Good stuff, johnie.

I forgot to mention that if you choose to turn off the expressway at Amazon Oil Junction into Phase 1 (Ocean Side) as I indicated above, you could come out at the pedestrian bridge under construction just before Addax/Mobil thereby avoiding the toll plaza totally. This is because alternative access routes exist within Oniru Estate and Phase 1 Estate (Ocean Side). You could also go directly into V/I coming out at Ajose Adeogun Street.

If the Addax/Mobil junction traffic is not properly managed by the traffic lights, I forsee this junction becoming a bottleneck both for eastward and westward bound traffic.

Early completion of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link bridge and the Falomo Bridge ramp would further decongest traffic heading towards the first toll plaza and the many traffic lights at the eastern end of of Ozumba Mbadiwe street (i.e. between Addax/Mobil and just before Oceanic Bank).

Johnnie i'd like you to confirm something for me.
The completed toll!!! Is it dual? I mean do you have to pay toll to leave lekki phase 1 to mobil house.
When i was back home, i remember the toll being on one side of the road i.e for those coming into lekki. The video i saw on youtube seems to show that you have to pay toll both to enter and leave? Please confirm if the toll is built on the entire stretch of road and not just on the inbound side.

^^^^

The toll is dual.

If you are leaving Lekki Phase 1 and going to V/I via Mobil, then you have to pay as you go through the toll plaza (pic 1).

If you decide to take the same route back to Phase1, you would pay as you go through again (Pic 2).

The other alternative is as you come out of Lekki phase 1, drive round the first round about (pic 3) into Oniru Estate and come out just before Mobil (Pic 4) . Obviously, that's a longer route.

But the choice is yours - pay and go through tolls plazas or go through the alternative access routes.

Some of the fears I have about the alternative routes (where they currently exist) are:

1. Who will maintain them?
2. How often will they they be maintained?

A good example is the Alpha Beach Road which links the beach to the expressway. This is a road that ought to be given priority attention in view of the tourism potential of the beach. The situation of that road about two weeks ago was pathetic! Julius Berger is currently "levelling" the road as I am not sure thay intend to do a serious job on it. I think their main interest is that the road borders their project site- American International School- and vehicles get stuck in the giant potholes on the road when it rains heavily thereby affecting their big trucks. So what happens to the road when JB is through with their project?

Like I have often said on this thread, there are no real alternative access routes after the second round about.

You can't get to Jakande/Ilasan/third roundabout from Ikate Elegushi/Second Round About without going through the expressway. The other alternative, if you can call   it one, is to go through Nike Art Gallery to the ocean waterfront and drive along the waterfront to Maiyegun/Lekki beach and come out at the express way.

You cant't get to Chevron/fourth round about from the third round about without going through the expressway unless you drive along the water front from Maiyegun/Lekki Beach to Alpha Beach and then come out at the expressway.

From Alpha beach to Abraham Adesanya Estate, there is an access route that passes in front of Ocean Bay Estate to Lafiaji town through Okun Ajah and then back to the expressway.

All these "alternative access routes" are not for the faint-hearted or your everyday car. You need a 4x4 with an overdrive up to Alpha Beach!

^^^

Wow, that is really serious. That means a trip from VGC to Mobil house and back will require you to pass through the toll 4 times in one day. Chineke!!!
At the bare minimum of 100naira per toll, that equates to 400naira daily!!!
Even if there are alternative routes round the lekki toll, what about the chevron toll gate? This is serious oo

I see a lot of No-Tolling No-Fencing stickers and I saw a banner at the Chevron roundabout on the same issue. It's a good development that people are being sensitised to the facts about this project. We are all bracing up for what's going to happen at the end of the month/early August when the tolls are supposed to become operational. Almost everyone you speak to seems angry about the planned tolling. It is pretty annoying when one thinks of the fact that this inept company called Hitech in collaboration with LCC and some guy called Opuiyo Ofiorokumo thinks they can take people for a ride by expanding an existing two lane road to 3 lanes and want to collect toll for 30 years. Not just that, when you leave the existing toll gate just before the 1st roundabout, you have to undertake a grueling 2 hour long traffic jam to your home if you're going as far as Ajah. We shall see.

phuck_NL:

Even if there are alternative routes round the lekki toll, what about the chevron toll gate?

My thinking is that the Alpha beach road would be reconstructed as an alternative route to avoid the Chevron Toll Plaza. See my post of July 09, 2010.

johnie:

If you look at the pictures I posted on July 5, you would notice that one of the vehicles has an inscription of the Lagos State government (improvement and rehabilitation of system channel) on it.

It is possible to link that road from Alpha Beach Road by passing in front of Ocean Bay Estate or from Lafiaji.

See pictures of the road below

Going through Alpha Beach, one should be able to come out after the Chevron plaza by linking the expressway through the new road being constructed to burst out at Oluwanisola Estate. This road links Ocean Bay, Buena Vista, Lafiaji and Okun Ajah to the expressway but is still under construction.

However, I am yet to see enough commitment to the construction of the Alpha Beach road.

@liftedone

Those stickers have been around for a while. They appeared around April 2010 when it was rumoured that tolling would begin on May 1.

I heared on the news this morning (Rhythm 93.7 FM) that there was a protest at Ajah yesterday.

I wonder what the road was like today with the rains. Last week after the heavy downpour of Tuesday or thereabouts I noticed that the drainages after the 1st Roundabout up to the Toll Gate were filled and the sides of the road were flooded. It's funny that the water was not channelled into the Lagoon which is right beside the road. It does not make any sense.

New Website Lekki FTZ or so I'm told.
http://www.lekkizone.com/

Pics Cortesy of Skyscrapercity.com

[flash=400,300]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-flZAOH60Q4&hl=en_GB&fs=1[/flash]

Thanks Mariory!

No worries. I don't know if this has been posted before but, there's also a new website for the airport.

www.lagos-airport.com

Lekki FTZ

[flash=400,300]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEZ471l4N8Q&hl=en_GB&fs=1[/flash]

Mariory:

[flash=400,300]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-flZAOH60Q4&hl=en_GB&fs=1[/flash]

Great stuff!! Good job, Mariory.

johnie and co,
I noticed that the median after 2nd round about is to be raised all the way to 3rd round about. Ouch!
I am moving to Ikate in a few days, and it appears I will have to go all the way in traffic to the 3rd roundabout, when I'm going home. Hopefully I'll have to endure that for a few months.
Would like to get one of those stickers though.

^^^^
Ouch! Ouch!! Ouch!!!

Hopefully they would widen the section of the road between second round about and the third enough to allow for free movement of traffic shortly.

The work on the second round about is being delayed by a huge underground canal being constructed to collect and drain water around there.

There are a number of spots along the road where similar canals are being constructed. These are the places delaying the work in my estimation. I expect the traffic situation up to the third round about to improve significantly in the next one month.

Another pedestrian bridge is being constructed just after third round about.

The traffic situation after the Chevron round about in the evening is however still horrendous especially when it rains! Something needs to be done about that.

SPAR opens in Nigeria, sets up rivalry with Shoprite
Monday, 12 July 2010 01:24 By our reporters

SPAR, the world’s largest food retailer with approximately 20,000 stores in 35 countries, is opening its first flagship store in Lagos in August to set up a fierce competition with retail leader, Shoprite, which first opened in Nigeria more than five years ago.
BusinessDay learnt that the planned flagship store is will be located in the Lekki-Ajah axis of Nigeria’s commercial capital and is being built under a collaboration with Park n Shop and founded in Nigeria in 1988. Park n Shop is owned by the Artee Group and has become a household name in modern shopping in the country.

Following the opening in Lagos, other SPAR stores will open in Otta, Abuja and Port Harcourt. The Lagos store is already attracting the attention of large manufacturers some of which are voting funds to promote the flagship store and by so doing also hope to expand their market share. The arrival of SPAR, Dutch based giant which was founded in 1932 with global revenues in excess of 27 billion euros, will mark a broadening of the retail industry in Nigeria and further advance the professionalisation of what many in Nigeria erroneously see as merely buying and selling. Analysts and shoppers told BusinessDay weekend the coming of SPAR to Nigeria is a good development for consumers.
“Nigerian consumers will now do strategic buying and not just buying for the sake of it; Nigerians will have more options to make choices from. More so, there will be healthy competition, not only in Lagos, but in Otta, Port-Harcourt and other places. It is good for the consumer”, Bismarck Rewane, a leading economist told BusinessDay.

“The presence of SPAR in Nigeria is good for consumer retail line of business which Shoprite has dominated for so long,” observed Tony Adetoba, a consumer. “It will create a healthy competition between the two brands and will offer consumers choices”, Adetona added. The retail market is projected to grow with additional 200 million customers entering the consumer goods market this year, according to a report by Mckinsey on Africa. The report also predicted a quick recovery in the consumer goods and retail sector. This may have buoyed Shoprite’s expansion plan which is scheduled to open more outlets this year. SPAR is one of the best retail chain outfits in South Africa. Their goods are very cheap like Clicks, another brand in South Africa. Their presence means good business and competition for that segment of the market,” Abiola Ogundimu, an economist, said.

SPAR was originally known as DE SPAR, the Dutch phrase for door and some of its flagship stores are still called Eurospar and Interspar in some countries. Most SPAR stores are to be found in Europe but they are now in countries like South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Zambia, Australia, Mauritius, China, India, Japan and soon Nigeria. Under the take-off plan, a SPAR store may be owned independently by a franchisee or be part of a chain, depending on the model applied in any given country.

BusinessDay has learnt that in the first five years, all SPAR stores will be owned by the company but in the second five years of its existence in Nigeria, it will allow and encourage its staff to branch out to become franchisees and subsequently other interested entrepreneurs will be admitted into the elite club of store owners.

One major transformation in the local market is the shifting position in the attitude of manufacturers who are now increasingly willing to sell directly to large retailers, marking a break from the past when they sold only to their accredited dealers and agents. For dealers in Nigeria, they would now have to reshape their business model to align with the changing business landscape. Despite the onset of the global economic meltdown, SPAR’s business has continued to do well around the world with retail sales area in China alone doubling to 300,000 square metres and the addition of about 100 hpermarkets and supermarkets.

Last year, SPAR’s international managing director, Gordon Campbell, spoke of the allure of Nigeria and hinted at his firm’s entry into the country. According to him, “Nigeria is a large developing market on the west coast of Africa with a population in excess of 150 million. We believe that it offers enormous potential for SPAR.”

Source: http://www.businessdayonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12623:spar-opens-in-nigeria-sets-up-rivalry-with-shoprite&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=18

^^^^ uniformed journalists. How can SPAR possibly be the world's largest food retailer

I heard on the news this morning, Governor Fashola saying that one of the reasons the government went into the Lagos Badagry Expressway expansion and Lekki Expressway Concessioning was to boost tourism.

Commendable. The government however needs to do something about the access roads to the beaches and other tourist spots in the state.

Case in point: Alpha Beach.

Like I have reported on this thread, Julius Berger is carrying out some work on the Alpha Beach Road. As the attached pictures suggest, the work being carried out is skeletal. I expected a more thorough job, coming from JB.

But then, I don't think they were contracted to do this job. I think the are doing it mainly to provide access to their project site, American International School, which is along the road.

Pix 1: Entrance of the site along the expressway (at Chevron round about)
Pic 2-3: Approaching the beach from the expressway (Project site is on the left)

Heading towards the expressway from the beach.

JB project site is on the right.

Proper drainage, street lights and walkways ought to be done.

jay bee:

^^^^ uniformed journalists. How can SPAR possibly be the world's largest food retailer

By store count, they are the largest. Not by revenues or profit, or even country footprint.

Check http://www.foodretailworld.com/LeadingRetailers.htm

Hotel and Tourism industry in for strict regulation
By Segun Balogun

July 20, 2010 11:02AM
 

The Lagos State governor, Babatunde Fashola, on Monday, assented to a law that will regulate Hotel and Tourism establishments in the state. The amendment to the Hotel Licensing Law 2003, promises to ensure strict compliance with global best practices in tourism industry and this implies tough times for the operators who have benefitted from the laxity of the government previously.

Tokunbo Afikuyomi, the state’s commissioner for tourism and intergovernmental relations. had complained about the loose regulatory framework guiding the tourism industry.

“During the FIFA U17 World Cup, we lost so much money. We could not connect to FIFA’s website because our hotels are not classified,” he said.

He also complained that tourism establishments like brothels, event centres, and relaxation centres are springing up across the state without any licence.

Mr. Afikuyomi was, therefore, delighted that the bill, which was recently and hastily passed by the state assembly, has now been signed into law.

Tough time for hoteliers

“No person is allowed to operate a hotel or any tourism establishment in Lagos State without first obtaining a licence from the tourism authority,” emphasised Abdul-lateef Abdul-Akeem, the special adviser to the governor on political and legislative bureau, while introducing the bill.

Mr. Abdul-Akeem said the penalties prescribed in the principal law allowed for “a high degree of disobedience in the (tourism) industry because the five penalties for the offences range from N100 to N200.”

The amended law stipulated penalties ranging from N100,000 to N500,000 with up to two years imprisonment. Mr. Fashola said the law is an economic policy that will open up the tourism industry in Lagos.

“Brazil is making money from the Atlantic, but we are not because laws like this exist there. We complain about unemployment, but we have not even opened up the economy of this state,” he said.

“It is already clear that the future holds more than oil for our country, because even the oil giants are investing their oil proceeds to develop other sectors of the economy and tourism is key,” he said.

He said Lagos is one of the states that has the capacity to diversify into tourism and “that is why a lot of taxpayers’ money is invested in providing an environment that can support the sector.” He added, “This is what has informed the massive roads projects like the Lagos-Badagary and Lekki-Epe expressways, which are strategic investments to boost tourism in the state.”
Mr. Afikuyomi said the amended law focuses on regulating the health and safety aspect of the sector which has been “highly undermined.” According to him, some existing tourism establishments may have to relocate as the law regulates the appropriate location of such establishments.

Source: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5596184-146/story.csp#

johnie:

I forgot to mention that if you choose to turn off the expressway at Amazon Oil Junction into Phase 1 (Ocean Side) as I indicated above, you could come out at the pedestrian bridge under construction just before Addax/Mobil thereby avoiding the toll plaza totally. This is because alternative access routes exist within Oniru Estate and Phase 1 Estate (Ocean Side). You could also go directly into V/I coming out at Ajose Adeogun Street.

If the Addax/Mobil junction traffic is not properly managed by the traffic lights, I forsee this junction becoming a bottleneck both for eastward and westward bound traffic.

Early completion of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link bridge and the Falomo Bridge ramp would further decongest traffic heading towards the first toll plaza and the many traffic lights at the eastern end of of Ozumba Mbadiwe street (i.e. between Addax/Mobil and just before Oceanic Bank).

The traffic lights (see in pictures below which were taken earlier) just before the toll plaza when heading towards Epe (which I highlighted last week as a possible bottleneck) have been activated.

That junction (into/out of Oniru Estate) is a spot to watch as it is going to be very busy with traffic going in all directions.

Let's wait and see.

Speed breakers (bumps/humps) were introduced to both sides of the approach to the toll plaza yesterday. This resulted in serious traffic on approaching the toll plaza.

[size=16pt]LCC, please open up more of those gates quickly to allow more vehicles pass through the gate at once else the traffic situation around the plaza will become more unbearable than it is now![/size]

Activated traffic lights at Oniru Estate junction just after the plaza when heading towards V/I

Pic 1: Before Mobil/Addax
Pic 2: After Mobil/Addax

Work on the median from the second round about towards the third is progressing steadily. The job has reached the entrance of StillWaters Estate. (Sorry Ajanlekoko!).

Work on the underground waste water channel at the second round about (which is bottleneck) is also progressing steadily. Once this is completed, I expect that traffic will improve significantly between the first and the second round abouts.

The bumps introduced at the toll plaza which caused traffic jam on Tuesday and yesterday morning have been removed easing flow of traffic. Seems they were placed there just so they could install some fittings on the plaza.

I observed that a lot of work in going on at Amazon Energy junction (the new "oval-about". The engineers even worked overnight putting the pedestrian walk-ways in place. The place has really been tidied up and is set for landscaping.

LCC should consider doing more work at night to speed up the pace.

Meanwhile, the introduction of the traffic lights at the Oniru Estate entrance now causes some go-slow when heading onto the expressway from the Estate as the traffic light allows only a few cars onto expressway at a time just like the one at 1004/Adetokunbo Ademola St. junction.

Erosion worries Lekki residents By Esther Alidu


July 14, 2010 12:17AM


Residents of Jakande Estate, Lekki, have raised an alarm over the spreading erosion on the beach, about 500 metres away from the sea, which they say threaten their lives.

The residents said the erosion was noticed five months ago, and that it might be caused by a stranded ship, the MT Ray, that has not been removed since a February storm washed some ships ashore. According to the residents, the presence of the wrecked ship has forced the strong tidal flow to eat deep into the receding seashore, while causing destruction to vegetation and economic development in the coast. “We have to let the government do something about this,” said Lateef Opeyemi, a resident of the area. “That is the way Bar Beach start(ed). Government should stop the people packing sand, and take this ship away.”

Implications of the wreck

During an inspection of the beach over the weekend by a team of reporters, environmental activist, Desmond Majekodunmi, who conducted the inspection, said the erosion had extended to other areas. “The long term implication of allowing the wreck to stay here could be horrendous. Economically, it could be very drastic and very negative against the livelihood of individuals here. This wreck can be removed.”

Mr. Majekodumni said the roots of the coconut trees lining the beach have served as resistance of sorts, even though 50-70 metre of sand has disappeared in five months at different areas of the coast. “Once this erosion cuts through the trees, which is about three to five months and hits the sand fill, there will be no resistance because the roots of the trees provide a solid resistance to the erosion. One can only speculate what will happen before it reaches the STV station and Jakande Estate,” he said.

Corroborating Mr. Majekodunmi’s view, Larry Awosika, a geologist with the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research, said “Coastal vegetation in the form of mangroves, coconut palms, various species of shrubs and grasses, play very important roles in the protection of the coastline from erosion.” He admitted that the institute had just been informed of the Lekki Beach situation, and promised that they would look into it.

Solving the problem

Mr. Awosika proffered solutions used to solve erosions, identifying beach nourishment as a soft measure, and sea wall bullheads, breakwaters, and groins as long term measures. “Nigeria has many existing national, state, and local government legislations and edicts that are designed to ensure the sustainable management of the coastal and marine area,” he said. “Several bodies have been established in response. In order to remove duplication and conflicts, states or other local legislation are meant to reinforce the national legislation,” he said. One of the most important policies, according to him, is the Environmental Impact Assessment Legislation Decree No. 86 of 10 December 1992. Similarly important, he added, is the Federal Environmental Protection Agency Decree No. 58, currently under the amendment of Decree 14 of 1999.

“Government should ensure that any coastal erosion measure is implemented under strict regulations that will ensure that environmental problem will not be transferred to other areas along the coast. A holistic erosion approach should be employed that will ensure integrated coastal area management,” he said.

Many living in the Jakaunde community are not aware of this erosion, but with the increase in saltwater intrusion into potable ground water and fresh water in rivers, deforestation and flooding, degradation of the environment through loss of land, vegetation, fauna and loss of biodiversity, the dangers of this erosion, especially on coastal settlers, cannot be underestimated.

An official of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), who gave his name as Philip, said the agency had directed him to survey the beach, and as such could not respond to questions. He said he would contact journalists at the site to schedule a press briefing with the appropriate officers of the agency authorized to speak with the press.


Source: http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/Home/5593143-146/story.csp

johnie:

Government should stop the people packing sand, and take this ship away.

I have raised an alarm over the nefarious activities of these sand diggers earlier on this thread.

The impunity with with they cary out their activities is unbelievable.

They are in league with the law enforcement agencies and the supervising ministry is not doing enough though they claim to have prosecuted some of the diggers.

Disaster looms as Lekki Beach erosion worsens 
By Samson Echenim and Emeka Ezekiel   
Thursday, 22 Jul 2010 


Erosion on Lekki Beach has continued relentlessly, threatening structures and multi-million naira Jakande Estate and Chevron‘s Twin Lakes Estate.

A renowned environmentalist and Executive Director of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, Mr. Desmond Majekodunmi, said a serious ecological disaster was looming as the erosion had failed to attract government‘s attention.

Majekodunmi, who spoke with our correspondent on Wednesday, observed that the erosion was flushing off between 10 to 15 metres land per month.

He said an immediate remedy was required to arrest the situation and urged the Federal Government to channel a part of the ecological fund to this.

He said he was afraid that the Lagos State Government might not have understood the impending impact of the erosion as it had not shown any concern.

Speaking with our correspondent on Wednesday, the President of Eti-Osa Heritage Group, Mr. Adewale Sanni said the communities affected were yet to meet on the issue. He added that the communities had been embroiled in the issue of toll gate fee which motorists were asked to pay by the Lekki Concessionaire Company, which manages the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

The road is also one of the major infrastructures threatened by the erosion, according to Majekodunmi.

A civil engineer, Mr. Isaac Ademulegun said he believed NIMASA could do something meaningful as it was the agency charged with excavation of wreckages, adding that the ship was due for removal a long time ago.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency says it will need the intervention of the ecological fund to excavate an abandoned ship, MT Ray, causing the erosion.

The ship was abandoned on the Lagos seashore in February and since then about 70 metres of land had been lost to the sea.

But a NIMASA official who spoke with our correspondent on anonymity had said on Friday that it was beyond the agency‘s scope and ability to remove the ship.

He had said, ”(NIMASA) only has ability to remove wrecks and not to excavate an abandoned vessel. The issue now is that it has to tap into the ecological fund.”

He said, ”Ecological fund is not to be used for provision of social amenities or diverted to any other use than to address ecological disasters, or threats such as what we have now at Lekki Beach. This is an impending ecological and economic disaster on our coast.”

”I must say that this is a primary job for NIMASA and I do not really think that it cannot be of help if it wants to. Even if it requires the ecological fund to do certain tasks, then it should know better how to access it.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government has said that it has concluded arrangements to develop a new national blueprint for disaster management across the country.
The acting Director-General, National Emergency Management Agency, Dr. Charles Agbo, disclosed this during a roundtable for the Consideration of the Draft National Disaster Management Framework in Abuja on Wednesday.

He explained that the trust of the new blueprint will be in critical areas such disaster risk reduction, preparedness and mitigation, among others.

He also noted that the new framework would act as a roadmap for addressing emerging challenges in disaster management within and outside the country.

He said ,” NEMA is set to develop a National Disaster Management Framework. The framework being developed will act as a legal instrument to address the need for consistency across multiple stakeholders by providing a coherent , transparent and inclusive policy for disaster management appropriate for the country.

”The existing blueprint on disaster is not all-inclusive and participatory. It was conceived by experts who sat for some months and came out with the document.

”We have established an in-house work group to put together a draft document. We will consider the inputs from different geo-political zones of the country so as to have a document that is user-friendly and help the country to address the myriads of disasters in a more holistic and proactive manner.

”Globally, disaster management is very dynamic. The document we had, which was the original disaster response plan, was conceived about 13 years ago. It was let loose to enable this type of arrangement whereby, from time to time, it will be amenable to review based on current realities. With the current realities and perspectives in disaster management, there is a need to review the existing disaster management framework.


”The document will be submitted to the Governing Council of NEMA , headed by the Vice President for consideration and transmission to the Federal Executive Council.”

Source: http://www.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art201007222522457

johnie:

Speaking with our correspondent on Wednesday, the President of Eti-Osa Heritage Group, Mr. Adewale Sanni said the communities affected were yet to meet on the issue. He added that the communities had been embroiled in the issue of toll gate fee which motorists were asked to pay by the Lekki Concessionaire Company, which manages the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

The road is also one of the major infrastructures threatened by the erosion, according to Majekodunmi.

Is this a case of having to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea?

johnie:

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency says it will need the intervention of the ecological fund to excavate an abandoned ship, MT Ray, causing the erosion.

The ship was abandoned on the Lagos seashore in February and since then about 70 metres of land had been lost to the sea.

But a NIMASA official who spoke with our correspondent on anonymity had said on Friday that it was beyond the agency‘s scope and ability to remove the ship.

He had said, ”(NIMASA) only has ability to remove wrecks and not to excavate an abandoned vessel. The issue now is that it has to tap into the ecological fund.”
He said, ”Ecological fund is not to be used for provision of social amenities or diverted to any other use than to address ecological disasters, or threats such as what we have now at Lekki Beach. This is an impending ecological and economic disaster on our coast.”

”I must say that this is a primary job for NIMASA and I do not really think that it cannot be of help if it wants to. Even if it requires the ecological fund to do certain tasks, then it should know better how to access it.”

Buck passing!!!

Nero's fiddling while Rome burns!