₦airaland Forum

Riot claims see cops turn on PM David Cameron

A TOP British police commander has hit back at David Cameron after the Prime Minister accused police of serious tactical errors during a week of rioting which has left five men dead.

[b]Hugh Orde, a frontrunner to become the next head of Scotland Yard, rejected attempts by Mr Cameron to claim credit for the tougher police response.

"The fact that politicians chose to come back (from holiday) is an irrelevance in terms of the tactics that were by then developing," Sir Hugh told the BBC yesterday.

"The more robust policing tactics you saw were not a function of political interference; they were a function of the numbers being available to allow the chief constables to change their tactics."

Sir Hugh, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers, dismissed the repeated claim by Home Secretary Theresa May that when she rushed back from her holiday two days into the riots, she personally ordered the cancellation of all police leave.

The Home Secretary has "no power whatsoever" to order the cancellation of leave, Sir Hugh said, adding that police commanders made the important decisions.

The spat between top cops and the Conservative-led government over who should get the credit and the blame for the past week could have long-term implications because police are increasingly lining up with the officers' union and Labour MPs against unprecedented cuts to police spending planned for the next four years.

Sir Hugh has been seen as a strong contender to replace the former Scotland Yard chief Paul Stephenson, who resigned last month over the News of the World phone hacking scandal, but his chances could have been damaged by his tiff with Mr Cameron and Ms May.[/b]

The Prime Minister insisted yesterday that his government's planned cuts to police funding were equivalent to only 6 per cent and would not hurt the response to future crises if police resources were used more effectively.

But Sir Hugh said the cuts amounted to 20 per cent after inflation and "that will lead to less police officers (meaning) we need to have some very honest conversations with government about what we stop doing if we are to maintain frontline service delivery at current levels".

Mr Cameron angered police chiefs yesterday by telling parliament that commanders had got it wrong in their initial response to the riots, which began in Tottenham, north London, following the police killing of a suspected drug dealer. While officers had worked bravely, "there were simply far too few police deployed on to our streets and the tactics they were using weren't working", Mr Cameron said.

"Initially, the police treated the situation too much as a public order issue, rather than essentially one of crime. The truth is that the police have been facing a new and unique challenge with different people doing the same thing - basically, looting - in different places all at the same time."

The situation was brought under control in London after the number of police on the streets was increased from 6000 to 16,000 on Tuesday night.

That shifted the focus of the riots to northern cities such as Birmingham and Manchester, which had joined two dozen other British police forces in sending officers to help in London.

The following night, police mounted a second surge into those northern cities and with thousands of police on foot patrols on what seems to be every major road in London, the effort has shifted to tracking down offenders.

Police in Birmingham yesterday arrested two youths, aged 16 and 17, and a 26-year-old man over the hit-and-run killing of three men of Pakistani descent on Wednesday. A 32-year-old black man who had already been arrested on suspicion of triple murder was released on bail.

On Monday, Trevor Ellis, 26, from Brixton Hill, was shot in the head and killed during a car chase that police believe was part of a tussle over looted goods.

The latest fatality was Richard Bowes, 68, who died yesterday after being attacked by arsonists while trying to put out a fire near his home in Ealing, west London.


http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/riot-claims-see-cops-turn-on-pm-david-cameron/story-e6frg6so-1226114014709

UK riots: top cops round on David Cameron over riot slurs

TWO of Britain’s most senior cops yesterday slammed David Cameron for claiming credit for quelling the riots, as the PM went on a whistle-stop tour of violence-hit areas.

Police chiefs leader Sir Hugh Orde and acting Met Commissioner Tim Godwin were livid with the PM and Home Secretary Theresa May for saying THEY ordered the crackdown on thugs.

Mr Godwin pointed out Mr Cameron and Mrs May were still on holiday at the start. He said: “I think after any event like this, people will always make comments who weren’t there.”

Mr Cameron was in Manchester and Salford yesterday visiting police who tackled rioting but he still refused to reconsider his plans to cut 16,000 officers over the next four years.

Angry Sir Hugh, the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers, said the politicians had made no difference to the police operation to end the mayhem on Britain’s streets.

He said: “That politicians chose to come back is an irrelevance in terms of the tactics that were by then developing.”

He added: “The more robust policing tactics you saw were not a function of political interference – they were a function of numbers being available.”

Police are appalled at the way the Government has tried to take credit for tackling the disorder after officers worked round the clock and put themselves at huge personal risk to take on the thugs.

Mrs May has claimed she ordered the “robust approach” and cancelled all leave but Sir Hugh said last night that she has “no power whatsoever” to do that.

Mr Godwin also played down the Home Secretary’s involvement in the policing operation.

He said: “What I can say is that I have some of the best commanders in the world, they showed great restraint as well as great courage.

“As a result of that we were able to nip this in the bud after a few days.

“The issue around the numbers, the tactics – they are all police decisions and they are all made by my police commanders and myself.”

Police are already at loggerheads with the ministers over cuts plans and Sir Hugh pointed out that fewer officers would make more difficult to maintain public safety.

He said: “We need to have very honest conversations with the Government about what we are to stop doing if we are to maintain front-line service delivery at current levels.”

Mr Cameron, who came under fire for not returning from a holiday in Tuscany immediately when the riots began, praised local officers – but refused any suggestion of going back on police cuts plans when speaking to reporters.

He said: “I pay tribute to the incredible bravery of the officers involved. The bravest of the brave. It is an incredibly difficult thing we ask the police to do.”

Mr Cameron said there was a real sense of anger among law-abiding people who were left “sickened” by the rioting but the “swift justice” being handed out by the courts was a silver lining to the troubles.

He said: “I have been impressed that there have been some quite exemplary sentences.

“I saw one newspaper this morning complaining that someone had stolen some water bottles and got six months in prison. I have to say, I was cheering. Swift justice is good justice.”

In a Lidl supermarket which was looted of £200,000 stock and then torched, he shook his head and said “unbelievable”.

Firefighters had raced to the store but had to withdraw after coming under attack from the mob.

SPINNING

Police Federation vice chairman Simon Reed said the Government’s efforts to take credit for quelling the riots were “a slight on the professionalism of the police service”.

Shadow Minister for Policing Vernon Coaker added: “Instead of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary spinning the police they should be supporting them.

“It is incredible that this government is hell-bent even now in cutting over 16,000 police officers at the very time that they are needed more than ever.”

3SOME 71% of people oppose the Government’s plan to cut the number of frontline police, a ComRes poll reveals today. It found 54% believed David Cameron had failed to show “necessary leadership” in the rioting while just 36% had confidence in his ability.



Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/2011/08/13/uk-riots-top-cops-round-on-david-cameron-over-riot-slurs-115875-23340604/#ixzz1V51FE149

No I don't, I generally avoid that route because of the traffic.

Anyone with a picture could post.

Btw,seun/mods, I still insist that this thread should not be in this section and many who should benefit from the info here are being deprived of that opportunity.

Please return the thread.

Taking 15m from the market side will wipe out what is currently the car park of the market.

To take 15m from the Estate side, they would have to relocate the High tension wire masts further into the estate.

This is a tricky one for bros Fash, the way I see it.

What the market people have done is to put him on the spot by choosing to publicly appeal to him in a civil manner rather than protest on the streets or anything of the sort.Making such protest could have led to a shutdown of the market.

That particular portion of the road (Ajah) is diretly responsible for the traffic jam experienced by users whether in the morning or at evening. Once that place is sorted out, users will begin to enjoy the road.

But the question is: what will Fash do?

djustice:
Johnie, you might like living like a wild animal, hunted, or hunting for prey out of sheer hunger, but many of us who live here don't. We will take our Lagos from you lot eventually, and return it to sanity.

Why the attack on my person?

The writer of the article is Abimbola Adelakun of the Punch Newspaper.

Check the link provided!

Misdirected aggression.

Obama to Vacation on Wealthy Island Retreat
Wednesday, 10 Aug 2011 02:09 PM


WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will vacation with his family in Martha's Vineyard, an island off the coast of the eastern state of Massachusetts, at the end of this month as he has done in years past, the White House said Wednesday, despite the weak economy and negotiations on the U.S. debt problem.

Press secretary Jay Carney defended Obama's plans to take a break even as he has pledged urgent action on those issues.


"I don't think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the president would spend some time with his family," Carney said.

Carney added that there's really no such thing as a presidential vacation since Obama will travel with his aides, receive regular briefings on national security and the economy and be able to return to Washington if necessary.

"The presidency travels with you. He will be in constant communication," Carney said at the White House briefing.

Last August, the president, Michelle Obama and their two daughters spent 10 days at a rented farm on the wealthy island retreat.



http://www.newsmax.com/InsideCover/Obama-Vacation/2011/08/10/id/406850?s=al&promo_code=CCF2-1

Thanks Mariory,

That's good to know.

.

Does it have to be outside the country?

Yes!

President Jonathan Goodluck on Vacation Of a Lifetime
May 02, 2011

After months of hectic but successful campaigns, the President-elect, Dr Goodluck Jonathan will be winding down at the pristine Obudu Mountain Ranch Resort in Cross River State. Jonathan’s visit, which began at the weekend, is expected to last for about nine days. On hand to meet Jonathan and his team, which also included his wife, Dame Patience, were the Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke, and his wife, Obioma.

Jonathan and his entourage arrived the ranch via the cable car, said to be the only one north of the equator of Africa.
According to one of his aides, who preferred anonymity, “the President-elect will be here on vacation. He has been on the road campaigning for two months and he deserves a nice break.” There is however great expectation of his trip being a breakthrough for tourism in Cross River. “This trip is long overdue,” said the Special Adviser in the Governor’s office, Nzan Ogbe.

Ogbe believes that the President’s trip is a strategic and timely one and expressed optimism that quarterly and even monthly strategy retreat meetings could emanate thereafter. “This trip will be good for Cross River State,” he said.
Standing at 1,576metres above sea level and about five hours drive from Calabar, the state capital, the Obudu Mountain Resort also known as the “land where God resides” boasts of breath-taking unparalleled scenic beauty and divine weather. However, traffic to the place has been slow of late.

“Perhaps, this trip will allow the President-elect see some of the constraints we have had here,” Ogbe added.

http://naijan.com/president-jonathan-goodluck-on-vacation-of-a-lifetime/

David Cameron, British Prime Minister, said on Thursday that government might ban the use of social media in the country. Cameron, in an address to Members of the British House of Commons on the riots in London, said ``When people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.

``We are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality,’’ Cameron added.
He expressed concern that the social media which could be used for good was becoming ``a tool for horrific actions'' such as the violence and looting that took place across the city.

The prime Minister said more than 1,200 people have been arrested in connection with the four-day riot that spread across to other cities, adding that those arrested included those whose images were captured on CCTV.

``More than 1,200 people have now been arrested across the country; We are making technology work for us, by capturing the images of the perpetrators on CCTV,’’ Cameron said.

He added: ``So even those that have not been arrested, their faces are known and they will not escape the law.’’ Cameron vowed that no phoney human rights concerns about publishing those images (perpetrators) would deter government from bringing them to justice.

He said anyone charged with the violent disorder and other serious offences would be remanded in custody and not let back into the street. On military intervention, Cameron who said the possibility was not ruled out however added that every contingency was being looked into. (NAN)


http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/world-news/25916-london-riot-uk-may-ban-use-of-social-media

British PM proposes social media ban for rioters
By Doug Gross, CNN
August 12, 2011 -- Updated 0741 GMT (1541 HKT)


(CNN) -- British Prime Minister David Cameron thinks he's found some culprits to blame in the recent riots that have rocked London and other cities -- Facebook and Twitter.

Saying the "free flow of information" can sometimes be a problem, Cameron's government has summoned those two social-networking sites, as well as Research In Motion, makers of the BlackBerry, for a meeting to discuss their roles during the violent outbreaks.

"Everyone watching these horrific actions will be struck by how they were organized via social media," Cameron said Thursday during an address to Parliament. "Free flow of information can be used for good. But it can also be used for ill. And when people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them."

Cameron said that government officials are working with authorities "to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these websites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality."

More than 1,200 people have been arrested nationwide, Cameron told lawmakers. One estimate found that UK retailers lost more than than £100 million ($161 million) in stolen goods and property damage over four nights of rioting.

Cameron, a Conservative, seems to have support for a potential crackdown, even from members of the opposition Labor Party.

"Free speech is central to our democracy, but so is public safety and security," said Ivan Lewis, the shadow secretary of culture in the House of Commons, according to London's Guardian newspaper. "We support the government's decision to undertake a review of whether measures are necessary to prevent the abuse of social media by those who organize and participate in criminal activities."

Home Secretary Theresa May has called for meetings with the three companies in the coming weeks, according to British media.

Many UK rioters reportedly used BlackBerry Messenger, a free, private instant-messaging tool, to organize. A recent survey found that 37% of British teens prefer BlackBerrys to other smartphones.

Twitter and Facebook have been used as well, although those sites also have been used to organize cleanup efforts and calls for peace in the wake of riots that started in London's Tottenham district on Saturday after police shot and killed a man.

[b]Representatives of Facebook and Twitter said they're happy to meet with the government, although both would presumably object to being censored or shut down in the UK.

Twitter has said it has no intention to block accounts or delete posts, while Facebook has said publicly that it already shut down pages that explicitly incited violence.

Research in Motion's Inside BlackBerry blog was hacked Tuesday after the Canadian smartphone maker suggested it would cooperate with London police to help identify rioters who may have used BlackBerrys to plan mayhem.

Open-Web and free-speech advocates immediately objected to Cameron's language.

"It may be tempting to smother that kind of speech when a government feels it is under siege, as Britain seems to feel that it is," wrote Matthew Ingram of tech blog GigaOm. "But doing this represents nothing less than an attack on the entire concept of freedom of speech, and that has some frightening consequences for any democracy."

Ingram questioned whether the government would be cracking down on telephone use or people talking about the unrest at their local pub if social media didn't exist. "That seems unlikely (although not impossible). But the British government's apparent willingness to consider shutting down or blocking access to Twitter and BlackBerry's BBM falls into the same category."

On ReadWriteWeb, writer Curt Hopkins said Cameron "joins the long line of powerful men who totally miss the point of social media."[/b]
"Banning those convicted of crimes from accessing social networks (the idea being that they used such access to organize criminal activities) is no different than banning the same criminals from accessing goose quills and ink pots," Hopkins wrote. "It will have zero effect on crime, aside from criminalizing social media itself."

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/11/london.riots.social.media/

Lagos na jungle, na so I like am
By Bimbola Adelakun, Published: Friday, August 05, 2011


I saw an article online written by a Nigerian who, according to the article, just returned from the United Kingdom. According to the writer, on the way to wherever in Lagos, he took a taxi and somehow, stumbled into a street scene where a man was being roasted live and direct on the streets of Lagos for stealing whatever!
The article writer said he began to call Governor Babatunde Fashola’s name and asked what the governor, with all the noise they make about his giant strides, was doing about such barbarity. The taxi driver (a sensible man, obviously) asked him if he saw Fashola standing near the jungle judges who were roasting their fellow man. The write said he was prompted to write an article to tell the rest of Nigerians how to behave.

Until I read the article, I didn’t know they still set fire to petty thieves and robbers in Lagos. I would have thought it is the kind of thing they do everywhere else but definitely not a metropolitan city like Lagos. I think it is a shame and such an act ought to be investigated and the people involved tried and hanged, if found culpable. I think that roasting people alive because they stole a handbag or even a fistful of cash is utterly despicable, reprehensible and should be condemned in strongest terms.

Those who do it are not interested in justice but roasting people to death is simply sport for them. I am totally against such form of justice and I will speak out against it any day.

However, I must say that I find the attitude of some of these returnee Nigerians annoying. Most times, when they return from the UK or the US, they always try to tell the rest of us who live at home the sort of jungle we live in and why we should try and clean up our act so that we can be like those who live in the YooKay and the YooEss.

To those returnee Nigerians, I say a profound thanks. Yes, we appreciate you pontificating about your own country but if you are not satisfied with the way we live here in the jungle, donate some dollars and pounds (if you can afford it) and let’s spend it to clean up Nigeria. Otherwise, leave us to our fate. We live in a jungle but, yes, we like it that way.


http://www.punchng.com/blog_read.aspx?read=255

What impact will this have on the Lagos-Badagry Light rail project seeing that the construction is being handled by a chinese company?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


China recalls bullet trains in new blow to technology showcase

By Fayen Wong and Chris Buckley | Reuters – 2 hrs 22 mins ago,

SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - China's second-biggest train maker will recall 54 bullet trains used on the new showcase Beijing-Shanghai line for safety reasons, the firm said on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the nation's scandal-plagued rail system.

The recall of the trains by China CNR Corp Ltd comes three weeks after 40 people were killed in a high-speed rail crash, which triggered public fury, unusually bold media coverage and a freeze on approvals for new railway projects.

China's high-speed rail drive was until recently held up by senior government officials as a trophy of the nation's technological prowess. Now it has become a political albatross, drawing scorn from many citizens already frustrated with the hulking railways ministry.

China's fast-growing microblog websites have served to amplify that public anger, and the recall drew more catcalls on Sina's popular Weibo site (http://weibo.com).

"Wasn't this locomotive the most advanced type, and put into use only after many tests? So how come the problems were discovered after they were put into operation? What a miracle," wrote one Weibo user.

"Can we also recall the Ministry of Railways?," asked another.

Officials blamed July's crash first on a lightning strike and then on faulty signals technology. But on Friday, Chinese media quoted a senior investigator as saying the crash also exposed management failings and could have been avoided.

"There were serious flaws in the system design that led to an equipment failure," said Luo Lin, the minister of China's State Administration of Work Safety, who is leading the probe.

"At the same time, this exposed problems in emergency response and safety management after the failure occurred," the Beijing Times cited Luo as saying.

"This was a major accident involving culpability that could have been totally avoided," he said.

Industry analyst Lu Zhou said the recalls added to signs that China's high-speed railway boom faced bleak times.

"The government is putting a sudden brake on China's high-speed railway story, and we must wait for the bad days to pass over," said Lu, an analyst with Everbright Securities in Shanghai who follows China's high-speed railway train makers.

"A Great Leap Forward-style movement in China's high-speed railway is changing abruptly to a period of silence, and that could last a few years," he said.

The Great Leap Forward was Mao Zedong's disastrous effort in the late 1950s to catapult China into communist prosperity.

But China could not afford to curtail train investment in the longer-term, said Luo.

"After all, China's railway system can't go back to the old days of shabby green cars," he said.

RECALL COULD HIT STEEL, CEMENT DEMAND

The recall and a recent decision to slow down bullet trains nonetheless reflected a rethink by government leaders jolted into considering the risks of high-speed rail growth, said Zhao Jian, an expert on rail at Beijing Jiaotong University who has long criticized the bullet train expansion.

China has been working for years to develop a high-speed rail network to rival Japan's famed bullet trains, and last year investment on the sector hit a record high of 749.5 billion yuan ($117.2 billion).

By contrast, however, Japanese bullet trains have not had any accidents involving injuries or deaths since they started running in 1964, according to a Transport Ministry official in Tokyo.

An alarm system on the Japanese bullet automatically applies the brakes if two trains come too close each other, and braking was triggered by an earthquake detection system when the country was hit by a massive quake and tsunami in March.

Even before last month's crash and resulting furor, China's railways sector was under a cloud. The railways minister, Liu Zhijun, a key figure behind the investment boom in the sector, was dismissed in February over corruption charges that have not yet been tried in court.

As well as the embarrassment for the ruling Communist Party, the slowdown in high-speed rail construction could bite into demand for steel, said UOB Kay Hian commodities analyst Helen Lau.

It was unclear how drastically CNR's recall will disrupt services on the flagship Beijing-Shanghai route. Even before CNR announced its step, the railways ministry said it would cut the number of high-speed trains running on the route by a quarter, the official Xinhua news agency said on Friday.

Passengers waiting to board bullet trains from Beijing to Shanghai said they were not worried by news of the recall.

"The risk of an accident is definitely greater on these fast trains, but flying isn't any safer," said Zhang Kelong, a building materials salesman who said he was taking the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed service for the first time.

The government is stepping up safety demands, he noted.

"So the likelihood of another accident happening is small," he said. "Let's just say I would have to be very unlucky for that to happen."

Train maker CNR did not explain what technical problems prompted its recall. But in an earlier statement, the company said it had found faults in signaling systems on the CRH380B-trains, which it blamed for delays in service.

CNR's rival, China South Locomotive, built both of the trains involved in the crash last month.

The worries over high-speed rail are likely to force central government leaders to drastically reform the Ministry of Railways, quite possibly merging it into a transport super-ministry, said Zhao, the Beijing professor.

The ministry thwarted an effort to do that a few years ago.

"Now, it's going to happen sooner or later," said Zhao, referring to the merger. "That's the whole direction of reform, and it won't change. But I don't know when it will happen."

(Additional reporting by Zhou Xin, Sally Huang, Michael Martina and Chris Buckley in Beijing; Editing by Ken Wills and John Chalmers)

,

http://news.yahoo.com/china-recalls-bullet-trains-blow-showcase-technology-040304347.html

And now probably the world's richest prisoner.

I watched the latter part.

Na you talk am o!

Nice try. PHCN does not own the land.

Can someone else guess who owns that "wide expanse of land."

mbulela:
Not even the complete picture.

Not only have i been vindicated by the conduct of these CEOs as confirmed by insoders

Can you give details confirmed by the insiders?

mbulela:
it seemed another set of funny characters have been hired for these 3 banks.I know a few who i would not expect the CBN to touch with a long pole.I suddenly see their names announced as part of the mgt of these banks and i simply shake my head in amazement.

So we are in for another round of "tricks" by some of the new managers?

A group called "Concerned Citizens of Eti-Osa" took out a full page advert in today's edition of the Guardian Newspaper.

They are making a special appeal to the governor on the threat to the Ajah Market with the expansion of the expressway.

They begin by highlighting the massive electoral victory of the governor in the area during the last elections:

Ibeju Lekki:      ACN-25,410      PDP- 9,187
Epe:                 ACN-46,076      PDP-9,458
Eti-Osa             ACN-52,130      PDP-14,147

They emphasise that Ibeju-Lekki used to be a PDP stronghold.

They then appeal to the governor to prevail on LCC to stop the planned expansion of the road by 30 metres on the side of the popular Ajah market.

They suggest that rather than expand on the market side, LCC should liasise with the PHCN to move back the high-tension lines on the other side of the road as taking space from the market side will deprive a lot of market women who voted massively for the governor their sources of livelihood. They posit that taking space from the other side of the road (not the market side) will result in litte or no damage to properties and business.

They promise to continue on the path of civility and respect for the office of the governor as they have done in the past despite the pains the expansion has brought.

Page 53, (The Guardian Newspaper)

Quote
the cbn appointed the present mgt but greed and selfishness has blindfolded them that they can't act right again-an average nigerian's habit.
The cbn did not hint them on this move at all. One of them went to abj to get update from sls but did not succeed.
If not that the apex bank took them unawares.

I am convinced that a major reason for this action is the activities of these CBN appointed managers.

There have been allegations that they were not better than the original managers removed by SLS.

Details of these peoples' "crimes" please.

Oops. I meant atrocities committed by the CBN-appointed management.

There was an uproar for instance about Cyril Chukwuma of PHB when he first took over.

Can anyone provide details of the "attrocities" committed by the CBN management?

[size=18pt]I thought the maximum limit for cheque payments is N10m?[/size]

LAGOS STATE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP OFFICE
I – INTRODUCTION

1. Project Background

In pursuit of its road infrastructure development, the Lagos State Government (LSG) embarked on the upgrade and expansion of the Eti-Osa Lekki - Epe Expressway through a public-private-partnership – the Lagos Infrastructure Project (LIP) Toll Road. This culminated in the signing of a 30-year concession agreement between the Lagos State Roads (PSP) Authority and Lekki Concession Company (LCC) in April, 2006, and achieving Financial Close in November, 2008.

2. Project Summary

A brief description of the project scope is as below.

1. Design and building road infrastructure (rehabilitate or remove and replace the existing assets and develop new infrastructure), in phases, entailing:
a. Phase I - Expansion and upgrade of 49.4km of the Ozumba Mbadiwe
Avenue/Eti-Osa Lekki - Epe Expressway divided into the following sections:
i. Section 1: km 0 - 6
ii. Section 2: Km 6 - 15
iii. Section 3: Km 15 – 21.9
iv. Section 4: Km 21.9 – 49.36
b. Phase II - Construction of 20km of Coastal Road, plus an option to build the
Southern Bypass

2. Operation and maintenance of new road infrastructure.
The project cost is in the main financed by LCC and will be recovered principally through charging of user tolls.
The Concession conditions include the following rights and obligations of LCC:
• Design, construct, finance and operate the infrastructure
• Charge, collect and retain for its account monies arising from operations (tolls and ancillary revenues).
3. Project Status
Phase 1, Section 1 (Km 0 – 6) works of the project have been substantially completed and hence toll traffic counting at plaza 1 is now on stream. Against the backdrop of certain host communities related issues that are currently being addressed amongst the stakeholders, a shadow toll regime as opposed to user-based tolling is in place.
II - TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR ROAD TOLL SPECIALIST
A. Objective of Assignment

The LSG wishes to ascertain that the traffic data emanating from toll plaza 1 provide a reliable basis for the shadow toll regime. For this purpose the LSG wants to engage a Road Toll Specialist (RTS) to undertake a comprehensive technical and operational audit of the Automatic Vehicle Counting (AVC) system and its output. The RTS should identify any design and operational problems that could invalidate the traffic data derived from the AVC output, and recommend remedial measures such that reliable data are generated by the system.

This exercise is expected to assist in establishing trust in the AVC system so that any data generated by the system are recognized as legitimate.

B. Scope of Assignment
The RTS will undertake the following tasks:
1. Desktop review of:
a. Handover and testing documentation – a review of the documents associated with the handover, testing, completion and certification of the equipment
b. Documentation relating to the type of equipment specified and installed for the AVC compared with other market suppliers
c. Problems identified as common with similar projects that could possibly be applicable to the installed system
d. The (i) split methodology between Classes II and II A adopted by LCC, (ii) classification business rule adjustments (e.g. Class II based on 1.05 meter height) and (iii) treatment of exempt users.


2. Evaluation of the functionality and fit-for-purpose of the AVC system. The equipment should be inspected to ascertain quality of performance, installation and maintenance. Investigations should include, but not be limited to, the following potential problem areas:

a. Incorrect configuration of the AVC equipment
b. Difficulties in software integration between AVC and toll controller c. Damage/degradation of treadles
d. Damage to road surface in vicinity of treadles
e. Degradation caused by increased dust/dirt due to increase in construction traffic
f. Maintenance/cleaning not keeping pace with requirements.


3. Verification of the traffic data generated by the AVC system. A substantive testing of the AVC and a thorough audit of the toll plaza 1 tolling system output should be undertaken. This will include the following tasks, among others:
a. A manual survey involving both (i) reviewing CCTV footage and (ii) manually standing in each lane and recording the vehicle throughput; appropriate random sampling techniques will be used to generate an acceptable degree of precision of these data
b. Identification of any discrepancies between (i) the above manually collected data and (ii) the toll system ‘hourly traffic by lane’ reports generated by LCC.


4. Review of the control processes and procedures used by LCC for the AVC system and confirmation that they accord with best practices.

C. Reports/ Deliverables
The RTS will submit reports to the Lagos State PPP Office which shall, amongst others, include the following:

1. An Inception Report one week after mobilization containing preliminary observations on the assignment and highlighting any problems that could interfere with the RTS successfully completing his work.
2. Reports on progress with respect to each of the main 4 tasks listed above.
3. Final report on all findings and recommendations.

D. Timeline
It is expected that the RTS will complete the assignment over a period of 4 to 6 weeks from contract execution.

E. Inputs to Be Provided by LSG
Data: The LSG will ensure that relevant data and information related to the assignment are made available to the RTS.
Counterpart Assistance: The LSG PPP Office will assign staff to work with the RTS as needed.

Support Facilities: LSG will provide an office and support facilities for the use of the RTS when carrying out desk-review tasks. The RTS will make his own local transport and support arrangements when undertaking tasks in the field.

III - REQUIREMENTS FOR PROPOSALS
Proposers for the RTS should be reputable international firms or consortia with the requisite skills and experience as demonstrated on similar assignments.
The proposal will consist of a technical proposal and a financial proposal. The proposal should be sent in an e-mail entitled “Proposal from [name of bidder] for Road Tolling Specialist” containing two attachments in pdf format, one for the technical proposal entitled “Technical Proposal from [name of bidder] for Road Tolling Specialist” and one for the financial proposal entitled “Financial Proposal from [name of bidder] for Road Tolling Specialist”.

Proposals should be received by the following officer by 5 PM on 9 June 2011: Team Leader – Compliance

Lagos State Public- Private Partnership Office
Governor’s Office, Lagos House,
Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria
e-mail: sotuyalo@lagosstateppp.gov.ng
Firms and consortia that intend to submit proposals should advise the above officer accordingly by email in advance of the above due date.

Technical Proposal
Proposers for the RTS should have relevant experience in designing, installing and maintaining AVC equipment and systems. This experience should be described in detail in the technical proposal, referring to actual clients of the firm.

The technical proposal should detail the following:
1. Description of methodology to be used in line with the scope of services
2. Detailed work plan to achieve the objectives of the assignment
3. Detailed timeline and milestones for implementation of the services.
Experts proposed by the firm should have demonstrable and highly relevant experience in examining and auditing road tolling systems. Detailed CVs of the experts should be included as part of the proposal.

Financial Proposal

The contract will be a lump sum agreement with payments linked to report deliverables. The financial proposal should detail the total lump sum proposed and the stages of payments thereof linked to the assignment deliverables.

Evaluation of Proposals
The evaluation process to be used by the Lagos State PPP Office is as follows:
1. Technical Proposals will be opened
2. Technical Proposals will be scored against evaluation criteria
3. Firms whose Technical Proposals score above a pre-determined threshold will then have their Financial Proposals opened and scored in terms of lump sums proposed
4. The firm whose Technical and Financial Proposals have the highest combined score will be invited for negotiations. 

http://www.lagosstate.gov.ng/showspecial.php?eventidd=28