Meeting of Nigeria's Supreme Military Council in Benin in March 1967
The Supreme Military Council (basically, all the governors, Admiral Wey and General Gowon) met in Benin is 1967. The meeting was probably the last attempt to stop war from breaking out.
The Mid-West Region had declared that it was neutral, so it was felt that there could be a meeting of the SMC in the Mid-West (Benin) to iron out some of the differences that had arisen after the Aburi meeting.
The governor of the Mid-West, Colonel David Ejoor is on the tarmac, awaiting the arrival of his guests.
The first plane to arrive brings General Gowon from Lagos. Behind Gowon is Admiral Wey and behind Wey is Mobolaji Johnson.
I guess you can see what they meant when they said that he was very handsome when he was younger.
Governor Adebayo of the Western Region is also on that plane.
They are all in civilian attire (except for Governor Ejoor), probably due to the dispute about ranks between Gowon and Ojukwu.
Gowon receives the salute and reviews the guards.
The next plane that arrives brings Governor Hassan Usman Katsina of the Northern Region. He exchanges greetings with the other members that arrived before him.
The group sit on the grounds of state house and have a meal (it looks like a picnic). They waited for Governor Ojukwu of the Eastern Region, but he didn't arrive on time so they went in and started their meeting.
The meeting was held on March 9-10.
Governor Ojukwu arrived in Benin on March 12th by helicopter. He cited security reasons for his absence from the meeting. Governor Ejoor briefed him on what was discussed at the meeting.
Revolva: so now the average danfo bus driver now will be holding ATm now to make payment at lekki toll gates now abi...dis is useless innovation
naptu2: Danfo buses have been banned from that bridge since it was built. The yellow and black danfo buses are not allowed into Lekki Phase 1. The estate has its own white shuttle buses and even the Lekki shuttle buses are not allowed on the bridge. That's why some people prefer the bridge, because they don't have to jostle with crazy danfo drivers.
Note that, according to the article, this cashless policy will only be applied on the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge. It won't be applied on the expressway.
naptu2: Right from inception (c2011 for the expressway and 2013 for the bridge) users have had the options of using either the swiftpass system or the etag system.
A sticker is put on your windshield for the etag system and the camera reads the sticker and debits your account as you pass. This means that you don't need to stop at all.
The swiftpass system requires the use of a card that you swipe against a sensor at the toll both.
These two systems, along with the exact change lane and the regular lane (where you pay in cash and are given your change), have existed since the beginning. The only difference now is that they are scrapping the cash lanes on the bridge.
naptu2: This is the way that you pay without cash.
1) E-tag: There's a sticker on your windscreen, like the sticker in the first picture below. There's also a camera at the toll booth. The camera reads your sticker which identifies who you are. The system immediately communicates with your LCC account and debits it and lifts the boom to allow you through the toll gate. This means that you can pass through the toll gate without stopping.
2) Swiftpass: You have one of the cards in the second picture below. You swipe the card against a sensor at the toll booth and your account is debited and it lets you through the toll gate.
There are two cards in the second picture. That's because there were two tolling companies when Governor Fashola set up the system. There was the Lekki Concession Company, which was in charge of collecting toll at the Admiralty Circle Plaza (on the Lekki-Ikoyi Expressway) and the Lekki Tolling Company, which was in charge of collecting toll on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. Governor Ambode cancelled the Lekki Tolling Company's concession and handed it over to the Lekki Concession Company.
There are two benefits of this cashless policy on the bridge and one potentially very serious problem.
The first and obvious benefit is that traffic will flow faster because people won't stop at the toll plaza to collect change.
The second benefit has to do with LCC's practice of closing some toll gates during rush hour. One of the biggest criticisms of LCC is that they leave some gates closed (both on the expressway and on the bridge) even during rush hour. I've always wondered why they do this. Do they gain any benefit from the traffic jams? The it finally hit me. The fewer toll gates that are open = the less wages they'll have to pay. The fact that the system is now automated might mean that they can afford to leave the gates open all the time.
There's a potentially really big problem that they might have to address. I hate using the Admiralty Circle Plaza if the e-tag gate is not working. Yet, oftentimes the e-tag gate is not working during rush hour because their systems are down. Are they sure that they will be able to keep their systems running continuously now? They should realise that some people are going to approach the toll plaza without any cash, since you can no longer pay with cash. What happens to those people if the system breaks down?
We Started Lagos State With Only 10,000 Pounds — Mobolaji Johnson.
The first military governor of Lagos State, Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson (retd), in this interview granted a specialised publication in respect of the 50th anniversary of Lagos State, Matters of Heritage, a copy of which was obtained by SATURDAY TRIBUNE, relives the birth of Lagos State and the challenges of its early stages of development.
What was the feeling when you became the governor of Lagos State at such a young age of 31?
The appointment came suddenly upon me as a young man and I had to take it. I took it as a challenge and faced it squarely. The challenges were not difficult to face and overcome because of the upbringing I had under my father, Pa ‘Motola Johnson, who was a strong character and raised all of us his children to be equally strong in character. While I was governor, my father was always reminding me not to tarnish the name and image of the family. That kept me focused and steady throughout my tenure. No wonder after the investigations of the Murtala Muhammed government that came after the government of General Yakubu Gowon, in which I served as governor, I was one of the governors given a clean bill of health as free from corrupt practices. I must say that a major problem in our political life today is that we have many in positions of authority who never had good home training. I am eternally grateful to God for the good upbringing under my father, which shaped my life for good.
What were the challenges you met on ground as the pioneer governor of the state?
Lagos State came into existence as a child of circumstance. The country was on the verge of civil war and one of the masterstrokes General Gowon applied was the creation of states, which pulled the carpet off the feet of [Chukwuemeka Odumegwu] Ojukwu. I came in first as the administrator of the Federal Capital before states were created. The feeling of Nigerians was that Lagos was a no man’s land. I had to face the challenge of correcting that erroneous impression. There was the need to let people know that the territory called Lagos belonged to a people with their distinct historical background, culture and tradition. Again, quite a good number of people thought the creation of Lagos was a ruse, that it could not be; that it could not work. So, we had to make sure it worked. We had to work round the clock to ensure that Lagos became a reality and I am happy to say that 50 years down the road, Lagos State is a reality, a model state waxing stronger.
What major problems did you have to contend with?
Our brothers in the West did not like the creation of Lagos State. They believed it should be part of the West. It became a ding-dong affair. Don’t forget that Lagos at a point in history was part of the West before it later became the Federal Capital, which brought about the parlance ‘gedegbe l’Eko wa’. The West was bitter, claiming that they had all their industries in Ikeja and how can we come to take them (the industries) away? I had to go on a peace mission to the West with my officials to see the late General Adeyinka Adebayo, the governor of Western Region, in Ibadan.
Again, skeptics never gave us a chance. They were calling us names, wondering how we were running government without commissioners. But I knew it was more difficult than that. All the functions being done by the Federal Government were being taken over by the new state, which was still in its infancy. A lot needed to be done at that time – the legal backing to the new state and part of the functions to be taken away from the Federal Government by the emerging new government in Lagos State would take some time. There was also a noticeable friction between the elders and youths who were trying to write off the elders as those responsible for the woes of the country; that the fall of the First Republic was caused by them. They were agitating that it was now time for the youths to be at the helm of affairs. Before long, I became the subject of all sorts of editorials in national newspapers that I surrounded myself with some of those who spoilt the country. I had to call a conference of the elders at the old City Hall. I told them in Yoruba parlance that: ‘ogiri to ba la ni alamo nkosi’ (it is when you have cracks on your wall that lizards have the opportunity to get inside). I didn’t want to bring the elders and the youths together without first taking care of the rough edges. I had to convene a separate meeting with the youths. A grand final took place at the City Hall where I brought the elders and the youths under one roof and I said to the assembly that I could not conduct the meeting alone; that I wanted six representatives from each side to join me on the high table. A lot of fundamental issues were resolved at the meeting and in a way formed the background to the emergence of Lagos State. When things improved, particularly after my peace mission to the West, some of them had a change of mind and returned to Lagos State. Folarin Coker and Shamsudeen Thomas were two of the early highly-ranking civil servants that returned to join the service of Lagos State. I should also mention here that civil servants of Lagos State origin were reluctant to leave the West, because Lagos to them was not yet a reality. They were not sure of their future, so they remained in the West.
What was the first budget like?
I had a one-line vote which I was using as the administrator of the Federal Capital. It was a modest sum of 10,000 pounds. That was what I used in starting Lagos State. Okuyiga and Coker set up a board that was responsible for revenue generation. Pools betting generated money for the state and once we were sure we could pay the salary of our workers and civil servants by the first month, we began the march to transforming the state. Those who never gave us a chance were surprised that we could achieve that feat with our meager resources.
Before you became the administrator of the Federal Capital and later the first governor of Lagos State in May 1967, where were you?
I always tell people that if you are good, you are good, and if you are bad, you pay a price. I had a rapid promotion in the military. Before the first coup of January 15, 1966, I was already a Deputy Adjutant and Quartermaster General of the Headquarters of the 2nd Brigade in Apapa, Lagos. I was in charge of the troops in the West, Mid-West.
The DAQG job involved everything from boots and bootlaces to armoured tanks and accommodation of career officers and men under my command. As Brigade Commander, I was, working as number two staff officer. My Brigade Commanders in the brigade were Aguiyi Ironsi and Maimalari. When the coup took place, the commander of the First Battalion, Major Largema, was killed at Ikoyi Hotel and the troops marched on Lagos, insisting on seeing their commander and, of course, we knew he was dead. I stopped the invading troops and received them, telling them, ‘look, it is not by fighting that we can do justice to the memory of the late Commander of the Battalion’. So, I asked them to go back and rest assured that everything would be done to immortalise the fallen officer. It didn’t come as a surprise when, after things had settled down a bit, I was posted to the 4th Battalion, Ibadan, as second-in-command to the late Joe Akahan. In my new posting, I was able to change the attitude of my officers and men and move their concentration from coup plotting to games, sports and training programmes. We came to Lagos for Army Sports Competition and we won the competition. Soon, I was posted to Benin without troops. Benin was never a military zone. So, I was again called upon to go and set up a military station in Benin under Ejoor and I became second-in-command to Governor Ejoor. I must state here that Benin provided the opportunity for me to have my first stint of political administration. I was in the cabinet that had people like Mariere, who was adviser to the governor. I learnt a lot from Benin. It was there in Benin that Ejoor returned to his duty post after a Supreme Military Council meeting in Lagos and instead of me saluting, he was saluting me sharply and then gave me a signal that I was wanted in Lagos and that when I get to Lagos, they would tell me the details. That was how I moved back to Lagos and was received by General Ironsi who told me that as from that time on, whenever he was receiving visitors or conducting interviews, he would want me to be there because, he wanted somebody to come and look after Lagos, otherwise, he wouldn’t move an inch: he couldn’t do a thing outside solving the problems of Lagos. He said he wanted somebody and that was how they came up with my name. They wanted somebody born and bred here in Lagos and that was how I became the head of the Federal Capital.
Earlier, you mentioned the four musketeers who were saddled with the responsibility of running the newly created state with you at the helm. If you had to look back, who were the personages that came on board and at what point in your administration?
The four men I called the musketeers were civil servants. Howson Wright was Secretary to the Military Government; F.C.O Coker was Finance Secretary; Agoro was the Attorney General while Adeyemi Bero was the Administrative Secretary. In the enlarged cabinet, which was constituted later on, I had the simple luck of having credible men around me and the right people for the right job. The men who came on board my administration included L.S. Adewale; Adeniran Ogunsanya; Reverend Akin Adesola; Babs Williams; Johnson Agiri; Ganiyu Dawodu and other men and women of integrity whose names I cannot readily recollect now.
As a governor operating from the seat of the Federal Government, how much autonomy did you enjoy?
I must give it to Gowon. He created states and ensured that they operated as autonomous states. Although some officials didn’t let go, I went ahead to form my own Civil Service Commission overnight, headed by Norman Williams as chairman, Oba Alaketu of Ketu and Mrs Femi Pearse were commissioners in the Civil Service Commission. I was given a free hand by Gowon to operate while I got my cabinet working. We took steps to ensure that the new state stabilised.
With the ever increasing population of Lagos State, what were the major problems you had to contend with?
I remember when the civil war came to an end, there was so much hardship; increased cases of armed robbery and Lagos become chaotic. That was when I made an edict to the effect that if you were caught as an armed robber, you will be sentenced to death. This stance became necessary because I believed that the law court would be too slow for me. I believe in punishment being immediate for it to have desired effect. If someone does something, punish him or her immediately and let the people know. That was why we made that edict. But then I found out that my edict was not strong enough to override the constitution of the country that says that anybody that’s going to be sentenced must be tried in a court of law. But was my tribunal a court of law? So, I put up a memo to General Gowon telling him to give backing to my edict by creating a decree that could override the constitution. I didn’t get a reply from him. One Monday morning, a lawyer was killed in the Yaba area. His death at the hands of armed robbers made headline news. The lawyer’s mother had come from up country. My blood went cold on hearing the news and I phoned General Gowon and that was the only time I think I was rude to my Head of State. I called him on the red-hot line telling him, ‘Have you seen the papers this morning, sir? Have you seen the front page of Daily times?’ I went on to tell him that since the time I wrote a letter to him that my edict be backed with a decree, I never heard from him. ‘I want to tell you, sir, that the people being killed in Lagos are human beings. Are you waiting until one of your commissioners or governors comes to Lagos and gets killed before you will deem fit to take action?’ And I banged the phone. Gowon got my message and acted fast. He sent Graham Douglas to come and confer with my Attorney General and that was how a decree came up.
It is on record that your administration also came up with an edict to check the skyrocketing house rent in Lagos, especially in the metropolis. Could you give us an insight into the edict on house rent?
I was quite close to the people and felt for them. I also knew then that the landlords were shylocks; they were exploiting the explosion in population by demanding high rents for accommodation. The landlords were charging very exorbitant rents on their properties. So, we sat down and formed a committee that looked into categories of houses and accommodation as well as the locations. Of course, for obvious reasons, you cannot compare a room in Ajegunle to, say, a room in Victoria Island or Ikoyi. So, we came up with an edict, stipulating categories of houses and what landlords will take as rent on their buildings. One musician, Ayinla Omowura, actually waxed a record and the lyric of the song goes like this: ‘aye e ma tapa si’joba, e fara mon omo Bolaji’ (it is fruitless kicking against the government, abide by the housing edict of Mobolaji Johnson). Omowura did it on his own as his social responsibility; we didn’t ask him to promote the rent edict. We set up a tribunal where an aggrieved tenant who felt aggrieved could take his or her landlord. The tribunal was to ensure that the common people were not exploited. The edict worked for some time, but I don’t know what happened when I left office as governor.
What were the projects you planned to execute during your tenure but for reasons of time and financial constraints, you could not?
I wasn’t happy with the transportation system in Lagos, and I particularly felt bad about the waterways that we could not fully exploit. I sent a delegation abroad to look for flat bottom boats that could take passengers across the waterways. I wasn’t happy with the transportation system and would have loved to see a better system in place. One of the ideas I had was to construct the 3rd Mainland Bridge. Don’t forget, the 3rd Mainland Bridge was a creation of the government of Lagos State and not the Federal Government. The Federal Government only took it over at a point in time when we didn’t have enough money and, therefore, included the project as part of the state’s contribution to second Five-Year Development Programme of the Federal Government in 1972. I went abroad and was surprised to discover that the headquarters of Julius Berger was located in the same area with the hospital where I went for medical treatment. I met Mr Whitman who later served as vice chairman on the board of Julius Berger. His first job in Nigeria was the construction of the Itoikin Bridge that links Lagos with Epe.
During my meeting with Mr Whitman and his team of engineers, I showed them what we were planning for the ring roads around Lagos. I believe people getting out of Lagos should have free ways that they can use. The concept I had for the inner ring road and outer ring road was to have pillars erected to the middle of Herbert Macaulay and Murtala Muhammed Way with the pillars supporting a network of highways on the top like the ones I saw in Tokyo, Japan. I believed we could achieve same in Lagos. The Julius Berger team looked into my concept and came up with a blueprint ready for my submission to the Federal Government. That was how Julius Berger and an army of officials came all the way to Lagos. Work began in earnest with the engineers in boats and canoes crisscrossing the body of water over which the 3rd Mainland Bridge and its ring roads would be built. At Marina, they proposed sand filling as the best option so as to be able to gain more useful land, in addition to solving the traffic problem on that axis. I was thinking we could use the idea of the 3rd Mainland Bridge to sand fill a sizeable portion of the water front of the University of Lagos and adjoining areas and create a big motor park where a park-and-ride system of transportation would be available to take passengers from the Oworonshoki area into Lagos, where you will equally take a taxi or a bus to wherever you are going on the Lagos Island and when you are through with what you came to do on the Island, you will be taken back by boats across the water to where your car is parked at Oworonshoki. That was one major project I would have loved to accomplish but couldn’t. To date, our waterways, I must say, are still largely underutilised.
Raji Rasaki (Adiyan Waterworks, completion of 3rd Mainland Bridge [Babangida ordered his secretary not to allow Rasaki into his office again, because Rasaki was always disturbing him about the 3rd Mainland Bridge], Lagos Horizon Newspaper, Opebi-Oregun Link Bridge, etc)
Mohammed Buba Marwa - Eko FM, LASUTH, Direct Labour Agency [which patched the roads that were left in a state of disrepair by Mr. No Bitumen ], Marwa Gardens, Eko FM, Operation Sweep
Bola Tinubu (Lasambus, BRT, Kai, Office of The Public Defender, Lagos Emergency Points, Millenium Schools, Lasuth, LASTMA, reconstruction of roads that were left in a state of disrepair by Mr. No Bitumen and patched by Governor Marwa, etc).
Raji Fashola (Okota-Itire Link Bridge, Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge, Lasu-Iba Road, Lasmi Cabs, Traffic Radio, LRT, Lagos HOMS, expension and modernisation of the Lekki Expressway, Lagos State Security Trust Fund, etc)
Governors Otedola, Akhigbe (Ikeja flyovers), Mudashiru (rehabilitation of Jakande schools), Kanu, Lawal and Ukiwe also did well. I won't rate them as the best, but I'll say they did very well.
The lone exception is Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Mr. No Bitumen) who did absolutely nothing. He sat and watched as Lagos roads became filled with ginormous craters, hills and valleys. Awolowo Road was an eyesore at this time.
However, if you tell some people that Governor Johnson did a lot, they will direct your attention to Eko Court and the armed robbery edict. If you tell them that Governor Rasaki was an action governor, they will remind you of Maroko and Ilado. If you tell them that Marwa was very popular, they will tell you that he served Abacha, that Operation Sweep killed many innocent people and they will ask you where he got the money with which he started his airline (some will even tell you that he was one of the people that delivered the parcel bomb to Dele Giwa's house and they will also remind you about Bagauda Kaltho's death). If you tell them that Tinubu transformed Lagos from the huge refuse dumps and bad roads of the 1990s to a clean place with smooth roads, they will tell you that Tinubu owns the whole of Lagos. If you tell them that Fashola brought back sanity to Oshodi and continued the progress started by Tinubu, they will tell you that Fashola is elitist.
naptu2: The Lagos City Hall was established in 1900 to serve as the secretariat of the Lagos City Council. The present building was commissioned in 1968 by Governor Mobolaji Johnson and later by the head of state, General Yakubu Gowon. The building caught fire on Thursday, April 30th, 1998 and it was renovated by the Babatunde Fashola administration and reopened in 2009.
There are two other notable people in this video. You can see the late Oba of Lagos, Oba Adeyinka Oyekan and the first clerk of the Lagos City Council, Alhaji Fasinro (in wig and gown) who died in March this year.
Here is a video of the ceremony. (Check out the Lagos State coat of arms on the governor's car).
Governor Jide Sanwoolu has named the Onikan Stadium after former Lagos State governor, Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson.
The stadium is one of the oldest stadiums in Nigeria and this is the 4th name that it will bear. The original stadium was built in 1930 and six years later named after King George V. Between 1963 and 1973, it became known as the Lagos City Stadium and it was later known as the Onikan Stadium before Governor Sanwoolu renamed it.
Governor Sanwoolu made the announcement during a ceremony at the stadium in honour of Brigadier Johnson who passed away recently. Brigadier Johnson was the first governor of Lagos and he served as administrator of the Federal Capital (Lagos) from 1966-1967 and as governor of Lagos from 1967-1975.
The stadium was recently reconstructed by the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.
Just in: Governor @jidesanwoolu names the Onikan stadium after late Mobolaji Johnson, now to be known as Mobolaji Olufunso Johnson stadium. pic.twitter.com/2zK7uCCd9B
20. –(1) The currency notes issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value for the payment of any amount.
(2) The coins issued by the Bank shall, it such coins have not been tampered with, be legal tender in Nigeria at their face value up to such amount or amounts as may be determined, from time to time, by the Bank.
(3) Notwithstanding sub-sections (1) and (2) of this section, the Bank shall have power, if directed to do so by the President and after giving reasonable notice in that behalf, to call in any of its notes or coins on payment of the face value thereof and any note or coin with respect to which a notice has been given under this sub-section, shall , on the expiration of the notice, cease to be legal tender, but, subject to section 22 of this Act, shall be redeemed by the Bank upon demand.
(4) It shall be an offence punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years for any person to falsify, make or counterfeit any bank note or coin issued by the Bank which is legal tender in Nigeria.
(5) A person who refuses to accept the Naira as a means of payment is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine of N50,000 or 6 months imprisonment:
Provided that the Bank shall have powers to prescribe the circumstances and conditions under which other currencies may be used as medium of exchange in Nigeria.
The LCC toll is paid in Naira. It is not paid in pounds, euros or deutsche marks. The toll is calculated in naira, not in French francs or in rands. The only difference with this policy is that you pay in advance. You pay in advance at the LCC office or at the bank, but what you pay is naira, not pounds, lira or yen. The currency that you exchange is naira.
It's just like when you are asked to pay for something at the bank and bring proof of payment (a bank teller).
1) E-tag: There's a sticker on your windscreen, like the sticker in the first picture below. There's also a camera at the toll booth. The camera reads your sticker which identifies who you are. The system immediately communicates with your LCC account and debits it and lifts the boom to allow you through the toll gate. This means that you can pass through the toll gate without stopping.
2) Swiftpass: You have one of the cards in the second picture below. You swipe the card against a sensor at the toll booth and your account is debited and it lets you through the toll gate.
There are two cards in the second picture. That's because there were two tolling companies when Governor Fashola set up the system. There was the Lekki Concession Company, which was in charge of collecting toll at the Admiralty Circle Plaza (on the Lekki-Ikoyi Expressway) and the Lekki Tolling Company, which was in charge of collecting toll on the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge. Governor Ambode cancelled the Lekki Tolling Company's concession and handed it over to the Lekki Concession Company.
There are two benefits of this cashless policy on the bridge and one potentially very serious problem.
The first and obvious benefit is that traffic will flow faster because people won't stop at the toll plaza to collect change.
The second benefit has to do with LCC's practice of closing some toll gates during rush hour. One of the biggest criticisms of LCC is that they leave some gates closed (both on the expressway and on the bridge) even during rush hour. I've always wondered why they do this. Do they gain any benefit from the traffic jams? The it finally hit me. The fewer toll gates that are open = the less wages they'll have to pay. The fact that the system is now automated might mean that they can afford to leave the gates open all the time.
There's a potentially really big problem that they might have to address. I hate using the Admiralty Circle Plaza if the e-tag gate is not working. Yet, oftentimes the e-tag gate is not working during rush hour because their systems are down. Are they sure that they will be able to keep their systems running continuously now? They should realise that some people are going to approach the toll plaza without any cash, since you can no longer pay with cash. What happens to those people if the system breaks down?
Even toll gates in the US is accepting cash Just tell us this is a coded way to phase out danfo bus from that road
Danfo buses have been banned from that bridge since it was built. The yellow and black danfo buses are not allowed into Lekki Phase 1. The estate has its own white shuttle buses and even the Lekki shuttle buses are not allowed on the bridge. That's why some people prefer the bridge, because they don't have to jostle with crazy danfo drivers.
Note that, according to the article, this cashless policy will only be applied on the Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge. It won't be applied on the expressway.
I have etag for the toll plaza on the expressway and I pay cash at the toll plaza on the bridge.
I was surprised when I got to the toll plaza on the bridge last week and the boom went up as I was about to pay. The operator said, "You have etag". I said, "Yeah for the expressway" and he said, "You can now use your etag for the otherside here".
Already, since January this year, LCC has stopped collecting cash on the swiftpass lane.
There are people whose accounts are empty, but they are unaware that their accounts are empty. They attempt to use the swiftpass lane, but their card is rejected. They then opt to pay cash and then hold up the line while waiting for change. Therefore, LCC decided that they were not going to accept cash on the swiftpass lane.
This means that you have to reverse and use another lane if your card is rejected.
I expect that there will be chaos on the bridge in the first few weeks of January because lots of people will have to reverse.
The main reason for this is to eliminate the traffic caused by people stopping for change, but the problem is that non-residents of the area will now be forced to use the expressway instead of the bridge.
SaintHilary: Hope dey dont plan using Cards instesd
Any staff can jst get a skimmer and you knw d rest #Shithole
Right from inception (c2011 for the expressway and 2013 for the bridge) users have had the options of using either the swiftpass system or the etag system.
A sticker is put on your windshield for the etag system and the camera reads the sticker and debits your account as you pass. This means that you don't need to stop at all.
The swiftpass system requires the use of a card that you swipe against a sensor at the toll both.
These two systems, along with the exact change lane and the regular lane (where you pay in cash and are given your change), have existed since the beginning. The only difference now is that they are scrapping the cash lanes on the bridge.
Jimi24: This will get rid of yellow and rickety commercial buses. They dont have the discipline to save up for the e tags
There are no rickety yellow and black buses on the bridge. They were banned from the bridge right from the beginning. That's why many people prefer the bridge to the expressway.
Kingspin: Three of his geometric stations completed are in Abia, so who or what is fighting/delaying him from taken off till date. I know of a lawsuit against his company for yrs now
Like I said before, the problem is competition. Barth Nnaji is the chairman of Geometric Power and Emeka Offor is the chairman of Interstate Electric. Interstate Electric bought Enugu Disco during the privatisation programme. Geometric Power got a license to supply electricity to Aba, but Interstate Electric say that Aba is within the jurisdiction of Enugu Disco and so they should be the ones supplying electricity to Aba.
Fashola tried to settle the dispute between Geometric Power and Interstate Electric, but I don't know if he was successful.
Kingspin: Barth was force was resign by some cabals. His geometric project grounded and lawsuit followed. Just to stop him and his power company.
The way i look at Nigeria is different.
Nickshrapnel: The selfish bastards importing generators I guess, Being a Nigerian is exhausting
I believe that it was his competitors that were behind his resignation.
Professor Barth Nnaji is a brilliant professor of robotics. I was very happy when he was made the minister of science and technology in 1993, but his tenure only lasted a few months before Abacha struck.
He went back to the United States and continued in his job as a professor of robotics.
However, President Olusegun Obasanjo was trying to get Nigerians abroad to come back home and invest. Professor Nnaji came back and created Geometric Power, a company that was created to invest in the power industry in Nigeria.
President Goodluck Jonathan later made him the minister of power. However, there was a problem. The Jonathan Administration was going to sell of the electricity distribution companies and Geometric Power was one of the bidders.
The law says that the regulators, for example the minister of power, can not have an interest in any of the bidding companies. Professor Nnaji had an interest in Geometric Power. Some people (I believe they were his competitors) raised this issue and President Jonathan querried Professor Nnaji. Professor Nnaji's defence was that he had previously informed President Jonathan about his interest in Geometric Power.
Anyway, Professor Nnaji decided to resign rather than let the controversy to derail the privatisation process.
Hardeybaryor: Advise Needed!!! This Happened In My Neighborhood
Good morning Nairalanders,
Some strange things are happening nowadays. There is this man in my neighborhood who is having carnal knowledge of his own daughter. He has been cautioned some time ago to which he denied and after some confrontation he confessed to it and promised never to do it again.
This girl in question was then taken away from his vicinity to avoid repetition of such only to find out few weeks back that she has returned.
Now the problem is that the man has started again and this time around the wife caught them in the act but pretended not to see it. She reported it to my brother who told me about it and we called the man immediately to let him know what he is doing. He found out that the information was revealed by the wife and then started beating her.
Please what do you think we can do to help the poor girl and savage the situation.
PS Pardon my way if reporting. Mods please help loud this.
Once again, contact the Domestic/Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) in the following ways:
Physical address: Head Office DSVRT. Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.
E-mail : info@dsvrtlagos.org
Telephone : 112, 08137960048
Twitter: @DSVRT
The reason I advised that you should contact these people is that they've got lawyers, psychological counsellors and other professionals that are needed to tackle this case. They are backed by the Lagos State Government and they know how to make the police do their work. They can also provide shelter for the woman and the child if the need arises. They are your best bet.
Hardeybaryor: Advise Needed!!! This Happened In My Neighborhood
Good morning Nairalanders,
Some strange things are happening nowadays. There is this man in my neighborhood who is having carnal knowledge of his own daughter. He has been cautioned some time ago to which he denied and after some confrontation he confessed to it and promised never to do it again.
This girl in question was then taken away from his vicinity to avoid repetition of such only to find out few weeks back that she has returned.
Now the problem is that the man has started again and this time around the wife caught them in the act but pretended not to see it. She reported it to my brother who told me about it and we called the man immediately to let him know what he is doing. He found out that the information was revealed by the wife and then started beating her.
Please what do you think we can do to help the poor girl and savage the situation.
PS Pardon my way if reporting. Mods please help loud this.
The reason I advised that you should contact these people is that they've got lawyers, psychological counsellors and other professionals that are needed to tackle this case. They are backed by the Lagos State Government and they know how to make the police do their work. They can also provide shelter for the woman and the child if the need arises. They are your best bet. Click on the link below.
Politics › Re: Sanwoolu Names Onikan Stadium After Mobolaji Johnson by naptu2(op): 5:25pm On Dec 03, 2019
