Press Releases

We’re Committed To Ensuring That Our Young Ones Are Roundly Developed - Fashola

Jul 20, 2009 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Monday restated his determination to ensure that the administration gives back to the young people in the State all programmes and services necessary for a well rounded development as enjoyed in the past.

Governor Fashola who spoke when he received the winners of the inaugural Schools Debate- the Lagos Challenge at Lagos House, Ikeja added that programmes like the holiday jobs, the resuscitation of playgrounds and reintroduction of voluntary organizations will continue to receive due attention.

The Governor who expressed his joy for witnessing the truly inspiring event said the reintroduced schools debate represents one of the menu in the rich bouquets which the government has in stock for the young people.

He added that in a couple of days, holidaying students will have the opportunity to take up vacation jobs while over the weekend, he commissioned a playground at Kernel Street in Surulere just as work is being expedited on the Campos playground in Central Lagos and community playground in Agege.

Governor Fashola explained that he felt compelled to give more to all the children because some of the facilities represented one of the many ways by which he as a person freely expressed himself as a young person.

He described voluntary organizations as building blocks which must be returned to by the society if desired leadership training are to be effected and imbibed in young ones, saying: “the investment in them today is an investment in ourselves”.

The Governor explained that the present administration in Lagos intends to ensure that public schools can compete with the very best of private schools by ensuring that they become destinations of choice and not of compulsion.

He said this would be achieved through a commitment to training and retraining of teachers and refresher courses to develop their capacity on approaches and methods of imparting knowledge to the young ones

The Lagos State helmsman who welcomed the clamour by private schools to participate in the competition said the Government has seen what the private schools can offer in terms of quality and is keen on respecting the right of everyone to make a choice in education just as it can for healthcare and transportation means as enshrined in the constitution.

He added that: “Between us and the private sector, we can deliver a win-win situation. If we succeed in education, we would have succeeded in almost all sectors. Because an educated people will deliver our power, build roads, provide doctors and take control of the prosperity of this state”.

He urged the students to recognize that in every competition, there must always be a winner and a loser, urging that as “as much as you should be a gallant loser, you should also be a humble winner”.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director of Gradient Hill, the organizers of the Schools Debate-the Lagos State Challenge, Mr. Ivor Ekpe expressed appreciation to Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for approving the resuscitation of the programme.

Mr Ekpe added that people like him can recall with nostalgia the kind of education they received in the state and which has made them better leaders.

While promising that the programme can only get better, he hinted of possible inclusion of private schools which have indicated interest in participating in the programme.

According to Mr Ekpe, the Competition provided the pupils opportunity to excel in both the team and individual categories with the individual best speaker being Emily Alofa from Millennium Senior Secondary School, Egbeda who won a trophy and a laptop while second position was taken by Fagbemi Adeniyi from Lagos State Senior Model College, Kankon. The third position was taken by Pascaline Okpeodu from Lagos City College while Oleche Chisom came fourth.

For the team category, Miss Oluwatomisin Atolagbe and Miss Odunayo Adeeko representing Lagos State Senior Model College, Igbookuta emerged winners,while the second place was claimed by Adejoke Are and Victor Jacobs from Ewutuntun Senior Grammar School, Oshodi, the third and fourth place went to Onomen Akaehomen and Faidat Rabiu of CMS Girls School and Okoro Faith and Nnadi Judith of Oshodi Comprehensive Senior High School respectively.

Cash prizes were presented to the winners in the team categories with Fourth placed team receiving the cheque for N150,000, Third place team won N250,000.00, Second place team won N350,000.00 while the winning team got a cheque for N500,000.

In addition, all the winners would spend an entire week at Dowen College in Victoria Island from August 2nd.

Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mrs Omolara Erogbogbo informed that the programme started with 262 state run schools before they were pruned to 64 at the district level.