₦airaland Forum

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CUMMwIAo54


http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3Dq2-QpwZiqR8

Does anybody remember the series on OGTV with Jab Adu as Chairman of a company, Femi Jarrett as the clerk and Ihria Enakhimo as the messenger. Jab Adu had a friend called Ben Alamu, who was a policeman. This was years after the Adio Family series. I'm trying to remember the title of the series.

Also, does anybody remember the title of the OGTV sitcom starring Funso Adeolu?

infogenius: Winds against my soul.

Laolu Oguniyi. First broadcast in the 1970s and rebroadcast in the 80s. Taiwo Ajai-Lycet was pretty scary in this series.

Who remembers Telemovies (from Jos). My best telemovie series was Lynx starring Mat & Gladys Dadzie (Mat Dadzie killed Gladys Dazie, but her ghost kept appearing to her kids, sometimes in the form of a lynx cat).

Does anybody remember a movie (I think it was produced by Jimi Odumosu) done in the 1980s, about a cult, I think the cult was called Natas or something like that.

I also loved NTA 10's contribution to NIFETEP titled "Abiku" & 3rd Eye (Yomi Adeyemi-Wilson).

My favourite sitcoms were Koko Close, Bassey & Company, New Masquerade, Jagua (still can't remember the title), Second Chance, (the sitcom with Jab Adu, Femi Jarrett and co. Can't remember the title), (the OGTV sitcom starring Funso Adeolu) and many others.

It wasn't Kate Henshaw. Kate Henshaw acted as the house-help in a different tv series (can't remember the title). She spoke a really weird form of english (at least I think it was english) in that series.

The "fryover" girl was the village wife of (gosh I've forgotten his name), who was married to Mildred Iweka. His mother wanted a grandchild and since Mildred Iweka hadn't conceived, she brought the village wife as an alternative.


First saw RMD in Jagua Nana's Daughter circa 1987 on NTA 2 Ch 5.

[size=14pt]History of road transport in Lagos[/size]


An important factor in providing transport facilities in Lagos state has always been the aquatic nature of the state. According to Adeniji A.O. “Lagos Island which covers a mere 1.55 sq. miles was a rather small piece of land. Yet, up to 1950, 65.4 percent of the population lived there. No doubt a contributory factor to this situation could be found in the lack of adequate transport facilities which would have encouraged people to live on the mainland and shuttle to the island daily for business. It should be noted that besides the small size of the island, many parts of it were also swampy or waterlogged”.


Boats therefore became an important means of transport in the area now known as Lagos. According to Kunle Lawal, “ scholars are now suggesting that boat making industry thrived in Lagos as a result of the availability of more durable wood supplied by her eastern neighbours”.


The situation changed with the commissioning of the Carter (1901), Eko (1975) and Third Mainland (1991) bridges which connect Lagos Island to Lagos Mainland. Road transport gained primacy as the most important means of transport in Lagos.


Ayodeji Olukoju, who contributed a piece called “Urban Transport” to “Nigerian Cities” edited by Toyin Falola and Steve Sahm, wrote that “the first commercial bus service was established in 1914 by Charlotte Olajumoke Obasa, a leading indigenous entrepreneur of that time.”
Damola Osinulu on his part writes that, “In the 1920s, road-based bus transportation was pioneered in Lagos by two Nigerians, W.A. Dawodu and Mrs. Charlotte Obasa. This was followed by the establishment of J.N. Zarpas, a company owned by Levantine expatriates. Zarpas dominated the Lagos transportation scene until their buses were acquired by the Lagos Town Council in 1958 to form the Lagos Municipal Transport Service”


Chinedu Ozordi and Olugbenro Adeoye state that“There was no significant change until the 1960s when many operators went into the transport business. This resulted in the emergence of the Bolekaja, which literally means “come down and let’s fight” in Yoruba. As there was never enough room in the packed vehicle for a decent sitting arrangement resulting often in fisticuffs; they would tell each other to “come down and let’s fight.” Bolekaja has since been phased out, and they are now used to carry foodstuff in rural communities”.
Yinka Aderibigbe states that “Molues, it was learnt, took over when government banned the use of Bolekaja, an average sized wood axial bus, which got its name from the manner passengers usually disembark. With only one wooden door at the back, passengers often had a hell of time entering and disembarking from the single exit point and conducting the bus from that position usually had its own problems, which often times led to free for all, making passengers to give the name bolekaja which means (disembark and let’s fight)”.



Yinka Aderibigbe further states that “Until the last one decade, they were the kings of Lagos roads. Those who have lived in the sprawling megacity for upwards of two decades hardly knew any other cheaper means of transportation. They are the moving yellow contraption known in the local parlance as Molue, the effervescent machine that hauls commuters from one part of the city to the other”.
Though many Lagosians are at a loss about the meaning or the etymology of the name, it is thought that Molue is the corruption of “Maul Him”, a description given to the vehicle by the city’s elite who are piqued by the incessant manner the large bodied buses tear clothes and even flesh of passengers while either entering or disembarking as they reach their destinations. Molues are kings of the roads. They are found everywhere, a private sector response to the yearning need for a safe means of mass transportation for the teeming population.


From Ojota to Ketu or Ikorodu and from there to Iddo, a major terminus made popular by the now comatose railway system, to Oyingbo, a bustling transportation haven to Oshodi, Costain, to Obalende, and from there to Apapa, then Orile, Iganmu to Mile 2 and further still to Okokomaiko, on the ever-busy Badagry highway and on the southern fringes of Iyana-Ipaja, Pen Cinema, Egbeda, to Idimu and Ijegun, and other emerging satellite towns of the state, such as Alimosho, the Lagos Molue at a time, captured the terrain, becoming an opium of the commuting masses.


So popular were these buses, that they at a time were printed on postcards and favoured as the face of a developing city state of Lagos.
From wherever you boarded them, a ride in a Molue was an admixture of fun and tears. There, you might be unlucky to have your pocket picked by one of the extremely smart street urchins regarded as area boys, who deliberately crowded the two entrances, making ingress and egress a headache to passengers.


There was no decency inside the Molue. After filling all the seats, the spill over passengers were made to hang on a rail in what was usually called ‘standing’ in the buses. Passengers were so tightly packed that they made nonsense of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s mimickery of their plight in the song, Suffering and Smiling.The air inside the Molue most times are stale, passengers have to cope with the body odours until fresh air permeates the vehicle. Most Molues don’t have windows and passengers have to sit on bare planks which are crudely welded to iron bars by local smithes. A ride inside Molue during the rain can spell disaster if a special outing is in view, as one may end up drenched.


Apart from the steering wheel, the dash boards of most Molues are often barren of any functioning gadgets, the drivers who are often boxed in with a wired mesh, could be found dripping with sweat as they battle with the steering wheel. With no view finder and side mirrors, the typical Molue driver relies on his mates, better known locally as bus conductors to marshal the roads, and these barks instructions to him intermittently.
"O wa legbe e o, (there is a vehicle by your side), Wole wa, (enter this side of the road), O nbo le (a passenger is dropping) or more lewd ones like; Wole pelu senji e o, (enter this bus with the correct fare), O loyun o ponmo o (this passenger, obviously a woman is pregnant and carrying a baby), are few of the jargons of the Molue conductor.
The driver is ever in a hurry. Apart from when it takes off from its major park, Molue never stops. Whether you are dropping off the vehicle or boarding, you have to develop a running feet, as you practically jump off, or rush in, on motion. This act which has become the archilles heels of many hapless commuters have somewhat become the defining mode of recognising who just migrated to Lagos and who is a resident.


The Molue could be a market too. Itinerant merchants often make a kill inside Molue, hawking all manners of wares from the usual drugs to the cure-all herbs that take care of a thousand ailments. Standing at one corner of the bus, the agent projects his voice by usually cupping his hands round his mouth, clears his/her throat and begins by assisting the passengers to call out the many bus stops along the routes, before leading the passengers into prayers which often he/she uses to hoodwink them before bringing out his or her wares. Molues are also a veritable ground for peripatetic preachers. Many young pastors used the Molue as sound bites, from where they work on their confidence to handle microphone and address larger audience in the Church. It could also be a leveler of sorts, a melting pot for the upcoming middle class usually in his razor sharp edged shirts and tie and their female counterpart in their skirt suits, mingling and struggling for space with the pepper retailers, and the mechanics in their grease-blackened aprons.


Because it carries more passengers, fares on Molue are often times cheaper than the smaller commuter buses.


Wale Adeduro recounts this little story “I had asked my father why the largely ugly commercial buses plying Obalende-Oshodi route were dubbed 'Molue' in Lagos. I think my reserved father explained that he was not sure of the origin of the tag 'Molue'. He however adduced a reason for the name. In his opinion the first batch of such vehicles were 911 models of Mercedes Benz trucks without carriers. Some welders in the outskirts of Lagos had the expertise of building cabins on such trucks. Through their efforts, they were able to convert the trucks to passenger vehicles. No thanks to the recklessness of 'Danfo' buses (smaller commuter buses especially the Volkwagen types) conductors on the converted buses often admonished their drivers to 'Molue' (a corruption of the word remould) the smaller buses when they obstruct the larger ones. From that moment on the term 'Molue' became associated with the big bully nature of the 911 model of commercial vehicles in urban Lagos”.


According to Okpi, Ozordi and Adeoye, “Molue and the Danfo buses, which rolled into Lagos in the seventies replaced “Bolekaja”. Molue is a Mercedes truck, which is reconstructed, locally, into a bus which seats about 44 passengers. The Danfo initially started with a Volkswagen model which seats only 12”.


According to Aderibigbe, “The journey to their extinction started some 10 years ago when the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration banned Molue buses from entering Victoria Island. Their operations were limited to Obalende or Falomo roundabout, their operations was replaced with the white painted small buses. With the commissioning of the BRT buses by the Fashola government on March 17, 2008, a more definite roadmap for the phasing out of this phase of the city’s major means of transportation began to take shape as government invited the National Union of Road Transport Workers of Nigeria (NURTW) to partner with it on the new face of Lagos transportation initiative”.



According to Ilevbare et al, “It was the second day of the Lagos State Ministry of Transport' launch of a new public transportation scheme. That scheme, by which private commercial bus operators were banned from plying the V.I and Ikoyi routes, is intended to sanitise traffic in these highbrow areas of Eti-Osa Local Government. But the new scheme offers no succour for commuters, particularly school children

The yellow and black private buses popularly refer to as Danfo , had from the previous day been barred from plying the roads of Ikoyi and Victoria Island by the state government. Scores of mobile policemen and officials of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA), were on hand at all entry points to the two neighbourhoods to prevent defiant drivers. Children and women went through untold hardship as they struggled for limited buses that were allowed by the new scheme to operate on those routes. The scenario could best be described as the biblical camel passing through the eye of a needle: a situation where close to five thousand commuters struggle to get seats in a bus that has provision for just 18”. “CMS Taxi and Motors Nigeria Limited (T&M), is the second carrier on those routes". The City Bus which has it's terminals at TBS, CMS/Outer Marina, Obalende and Femi Okunnu Housing Estate (Round About), also has major bus stops in Ikoyi and Victoria Island with different routes and their routes numbers.



According to Kekelola Oyebola "Conflicting claims have continued to trail the decision of the Lagos State government to replace the yellow commuter buses popularly called "danfo" by City Buses in Ikoyi and Victoria Island routes, even as the government has approved special commercial buses for Ajah residents.
The new buses are however, painted green and white as against the popular yellow and black. Feelers within the Ajah community showed that residents are yet to enjoy the benefits of this new transport system as investigation showed that most commuters are still often stranded at the various bus stops within the area.


It would be recalled that shortly after the announcement of the new policy by the Lagos government, a sizeable number of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) members went on rampage to registered their anger. “Efforts by to reach the spokesperson for Cross Country Ltd, owners of city buses to find out their future plans, and other measures put in place to ensure compliance from their drivers failed. He was said to be indisposed”.


According to Okpi et al, “The last time Gerald Onwuzurike visited Lagos was in 1998. Coming from the sleepy town of Okigwe, in Imo State, he was shocked at the frenzied lifestyle of Lagos residents. He has since come back to Lagos to stay for good, and he quickly joined the ever-swelling band of brothers called commercial auto bike (Okada) riders. Today, he is even more astonished at the sea of human beings who calmly wait on a queue for a BRT bus.


“This is an amazing sight,” he exclaimed in pidgin English. “Imagine Lagosians queuing up in an orderly manner. Such a sight was rare. This governor has really tried in providing this transport scheme that has been so popular.”


The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) scheme, introduced by Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Agency (LAMATA), on 17 March, 2008 has been praised by stakeholders as a largely successful venture.
According to Okpi et al, “The scheme was launched on 17 March, 2008, with 100 buses. BRT operates as a transport system, which relies on the use of ‘dedicated lanes’ special traffic lanes to guarantee fast and reliable travel time for commuters. These lanes are usually segregated, thus enabling the buses to have the right of way in situations of traffic congestion. It flagged off with the Mile 12 - CMS route. It was planned by the Lagos state government and run by LAMATA.
“The Bus Rapid Transit system, launched for Lagos on March 17, 2008, successfully transported 9.7 million passengers in the first 100 days of operations,” said Dayo Mobereola, managing director of LAMATA, at a media forum last year”.

It's not complete, it's disjointed, but you'll get the gist of the story...the history of road transport in Lagos.

Lagos State was created in 1967 (eve of civil war)

Mallam Musa Yar'Adua was Minister of FCT/Lagos Affairs in the 1st republic.

Major Mobolaji Johnson was administrator of Lagos during Ironsi's era

List of governors of Lagos







Brigadier Mobolaji Johnson 28 May 1967-July 1975 (military)

Commodore Adekunle Lawal[/b]July 1975-1977 (military)

[b]Commodore Ndubuisi Kanu 1977-July 1978 (military)

Commodore Ebitu Ukiwe July 1978-October 1979 (military)

Alhaji Lateef Jakande October 1979-December 1983 (Unity Party of Nigeria - UPN)

Air Commodore Gbolahan Mudasiru January 1984-1986 (military)

Navy Captain Mike Akhigbe 1986-July 1988 (military)

Brigadier General Raji Rasaki July 1988-January 1992 (military)

Sir Michael Otedola January 1992-November 1993 [National Republican Congress (NRC)]

Colonel Olagunsoye Oyinlola 9 December 1993-22 August 1996 (military)

Colonel Mohammed Buba Marwa 22 Aug 1996-29 May 1999 (military)

Mr Bola Tinubu 29 May 1999-29 May 2007(Action Congress)

Mr Babatunde Fashola 29 May 2007(Action Congress)

I'm not surprised by the result. The lawyer was excited and emotional about the case and thus forgot to cover all loopholes. Oyedepo has the funds to hire the best lawyers to do a thorough job. Sad, but I don't blame the judge.

^ ^ ^
That's an LMTS bus. Right at the junction. wonderful!

A good time to search for my "History of transportation in Lagos" write-up. Hope I can still find it.

LSTC

Finally! After all the derailment, I believe I can now address the BRT issue (the whole beautification issue is a completely different project handled by the MOE [for which the governor has been labelled a "flower planter" ]. I'll address the BRT issue which falls under the purview of LAMATA).

Positives.

1) Better journey times: Citizens can now avoid the terrible traffic jams by using the BRT system (especially the Ojota-CMS route). This is particularly important at a time when the 3rd Mainland Bridge is undergoing repairs.

2) Franchising: The buses are owned and run by private companies which depend on the revenue they receive from the service (advertising and fares). This should prevent the sort of corruption that ruined the LMTS and LSTC services in the past.

3)Planning: A citizen can purchase bus tickets in advance and thus make his transport budget for an entire month, unlike the situation with the danfo aand molue service which are prone to sudden increase in fares.

4) Comfort: the BRT service provides better comfort for commuters (than the danfo, molue and other road transport services), with better seating arrangement, airconditioned service, etc.

5) Increase in choice and number of transport options.


Negatives:

1) Scholars bus: The old LSTC service had scholars buses which provided free transportation to primary and secondary school students (students in uniform who possessed a valid school ID card). We need to revive this system. It's quite scary the way primary and secondary school kids commute to school these days.

2) Neatness: The old LSTC system had car washes at their depots (Keffi, Simpson Street, etc). The bus captain and conductor would bring the bus in for the night and the cleaning crew would take over. The BRT buses were quite clean, until they started carrying adverts. It seems the glue from the ads attracts dirt to the side of the buses. The government must force the franchisees to do something about this. A city's commercial bus service says a lot about it. If you have dirty buses, then it would mean that the city is dirty.

I know that the government and the bus company set up a maintenance factory to take care of the buses and that the engines are in good working order, but they need to do something about the bodywork of some of the buses (they need to panel beat some of the buses and fix the towing mechanism).

3) Ventilation: Although the air-conditioned buses are still running, the fans on most of the other buses have stopped working (apart from the driver's fan). This must be corrected.

4) Routes and franchises* (I see something is already being done about this). While carrying out my research, I have boarded BRT buses from Ojota-CMS, Obalende-Ikorodu, along Agege Motor Road, Lekki-Obalende, Lekki-Falomo and V/I-Marina. Some of the routes and administrative procedures of the franchisees are simply insane! The worst route used to be the Lekki-Obalende route. The bus would go from Lekki to CMS, then turn on to Ring Road/Outer Marina, before heading to Obalende. A 20 minute journey could take 1 or 2 hours! Then there's the crazy practice of checking tickets at the Law School Bus Stop, which creates further delays.

Thankfully, there's a new franchisee on this route that does things more efficiently (incidentally, the new franchisee runs the BRT system using Federal Government subsidy buses). The new franchisee is the Trade Union Congress and they use the "Alternative Route" and head to Obalende through Falomo, while the other franchisee goes through the toll gate and through CMS.

I also think that they should have more segregated routes (the Lekki route should have been segregated).

5) Double decker or bendy buses. I feel bad when I drive by Oworonshoki, Ojota or Obalende and see long queues of people waiting to board a BRT bus. I think use of higher capacity buses, such as the bendy or double decker bus, might solve this problem (although double decker buses are illegal in Nigeria because of centre of balance issues).

[size=14pt]Lagos IPP: FG deducts N9bn in four years[/size]

By Kemi Obasola
Monday, 18 Feb 2008


Four months after the Lagos State Government moved to stop the monthly deduction of N225m from its statutory allocation over its Independent Power Plant Project, the Federal Government is yet to halt the deduction.


Investigations by our correspondent showed that so far, another N1bn had been deducted from the funds of the state as at December 2007.


The monthly deduction of N225m from source by the Federal Government since October 2003 is the charge for helping the state carry the power generated by its Independent Power Project to the national grid.


The deduction has continued despite the moves initiated by the state government four months ago to stop the deduction and to probably recover the money that had been deducted so far.


It was gathered that the immediate past administration under Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency came up with the idea of deduction and deliberately charged the state government the sum of N225m per month as a way of stalling the full implementation of the project.


The independent power plant project was conceived by the immediate past administration of the state under the leadership of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.


It was expected to provide residents of the state with uninterrupted alternative electricity supply through an arrangement with a power generation company, ENRON, which worked in association with Folawiyo power group.


In September, the state Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, said his administration had established the right to collect the amount deducted so far from its allocation by the Federal Government. He said it was unfortunate that the state had to pay for electricity being supplied to the country.


”It is unfortunate that Lagos is paying for electricity to the whole country. The story of the Independent Power Plant Project is a long and complicated one. Instead of commendation, we have received condemnation over the years.


”We set a model for the whole country in 2000. Now, IPPs are springing up here and there. As a result of what I consider to be inefficiency, Lagos is being made to bear the brunt for the federation. I think that the attitude must change.


”Whatever may be the case, I think this is one of those instances where the Federal Government must say; look, power generation is our responsibility and whatever cost exists, we will bear it.


“I also think this is something for another forum because our rights to have those deductions refunded have been established by legal advice. But we are still trying to find amicable resolution to it without recourse to litigation.”


A source in the State Ministry of Finance who spoke on condition of anonymity with our correspondent on Monday, said the state government was still trying to recover the deducted money from the Federal Government and to stop further deduction.


According to the source, fresh talks had already commenced with the Federal Government, which would hopefully help to resolve the issue and pave the way for the commencement of the second phase of the project.


According to the source, if the Federal Government could return the deductions collected so far, there would be enough funds for the second phase.


When contacted, the State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Rotimi Oyekan, said the state government would not only strive to recover the funds but plough such funds back into the provision of adequate power for Lagosians.


Oyekan said, ”We have asked them to stop the deduction and as soon as we are given the money, we will use it for the provision of adequate power supply in the state.


”Lagos needs to have its own power, that is the only solution. It is important that we recover the deducted funds, put an end to the deduction and seek other alternative ways of providing power so that the people can truly enjoy the dividends of democracy. That is our focus and whatever money we recover will be part of the solution.”

http://archive.punchng.com/Articl.aspx?theartic=Art20080218203382

[size=14pt]Pioneering Role of Lagos in Power Projects[/size]
2 Nov 2010

Being the first state to attempt to break the monopoly of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), with the initiation of the Enron Power Project on August 1, 1999, coupled with the recent inauguration of a transformer manufacturing factory, Lagos State has maintained its pioneering role in power projects in Nigeria, Ejiofor Alike, writes

 

Enron Experiment

At the peak of the abysmal performance of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), now Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN), Lagos State under the then Governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, became the first state to attempt to break the monopoly of the ailing power giant by initiating a giant Independent Power Project(IPP).

On August 1, 1999, the Tinubu-led administration, Yinka Folawiyo Power Limited and Enron Corporation of the United States signed an agreement for an IPP, with the Federal Government as the guarantor.

The barge-mounted electricity generating plant was to be located adjacent to the NEPA’s Egbin Power Station, Nigeria’s biggest power plant.

 

The generating facility was originally designed to consist of nine barge-mounted combustion turbines with a total net output of 290megawatts of electricity.

The total investment in the business was estimated at $225 million with Enron controlling the majority shares, while Yinka Folawiyo Power Limited, a Nigerian conglomerate, owns the remaining shares in the venture.

By the terms of the agreement as presented by Lagos State, Enron was to generate the power and feed it into the National Grid, with NEPA as the operator that was to receive, transmit and distribute the power, while the State would designate destinations for power supply and market it to consumers.

 

The state was also to generate bills and pay the accrued revenue into an escrow account from which Enron could draw; while the Federal Government would provide project support, being the guarantor.

However, in January 2001, the AES Corporation announced that its subsidiary had acquired from Enron, a majority interest in the barge-mounted IPP.

AES, a leading global power company has generation, distribution and transmission infrastructure in Georgia, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Pakistan, Panama, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Dominican Republic and El Salvador,

At the time of acquisition by AES, the barges were still under construction and commencement of commercial operations of the power facility was expected in September 2001.

 

AES was both manager of construction and plant operator; while electricity from the plant was to be supplied to NEPA under a 13.25 year power purchase agreement.

However, since inception, the project was mired in controversy as the state, NEPA and the Federal Government clashed over the implementation of the agreement.

The controversy peaked when Lagos State took the PHCN to the then Dr. Ransom Owan-led board of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), over allegation of breach of supply agreement and wrongful invoicing of the state.

Lagos State had said in the petition to NERC that it had agreed to contribute 21.15 per cent of the Barge Power Purchase Agreement (BPPA) monthly bills on the condition that the power being generated by AES/Enron would be supplied solely to Lagos State.

 

According to the state government, further to the Contribution Agreement, on 14th November, 2000, it instructed the Federal Ministry of Finance to effect a direct debit of its statutory allocations from the Federation Account for the amount due as its contribution, to the capacity payments.

The state however, said that the instruction was to serve only as further security for payment of its obligations, under the BPPA and could only be effected if it failed to pay a valid invoice.

“In June 2001, the IPP began commercial operations and NEPA began to purchase capacity and energy under the BPPA.

‘However, in clear breach of the BPPA and the  spirit of the Contribution Agreement, NEPA failed and or refused to devote any or all of the electrical output of the IPP to customers in the areas designated in the BPPA submitted for its contribution by NEPA,” the state said.

 

Lagos State also stated that despite the breach of agreement, the Federal Ministry of Finance had continued to deduct its 21.15 per cent contribution from source.

All these show that there is no doubt about the viability and feasibility of the IPP project as envisaged by all the partners, including the Lagos State Government.

The project was viable, feasible and was delivered to meet not only specifications but also international standard.

Today, the AES project is supplying close to 230megawatts to the Egbin Thermal Station, from where the power is feed into the National Grid.

 

With this additional supply from AES, the total output from Egbin averages 800megawatts when gas is available.

The only issue under contentionwas that the power generated from AES was being transmitted to the National Grid for the use of the entire country, instead of only Lagos and this bordered on alleged failure by parties to honour contractual and business obligations.

Despite the controversy surrounding the Enron power project, the Federal Government still joined Lagos State to see the wisdom in breaking the monopoly of PHCN, hence the massive construction of power plants across the country and the planned privatisation of the ailing utility giant.

 

Transformer Manufacturing Factory

To maintain its leading role in power projects, Lagos State also became the first state to inaugurate a transformer manufacturing factory built by Elsewedy Electric Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Elsewedy Cables of Egypt.

The company, which has a capacity to produce 1,400 transformers yearly, is located at the Badagry end of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway in Lagos.

Speaking during the inauguration of the project, Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola stated that the factory would serve not only Nigeria but other countries in the west coast of Africa.

 

The Governor disclosed that the factory started producing transformers in February 2010, and also added that the transformers produced by the factory were already strengthening the state government’s rural electrification projects in the state.

“The idea behind this factory did not start today. As Chief of Staff in the last administration, I visited Egypt – I led a government delegation to cairo to start the negotiations. But we could not conclude and it was when I became Governor that we signed the Joint Venture agreement that gave us this project,” he said.

“Elsewedy is an African company. When I left Lagos in 2008 to go to Egypt, this was what I went to do with your time and with your money. Electricity does not fail in Cairo.

 

“This is the company that generates and manages the electricity of Cairo. It is an African company. They are not only in Cairo; they are in many parts of the Middle East and many parts of Africa. Let us deploy African solutions to African problems,” he explained.

The Governor, who added that what Lagos State had done was not a rocket science, stressed that in many other parts of the world, transformer manufacturing was a cottage industry, adding that the situation should not be different in Nigeria.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Olusola Senapon

Oworu, said the inauguration of the project accentuated the commitment of the state government to the industrial growth and economic prosperity of the state.

 

The Special Adviser noted that the task of bringing the project to fruition was her first major assignment from Governor, having received the mandate to liaise with Elsewedy Cables of Egypt in November 2007.

She disclosed that the project was a joint venture between the Lagos State Government, 5.26 per cent and the Egyptian firm, 94.74 per cent.

According to her, the inauguration of the project was another manifestation of the successful collaboration with the private sector in project implementation.

 

“That we are here to commission this project today is no doubt a testimony to the power of vision, the commitment to mission and a product of dedication and hard work by the state government and the Elsewedy Group. To the good people of Badagry, I congratulate you on this achievement. This, coupled with the ongoing expansion of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway, has positioned this culturally rich and historically relevant town for unprecedented growth in commercial activities,” she said.

 

Appeal to President Jonathan

To encourage his state as well as other states to boost local manufacturing of electricity distribution equipment, Governor Fashola also said he had written to the presidency for a downward review of tariffs on the components of transformers and other distribution facilities.

He said a downward review of the tariffs would strengthen the competitiveness of locally-manufactured transformers in the domestic market.

 

“This is to ensure that these transformers would not be more expensive than imported ones. This is the only way that local firms can grow. If the imported transformers are cheaper, then we will not promote local growth. I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Federal Government to look favourably and kindly to our requests for a downward review of the tariffs on the imported components of these transformers,” he said.

Governor Fashola said a downward review of these tariffs was one of the ways the Federal Government could use its fiscal policies to promote growth.

The Governor, who also stated that he was waiting anxiously for a positive reply from the Presidency, noted that the measure would reduce unemployment in the country.

 

He said that there was still much work to be done in the area of distribution of electricity in the country.

According to him, the real difficult part of the electricity sector was the distribution end.

“The reality is that as we take steps to improve the stock of power generation in the country, the power that is eventually generated will have to be distributed to houses and consumers through cables, and transformers and measured through electricity metres in order to facilitate fair and proper billing,” he said.

The Governor noted that regular and efficient electricity remains the only missing infrastructure that was militating against the growth of the economy of this country.

He said the actualisation of the potentials of Nigerians and their freedom from poverty were also being hampered by irregular electricity supply.

Governor Fashola also noted that the unveiling of the roadmap on the power sector would provide opportunities for investors in the sector.

 

Conclusion

There is no doubt that the construction of captive power plants to cater for designated areas as envisaged by Lagos State in the Enron project is the panacea to the epileptic power supply in the country.

Heavy dependence on the single ‘almighty’ National Grid for electricity supply to all parts of the country has not only made electricity supply epileptic and abysmally mournful, but has also transmitted system failure in one area to all other areas that rely on the grid.

 

The current effort by President Goodluck Jonathan to break away from the past by encouraging states, local governments and the private sector to participate in electricity generation and distribution is viewed by analysts as a right step in the right direction.

Lagos State has successfully pioneered the involvement of states in power generation and distribution, and it is expected that other states should follow the examples of the State.

The Federal Government should therefore provide the incentives to encourage other states, Local Governments, as well as small and big businesses to generate power for their own use.

 

A downward review or outright removal of tariffs on the components of electricity distribution facilities and power plants, such as transformers and gas turbines is one of the ways that the Federal Government can boost the interest of other stakeholders in power projects.

All regulatory impediments such as the requirement for an operating licence from NERC for generation below 10 megawatts should be removed.

http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/pioneering-role-of-lagos-in-power-projects/75222/

denzel2009: have you had cum on your cock during party with a ho that gave you orgasm and doggy style?

[quote author=Igbo_hater]Who are u and which nation are u from?[/quote]That is the great Lord, also known as FStranger(1-100), YStranger, StrangerF, Igbaodun, Ojogbontomoye, Papatosibe, Anti-Tpia, Meonbooty, Fagamite, Mitofag, WoeuntoOAM4J, etc.

All hail the great lord.

In 1989 the Eko Bridge was closed for repairs. This created huge traffic jams on 3rd Mainland Bridge (Adeniji-Adekunle).

As a result the government had to implement special measures. They converted the left side carriageway on Herbert Macaulay Road into a two way road. Previously, the right side of the carriageway was for traffic heading from 3rd Mainland Bridge to Yaba, while the left side was for traffic heading from Yaba to the bridge. This special measure is still in place today.

Lagos Island (Mainly the Onikan-Marina area) was the capital of the City of Lagos, Lagos State and Nigeria.

The President of Nigeria, the Prime Minister of Nigeria, the Governor of Lagos and the Finance Minister lived on Marina Street. Lagos City Council (which ran the Lagos Mass Transit System) had its headquarters @ City Hall and most government ministries were @ Broad Street.

Currently the government is trying to create multiple commercial centres in order to decongest Lagos Island. One of such centres is in the Badagry/Ojo area (one of the reasons for the Blue Line Rail project).

3rd Mainland (or 3rd Axial) Bridge was conceived by the Gowon Administration. The Obasanjo Administration built the first phase (Adeniji-Adekunle) and it was commissioned by President Shehu Shagari. The project was then abandoned.

(While commissioning the IBB Bridge, President Babangida said) Raji Rasaki was appointed Lagos State Governor by the Babangida Administration. He so disturbed President Babangida, urging him to complete the bridge, that the President had to instruct his secretary not to allow Rasaki into his office again. The IBB section of the bridge (Adekunle-Oworonshoki) was commissioned by President Babangida in 1990 (at the commissioning, an excited Rasaki danced to music provided by Sir Shina Peters).

The Lagos Steam Tramway

http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/akintokunbo-a-adejumo/on-the-history-of-nigeria-railways-the-lagos-steam-tramway-1902-1913.html

I remember the mega traffic jam on 3rd Mainland Bridge in 1989 when the Eko Bridge was being repaired.

Tom, Dick and Harry

Dick Cheney

Stephanie Okereke is an actress cum producer.

Etc

Boko Haram intends to take over Nigeria and establish their own version of Islam. They then intend to link up with other extremist groups (Al-Shabab, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, etc) to establish a global caliphate.

They will kill anybody, muslim, christian, northerner, southerner, etc who oppose them.

Bump

Doughnuts

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Cake