made on how to resolve issues.

“I am surprised to see this coming up again; we have had continuous collaborations with all associations in the state.

“If they are not happy, they can invite us or we invite them for discussion, which we have been doing.

“We held meetings two weeks ago and resolution was made by both parties. I do not know where all these claims they are making are coming from,’’ she said.

Ogunwale explained that KWIRS had already explained the legal procedure on what should be done to the hoteliers.

She observed that the association’s allegations would not help matters and that KWIRS would continue to educate relevant stakeholders on the issue of taxation.

She stressed that the position of the law was that anyone engaged in business activities in the state and was making profit, must pay taxes.

She noted that where business owners were running at a loss, they were not required to pay any tax as long as they present their evidences to the service.

The KWIRS spokesperson explained that the agency only collect taxes based on assessment by relevant ministries and does not generate the bills.

Ogunwale stressed that the agency was not rigid and explained that where there were complaints, “business owners can reach out to the relevant ministry, which will in turn communicate decisions to KWIRS’’. (NAN)

Edited by Yinusa Ishola/Alli Hakeem

By Grace Alegba

The Lagos State government on Saturday began clearing shanties and reclaiming Right of Way (RoW) of the Red Rail project corridor from Agbado, Ogun, to Ebute Metta, Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the enforcement team was led by the Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr Oluyinka Olumide.

Olumide was accompanied by the Special Adviser, e-GIS and Urban Development, Dr Olajide Babatunde; General Manager, Lagos State Building Control Agency (LASBCA), Mr Gbolahan Oki and senior directors of both the agency and ministry.

LASBCA is an agency under the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.

NAN further reports that the enforcement started from the Lateef Jakande Station, Agbado, on the Lagos-Ogun boundary and continued through Iju to Babatunde Fashola Station, Agege.

All makeshift stalls along rail lines were removed; permanent structures including four new generation churches were partially demolished and other encroachments were removed.

Two new churches under construction were sealed and marked with quit notices while traders hurriedly removed their wares from makeshift stalls as they knocked down.

Members of the demolition team sensitised traders at various locations on the danger of trading on the new train corridor.

They spoke to traders in both English and Yoruba warning of consequences of returning to rail tracks, which included outright arrest and prosecution.

The LASBCA boss, Oki, insisted that the lives of residents of Lagos were “more important than any business,” as such the operation must be seamless.

Oki who supervised the removal of obstructions on the RoW insisted that houses whose fences encroached road setbacks must be removed.

Speaking on the exercise, Olumide said the enforcement would continue along the entire train corridor.

He said the exercise would be sustained to keep the Red Rail Line project corridor safe for all Lagos residents.

Olumide advised traders and other business owners to relocate to the markets, while instructing his team to inspect the corridor every Tuesday and Thursday to apprehend defaulters and charge them to court.

“What we are doing is a clean up of the corridor along the Red Rail Line because the train that is coming is going to be a very fast train.

“It is not advisable for pedestrians to be along the corridor basically for their lives. Life is much more important to the state government. And in that regard we have to clear up all that the corridor.

“We will continue to clean up this corridor from the beginning up till the end along the Red Line.

“People must desist from putting up any structure along this corridor. They just must comply because their lives more important to us.

“Go online and check all rail stations in the world. It is not a place for people to walk, trade or carry out businesses,” he said.

The Red Line Rail project is a 37 kilometre North-South rail route proposed to run from Agbado to Marina, with 13 stations.

The station are: Agbado, Iju, Agege, Ikeja, Murtala Muhammad International Airport, the Domestic Airport, Oshodi, Mushin, Yaba, Ebute Meta, Iddo, Ebute Ero, and Marina. (NAN)

Edited by Salif Atojoko

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By Deji Abdulwahab

The Confederation of All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups has called on the Federal Government to diversify the nation’s economy from oil to agriculture revenue earnings.

It urged the government to go back to 1960s, where government invested heavily in agriculture and used its earnings to finance the national budget in the first Republic.

The Director-General of the group, Dr Kailani Muhammed, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja, in commemoration of the 63rd independence of the country.

Muhammed recalled that in the 60s, the country produced rice to feed Nigerians and people in West Africa and earned foreign exchange from agriculture, particularly rice from Niger State.

He added that Kaduna for instance, produced maize that fed the country and West Africa.

According to him, Nigeria needs to shift from oil earning because, corruption in the sector, has destroyed all the strata of the economy.

“After first Republic, those our grandfathers in the likes of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Tafawa Balewa and others, what they had in their minds, I think, was the country itself and not about materialism.

“From 1983 when the military took over till date, it has not been well because corruption has destroyed all the strata of the economy.

“There is no reason why Nigerians should be poor. I don’t want to say the oil that we have is a curse on us,” he said.

He expressed optimism that the present administration, with its “Renewed Hope Agenda” would bring back the agriculture sector to boost the nation’s economy.

“With all indications President Bola Tinubu is willing to do that, as he continues the implementation of agricultural policy of the past administration, particularly now that he has declared the state of emergency in the agriculture sector.

“So,  we hope that with all things being equal, it will work well for us, so that we will not depend on oil,” Muhammed said.

The director-general also urged Nigerians to borrow a leaf from an American man who was willing to die holding America’s flag because of patriotism and nationalism.

“This man believes in his country, what about us?. Unless we are able as a people to come together, to know that this country belongs to all of us and we don’t have any other country apart from Nigeria,” he said. (NAN)

Edited by Chinyere Nwachukwu/Isaac Aregbesola

By Ginika Okoye

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it has opened investigation into an alleged healthcare neglect by Maitama District Hospital, Abuja, which led to the death of one Ms Greatness Olorunfemi.

FCCPC, in a statement by its Executive Vice Chairman, Mr Babatunde Irukera, on Saturday, said the investigation was to find out if Olorunfemi’s death was on account of failure implicated in the commission’s Patients’ Bill of Rights (PBoR).

Irukera said the investigation was also to know other enforceable legal instruments regarding attention and care to patients generally, especially in emergency situations where victims of criminal conduct required medical attention.

He said the commission welcomed the statement of the Office of FCT Secretary for Health Services and Environment, announcing a transparent broad investigation including a Coroner’s Inquest into the matter.

”FCCPC commiserates with Ms. Greatness Olorunfemi’s family, friends and associates who are affected by this tragic loss.

”There are disputed accounts of whether she received appropriate care, or delay pending production of a police report, or was brought in Dead on Arrival (DoA).

The commission has opened an investigation accordingly.

”Particular concern is if Olorunfemi died on account of failures implicated in the commission’s Patients’ Bill of Rights (PBoR) or other enforceable legal instruments regarding attention and care to patients generally.

”More specifically, in emergency situations where victims of criminal conduct require attention.

”Considering the facility concerned is a government institution and the commission’s determination to progress a limited inquiry into the consumer protection aspects of the events, the commission immediately engaged relevant stakeholders,”he said.

The executive vice chairman said the commission was looking forward to participating, supporting and collaborating with the FCT administration in the investigation.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Olorunfemi was reportedly thrown from a moving vehicle along the Maitama-Kubwa highway.

She was said to be a member of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) Network.

Moyosoluwa Oladayo, the YALI Network Abuja coordinator, said the deceased died due to delay by healthcare workers at the Maitama District Hospital.

“There is a viral video of her when she was thrown out of the vehicle.

She was unconscious and was reportedly taken to Maitama District Hospital where they kept asking for a Police report till she gave up twenty minutes later,” she said. (NAN)

Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

By EricJames Ochigbo

No fewer than 100 residents of Kobi Seriki, a suburb of Abuja, on Saturday received free medical services, food and household items from the Rotary Club of Asokoro as part of its humanitarian services.

The outreach was under projects Declutter to Empower, Feed the Family and Medical Outreach implemented by the club.

The residents, which included People With Disability (PWD), were given food and household items which included rice, beans, yams, noddles, corn, bed foam, pots, fan, shoes, cloths, baby items among others.

The President of the club, Dr Adesuwa Agbontaen, said that Kobi community was adopted to provide care, support and other interventions by the club.

He explained that the gesture was part of what Rotary International does which is providing humanitarian services that help and give succor to people.

“Our team for this year is ‘Create Hope in the World” and this is one way to create hope; we know that right now there is so much hopelessness, difficulties, economic problems and hunger in the land.

“In anyway we can ameliorate it, in any way we can bring smile to faces of people is what we are doing today.

“We hope that at the end of this exercise, some people will be happier, some will feel better and that is why we are here today,” he said.

Also speaking, a member of the club, Mr Olalekan Odutayo, said that over the years, the club had sank a bow hole powered by electricity in the community.

He said that the club had built two blocks of four classrooms in the primary school in the community and was preparing to rehabilitate dilapidated classrooms.

Odutayo said that the tripartite projects of declutter to empower, feed the family and medical outreach are annual projects carried out in the community by the club.

He said that the club is also partnering with Asokoro General Hospital to sponsor cataract eye surgery for patients in the community.

In separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) the excited beneficiaries who spoke were full of gratitudes to the club.

They prayed God for the expansion of the club and blessings on its members for reaching out to them at a time of need.

Mr Lazarus Turaki, a beneficiary of Feed the Family Project said that he was happy to be part of the programme

He prayed for more strength for the members of the club to continue the good works that are doing in the community.

Miss Beauty Rafael, a beneficiary of Declutter to Empower said that she received baby cloths and food stuff.

She said that she is hoping to birth a baby boy soon saying that the baby cloths were a sign that her boy is on the way.

Mrs Faith Emmanuel, who also got food items and cloths, commended the club for their humanitarian services.

She prayed God for many more successful years for the clubs and wishing the club expansion and growth. (NAN)(www. nannews. ng)

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Edited by Isaac Aregbesola