₦airaland Forum

Last Saturday, the Minister for Power, Works & Housing Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) paid a landmark courtesy visit to his successor and Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode.

Following the contentious debate between the two leaders in the preceding week, it was most gratifying to see them pulling together and putting their differences of opinion aside in the best overall interest of Lagos State and Nigeria.

As the sitting Governor of Lagos State, Ambode has left no one in doubt about his intension and deep commitment to transform Lagos truly into a state of aquatic splendor. Nothing offers a state a golden opportunity to showcase its economic prosperity, political stability, serenity and grandeur more than its gateways. The biggest gateway not only into Lagos but Nigeria is the iconic but now derelict Murtala Muhammed International Airport.

Even more disheartening is the road from the airport to Apapa-Osodi Expressway. To call it an eyesore is probably the vilest understatement of a lifetime. A stretch of dilapidated walls, miserable structures, a retinue of rickety buses, taxis, towing vehicles and petrol tankers littered the road in a manner that would make any conscionable Nigerian to convulse with trepidation.

This unfathomable scenario did not just happen yesterday or last year, it has been like that for decades. A former President of the country was once quoted as saying during his campaign visit to Lagos State that he wept when he saw the state of the road. Providence smiled at the President; he won his election, spent four more years and conveniently forgot to fix the same road which had made him to shed crocodile tears when he was scavenging for votes.



As Governor of Lagos State, one of the projects Fashola would have loved to execute was the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Road. A beautiful design for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and beautification of the road was done but unfortunately, that initiative was sacrificed on the altar of politics. The Federal Government, then under a different political party, must have felt that if they collaborated with the Lagos Government and allowed the state government to fix the road, which undoubtedly fell under federal jurisdiction, all the glory would go to Lagos State and the party in power there. Sadly in Nigeria, it is not about the comfort of the people first. It is all about the ego of those in power.

Ambode must have felt that fixing the airport road now would be an easy ride because not only did his party control governments at both the state and federal level, his predecessor is the incumbent Minister of Works, Power and Housing. An aide of Governor Ambode had even said assuredly to me during a conversation that the Lagos State Government would perform the ground-breaking to fix the road latest by this March. This was not to be.

The realization that the grand effort to fix the all-important social and economic road might be jinxed again might have compelled Ambode to express his frustration in the court of public opinion.
It is therefore refreshing to see that both Ambode and Fashola are on the same page in addressing all the issues, which created friction between both leaders in the past. Beyond what they said in the public glare, instructively, what they did not say carried the bigger weight. Both came across as genuine in their intentions. Their countenances, body language and open display of affection came across as real and sincere. Ambode was matured and effusive in heaping tons of praises on his predecessors, dating it back to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and dovetailing it down to Fashola whom he credited for his phenomenal achievements in his 8 years in office.

In unifying, they have displayed exemplary leadership. By focusing on their commonalities -- their energetic and passionate will to make revolutionary impact in Lagos.

Governor Ambodes laser focus on his target of Lagos becoming the third largest economy in Africa by 2020 has been the driving force for finding common ground with his predecessor. He said, We are all strongly committed to increasing value in Lagos and maximizing the States enormous potential for growth to better the lives of all residents in Lagos. He went on to say What binds us all is our passion for Lagos and the people and we stand together on that. Ultimately, it is about a shared goal that we have all worked tirelessly to achieve for our people and we will get it done.

One of the Federal Controllers for Works who accompanied Fashola on the visit mentioned the airport road as one of the projects the Federal Ministry of Works is planning to execute. This is where both leaders have to do more work. The Federal Government is planning to do the road while the Lagos State Government has already set aside the fund to do the road in view of its importance. If the Federal Government already has the funds to fix the road, they should commence the process immediately in order to bring to an end the misery of long suffering Nigerians and international visitors plying that road once and for all.

If on the other hand, the Federal Government does not have the resources as yet, they should allow the Lagos State Government to fix the road immediately. Posterity, and indeed all well meaning Lagosians numbering over 22 million people, will NOT forgive anyone who has had a hand in frustrating that project.

David Fadimu, a media practitioner contributed this piece from Lagos State, Nigeria.

The Lagos State government has admonished all Lagosians wishing to know the details of the new environmental law to visit http://laws.lagosstate.gov.ng, adding that the Law has been uploaded online in order to make it accessible to all citizens.

In a press release signed by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, the State Government said the new environmental law has consolidated all laws relating to the environment for the management, protection and sustainable development in Lagos State and for connected purposes.



The State Government also assured Lagosians that the new Environmental Protection and Management Law initiated by the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode-led administration was done in the overall interest of all Lagosians to ensure cleaner environment and public health safety in the State.



He explained that the Law was in tandem with the reforms in the Environment Sector, aimed at charting a new direction in recognition of the fact that water, sanitation and hygiene are non-negotiable requisites in a mega city like Lagos.



According to the Commissioner, the rapid growth of Lagos, its dream of 24-hour economy and government financial limitations have made it pertinent to make investor-friendly Laws that will attract the desired investment into the Sector.



“With the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, the government reassures all and sundry of its determination to clean the environment in our state and we are already taking the necessary steps in that direction,” he said.



While stressing that the Government will not be frustrated in its determination to achieve a cleaner Lagos by seeming vested interests working against the reforms, Ayorinde gave assurance that all issues pertaining to the Cleaner Lagos Initiative are being addressed, especially in the crucial area of waste management.



“The government is aware of the complaints by well-meaning citizens over delays being experience in the area of waste collection. The Ministry of the Environment, the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and our ‘sanitation gangs’ are on top of the situation and will not give in to the sabotage by those who are opposed to the reforms”, Ayorinde stated.



He also clarified that there was no such thing in the law that seeks to criminalise individuals sinking boreholes, stating that only boreholes dug for commercial purposes require license or payment and this is not a new practice as it has been in existence since.

New environmental law will guarantee Lagosians' right to cleaner, safer environment - Desmond Majekodunmi .

Majekodunmi, who lauded Governor Ambode’s vision of ensuring that every person living in Lagos has a right to clean, safe and healthy environments, said the new law is a consolidation of what started few years ago which is aimed at putting Lagos where it ought to be and make Lagosians to live in a normal, healthy environment.

The new environmental law makes it an offence for any person or group of persons to dump any toxic waste capable of causing harm in the state while all emissions from vehicles, plants and equipment including generating plants in residential, commercial and industrial areas within the State must now meet air emission standard

The new law further stipulates that no manufacturing of chemicals, lubricants, petroleum products, cement (except for use in construction), gases or quarry takes place in a residential premise. It posits that any manufacturers of such items will procure an insurance policy from an approved insurance company.

In the new law, every owner or occupier of a facility who uses, stores, keeps and maintains an underground storage tanks and surface storage tanks shall register such tanks with the enforcing authority while a facility monitoring and inspection exercise will be carried out on all sites with surface or underground tanks periodically to determine the integrity of the facility involved. Soil test of the immediate environment will also be carried out to validate the integrity of the soil

The Lagos State Government said violators of the laws will face stiff penalties which include heavy fines which ranges from N250,000 to N5,000,000 and/or imprisonment.

Also, under the new law, it is an offence to engage in street trading along the major highways and streets of Lagos and sell in an unapproved market in Lagos while every owner, tenant and occupier of any shop, kiosks, space or stall in any market within the State shall on regular basis ensure the cleanliness of his or her space

It is also mandatory for every commercial vehicle in the State to carry a litter bin for the use of passengers in order to prevent passengers from throwng waste onto the streets from commercial vehicle. The law stipulates that if a commercial driver fails to provide the litter bin, the driver will be penalized alongside the passenger or the occupier of the vehicle who commits the offenc


The new law has also empowered the Lagos State government to demolish any structures on sewage systems without approval. It also made it mandatory for anyone who wants to sink borehole or any structure connected with the supply of water to obtain permit from the office of drainage services in order to ensure compliance with standards.

The new environmental law also sets up the Lagos State Environmental Trust Fund will be independently managed by an SEC (Stock Exchange Commission) regulated Board of Trustee with the aim of promoting the development and improvement of the state's environmental performance and sustainability. This will create a system that can attract funds from persons, organizations and authorities required to tackle environmental issues as well as fund and promote the creation of job opportunities for youths in waste management and waste recycling among others.

New environmental policies have been put in place by the Lagos state government. It is now mandatory for all residents to obtain permits before sinking boreholes. This simply means that anyone who has a house, shop, office, school etc. in Lagos and wants to have any structure connected with water supply must obtain permit from the office of drainage services, failure to abide by this new rule attracts a fine ranging from N250,000 to N5Million. Lagos state is doing everything possible to make sure its environment is clean and livable for all its inhabitants. #CleanerLagosInitiative #CleanerLagos

Lagos to set up environmental sanitation corps agency, introduces fundamental reforms

·      All structures on sewage systems without approval to be demolished

·      Commercial drivers must have litterbins in their vehicles

·      Street trading banned
·      Residents to obtain permits before sinking boreholes

·      Penalties to range from N250,000 to N5m or imprisonment


As part of major internal improvements backed by the newEnvironmental Management and Protection Bill, passed by the Lagos State House of Assembly, KAI (Kick Against Indiscipline) will be transformed into the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency which will spearhead enforcement of the stringent penalties imposed on defaulters.

Speaking at the signing of the new Environmental Bill last week Wednesday, His Excellency Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode said “Compliance is the key. The burden of the cost of providing these services will remain low if everyone does their part and pays their Public Utilities Levy.

LASECORPS’s performance evaluations and remuneration will be tied directly to the number of actionable fines they issue for non-compliance. The Environmental Corps will be supported by PUMAU (Public Utilities Monitoring Assurance Unit) a unit that will have oversight responsibility by using innovative monitoring tools to ensure the new standards are effectively enforced.

 
The Lagos State Government said defaulters of these laws will face stiff penalties from the government which include heavy fines ranging from N250,000 to N5,000,000 and/or imprisonment.

The government is also planning a clampdown on all illegal structures on sewage systems without approval as such structures will be demolished. Also in the new law, anyone who wants to a sink borehole or any structure connected with the supply of water must obtain permit from the office of drainage services.

Health is Wealth

#CleanerLagos @aclearnerlagos

On Wednesday March 1, 2017, Lagos state Governor Mr Akinwunmi signed the Environmental Management Protection bill into law.

Governor Ambode said that under the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, the commercial sector would be serviced by licensed waste management operators while an environmental consortium will provide waste collection, processing and disposal services for residential properties through a long term concession. Over the concession period, the consortium would be deploying a large multi-dimensional fleet of over 20 landfill and transfer loading station management vehicles, 590 new rear-end loader compactors, 140 Operational vehicles and close to 900,000 new bins to all be electronically tracked and monitored by our new unit PUMAU (Public Utilities Monitoring Assurance Unit) under the Ministry of Environment.

Governor Ambode also added that aside the fact that the initiative would create at least 27,500 jobs, the Community Sanitation Workers (CSW) who would be engaged will receive several incentives including tax reliefs and healthcare, life, injury and accident insurance benefits all aimed at tackling the issue of poverty and the chronic unemployment crisis.

“Everyone from the cart pushers to the existing PSPs and casual workers at the dumpsites have been considered in the plan and will be accommodated within the new environmental regime. In addition, we are extending opportunities to everyone along the value chain by working to create vocational training in the related areas through LASTVEB,” he said.

Giving details of the law, the Governor said that sanitation will now be a daily affair in the State while the CSWs would be deployed in every ward across the State. He also said that an annual Public Utility Levy (PUL) would be introduced to replace all service fees previously paid to the Waste Management authorities, adding that the public was carried along in determining the rates, which according to him is relatively low. “ The money will be held in the [b]Environmental Trust Fund [/b]and managed meticulously by a Board of SEC regulated trustees. “The trustees are under strict obligations to the people of Lagos and will be accountable to the people for every naira we spend in line with our overall environmental agenda. Compliance is the key.

The burden of the cost of providing these services will remain low if everyone does their part and pays their PUL. “With the newly positioned LASECORPS, we will work within the community to enforce the new laws. The State will have a zero-tolerance policy for offenders because simply put, disregarding payment of your PUL or flouting the new regulations ultimately promotes activities that lead to the loss of lives,” Governor Ambode said. Earlier, the Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on the Environment, Hon Saka Fafunmi, commended the Governor for his passion to evolve the environmental laws in the State, saying that the Law would ensure a cleaner, safer and more prosperous Lagos.

To know how to take part in The Cleaner Lagos Initiative go to cleanerlagos.org