Speeches

1,700 Days In Office

Jan 23, 2012 - When I gave an account of our first 100 days in office in September 2007, I made a commitment to render the same account every 100 days. Little did I realise at the time how significant a pledge it would come to be.

I am thankful that I made that promise, as the events in our recent harmattan of discontent have driven the point home to anyone who cares to listen, that the people we serve demand accountability.

I am therefore pleased that Lagos State recognised this sacred duty that we owe the people and chose this path in 2007.

We realise the importance of building and keeping public trust and we have kept the faith on 17 different occasions, commemorating each hundredth day in office. And we intend to keep faith with our promise because our people deserve to know.

It was in furtherance of this self imposed mandate that I took the decision to publish my telephone number and e-mail address, as well as the telephone numbers and email addresses of all members of the Lagos State Executive Council, the Body of Permanent Secretaries and several other categories of public servants all the way to the Local Government level.

I did this so that the citizens of Lagos would be able to reach us, complain to us and ask us to do more. I strongly doubt if there is any government in Nigeria that can equal Lagos State in this regard.

The 2012 budget has been passed into law and is now operational. I acknowledge with deep gratitude the sacrifices made by our esteemed members of the Lagos State House of Assembly.

They forfeited their Christmas break and worked tirelessly, even on weekends, to ensure that the budget was passed by the House before the end of 2011.

It was this act of selflessness that enabled me to sign the budget into law on the first working day of the year 2012. That is the spirit of Lagos.

It connects with the issue of good governance and self-restraint that the public requires of us – that we must put their interests first and ours, last. I sincerely commend the members of the Lagos State House of Assembly for leading the way.

This is reminiscent of my charge to the newly sworn in members of the Lagos State Executive Council on the 4th of July 2011. And I quote:

"our public conduct must at all times be a strong restatement of our connection with our people and our understanding of the realities they have to live with. This public service is a business whose core value is to deliver social service. It is funded by taxes from which your salaries and allowances will be paid. It may not be a spectacular pay but the opportunity for 37 persons is a rare privilege and a lifetime opportunity in a population of 18 million people".

I also said that,

"We must treat the tax payers with courtesy, they are our employers, our work in treating files, responding to their letters, listening to their complaints, answering their phone calls, granting them access to us as soon as it is practical to do so, will make their sacrifice for us at the elections worthwhile. This is a social contract; we must fulfil our side of the bargain".

On the 15th of October 2011, I solicited your support for our party, the Action Congress of Nigeria, in the Local Government elections as I implored you to let the broom revolution sweep through Lagos once again.

Let me thank you most sincerely for your massive turn out, which gave us another round of victory at the polls. Your votes were another demonstration of your confidence in the progressive policies of the Action Congress of Nigeria. We assure you that we will not take them for granted.

Although we have lost some time to the recent strikes, we remain prepared to vigorously implement the year 2012 budget so that it delivers on the promises that we made.

Implementing the budget will require all hands on deck. Both the leadership and the citizenry must work together and make orderliness and peaceful co-existence a priority.

Tolerance of our ethnic, religious and cultural differences will be the critical factors upon which the required peaceful co-existence needed for the implementation of our budget will be built.

This is a most challenging budget as the variables and economic assumptions continue to remain unpredictably dynamic; the ever changing interest, lending, exchange and borrowing rates are the only constants; and the realities of an increasingly depressing global climate, from which we will not be insulated, loom larger.

Our team is ready to implement a budget that was planned in painstaking detail, and to deliver on the critical areas of the budget if we have the tools.

And the most useful tool, apart from peace and security, is finance. Therefore voluntary payment of taxes is your obligation under our social contract. And the sooner more citizens begin to accept that it is a non-negotiable obligation, the better for us all.

A situation where only a comparatively low number of people approximately 2.5 million people, pay taxes that supports an economy of over 18 million people is not an equitable one and we must do everything to correct it.

I recognise that there are people who do not have jobs and so this does not apply to them.

For the avoidance of doubt, anyone who has no income has no obligation to pay tax; but it is our duty to ensure that those who are in the working age of 25-60 years estimated to be about 8 million people and who are in gainful employment or earn an income pay their taxes, so that the tax burden is equally distributed amongst citizens.

Our focus will therefore be on expanding the number of people who are employed and pay taxes.

I must emphasise the need for funding and place in our consciousness its particular importance, given the variables in our economy.

A germane example is the recent increase in the pump price of PMS (petrol). A large number of our security, patrol and operational vehicles depend on PMS for their constant presence on the road.

It is difficult to cut down on costs in this area, except perhaps to adopt more stringent measures to avoid wastage. But the argument for their need is not disputable.

Critical areas of activity for us will be the construction and rehabilitation of inner roads. Work has commenced in some parts of Ogudu, Surulere, Mushin, Ajegunle, Ifako Ijaiye, Alimosho and Ikorodu, to mention a few.

This year we plan to implement the construction, rehabilitation and rebuilding of 152 inner roads across all the Local Governments in Lagos State. In all, the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure has identified 396 roads across the State as being of high priority.

However, budgetary constraints dictate that we start with the 152 most critical ones; and these have of course now become subject to further review in the light of price index changes triggered by the increase in pump price of petrol.

I have been advised by the Ministry of Works that in addition to those 152 roads, there are 65 roads upon which work commenced in the last 12 to 18 months, bringing the total of roads that we hope to deliver at the end of this budget cycle to 217.

The impact of the Lagos State Public Works Corporation in resurfacing and restoring damaged Lagos roads is also being felt.

In the last 100 days, PWC has resurfaced 230 Roads across all the Local Governments in Lagos State. Time will not permit me to list them but the names of each and every one of those roads can be found on their website – www.lspwc-ng.com.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to inform you that the PWC is thinking ahead. We will be able to work continuously from now until the rainy season starts, because we have stockpiled all the necessary materials and equipment for speedier repairs.

Furthermore, the Lagos State Government's Asphalt Plant which was commissioned in November 1997 with a capacity to produce 300 metric tonnes of asphalt per hour has undergone Turn Around Maintenance twice – in 2006 and more recently in October 2011 when production capacity had dropped to 120 metric tonnes per hour.

In line with our Government's policy to build capacity in the public service for sustainable development, in-house PWC engineers underwent training in plant maintenance and repair from the same company in Italy that originally built the Plant.

Armed with this capacity, our PWC engineers were able to complete the Turn Around Maintenance successfully on the 21st of November 2011 and restore the Plant to its optimum capacity of 300 metric tonnes per hour. They were assisted only by two technicians from the company in Italy.

In addition to road works, the Ministry of Environment is already out there, constructing more drains, cleaning existing ones and preparing our drains to perform at optimum capacity, when the now inevitable heavy rains commence.

As citizens, we all owe a duty to ourselves not only to support the efforts of the Ministry to clear up the drains closest to us, but also to ensure that we do not allow them to be constricted through refuse dumping after they have been cleaned up.

I must alert all of us, that the continuous patronage of cart pushers by some residents inspite of our numerous appeals to dissuade this practice, has been found to be a significant cause of refuse dumping in our drains.

In addition to the drains and the roads, we have been focussing our attention on housing.

We have identified several sites, out of which awards have been made for the construction of housing blocks of one-, two- and three- bedroom units in such places like Ogba, Omole, Alimosho, Lekki, Suru-Lere, Ikorodu, Ilupeju, Amuwo Odofin, Agbowa, Magodo to mention but a few.

This year we are hopeful that, subject to funding, we will commence construction on the remaining sites.

Hopefully, before the end of the first quarter of 2012, we will formally launch the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme (Lagos HOMS) designed to make owning a home a reality by providing the opportunity for citizens to access affordable mortgage finance.

As part of our commitment to focus much more intensely on driving and delivering benefits directly into citizens' hands, we are expanding the scope of our agricultural plans to include increased planting, milling, bagging and the supply of rice.

I am happy to announce that two strategic projects to support this endeavour have virtually been completed – the Imota Rice Mill in Ikorodu, which is now fully completed and presently undergoing pre-commissioning testing; and the Itoga Irrigation Project in Badagry, which is also nearly completed, preparatory to commissioning.

With these projects now in place, you will re-call that I had previously briefed you about the increase of our rice cultivation from 20 (Twenty) to 250 (Two Hundred and Fifty) hectares; now, we are ready to scale up to 500 hectares cultivation and also improve the yield per hectare and through the milling and irrigation expand the utility of the value chain in rice farming and create more jobs.

I have also observed the critical challenges our citizens are facing in the supply of bread and we are working out the finer details of an aggressive bread production programme that will be driven, managed and owned by young people as a strategy for them to earn a living while providing a source of a staple food. As details are concluded I will brief you about the progress.

I am pleased about the positive and encouraging progress in our secondary and tertiary healthcare sector, not only in infrastructure renewal but also in the commissioning of critical maternal childcare facilities.

Similarly, I am greatly inspired by the pledge of our doctors to the effect that no matter the provocation, there will never again be a strike by doctors in Lagos State.

But for me this is not the end of the matter. I acknowledge that our doctors face enormous pressures at the secondary and tertiary levels because our people have bypassed the primary health care sector.

Our very detailed investigations reveal that there is either a lack of knowledge of or confidence in, the primary health care system.

We have therefore, in conjunction with the Local Governments made a commitment to provide at least one 24-hour service primary health care facility in every Local Government in Lagos State in the shortest possible time.

We have actualised our resolve to guarantee the health and safety of our mothers and children by commissioning the Ajeromi Maternal and Childcare Centre in Ajegunle; this is the fourth of eight such facilities being built across the State and is coming on the heels of the ones that have been commissioned at Ikorodu, Isolo and Ifako-Ijaiye.

Like the others, the 110 bed facility was designed for women and children as a determined response to the consequences of distance and access to health facilities. The absence in the past of such facilities within reasonable distance had compounded the index profiles of maternal and infant mortality.

Before the Ajegunle centre was opened, pregnant women from that part of Lagos, had to travel all the way to Lagos Island Maternity. This was a trend we were determined to reverse and we are succeeding.

Happily the Gbaja, Alimosho and the Amuwo Odofin Maternal and Childcare Centres have also been completed and will also be commissioned in the next few weeks.

This year, we will also be implementing the Lagos State Residents Registration Programme to ensure that every resident, as distinct from indigene, is registered in Lagos State.

I use the word "Residents" deliberately and advisedly, because it applies to every person of whatever faith, color or ethnic group who is a Nigerian, and who lives in Lagos.

The benefits will be immeasurable. I have received a number of text messages and emails expressing concern about the presence in our State of people categorised as aliens from other countries.

Until such a time as we begin to provide identification, which this programme will do, it will be difficult to separate immigrants from residents, especially as I remain mindful of our treaty obligations regarding freedom of movement within the ECOWAS sub-region.

This will become the most critical test to ascertain the number of residents for whom the Lagos State Government has a responsibility to provide services. Until we know that, we cannot provide those services efficiently.

We have commenced a pilot registration exercise with the public servants to test run the project before coming to the larger public.

I would therefore appeal to everyone to cooperate with our enumerators when the scheme commences to ensure accuracy.

We remain committed to implementing the modernization of the Mile 12 - Ikorodu Road.

The design of the road is ready and we are working with the Federal Government and the World Bank to conclude financing on the project, which will cost about N30 billion.

We appeal for understanding as we are mindful of the present discomfort that commuters in that area face, but we assure Lagosians that relief will come soon.

In that axis also, work is progressing on the Ibeshe Road which will link Ikorodu with Ajah-Badore, obviating the need to travel through the Lagos metropolis to reach Lekki and its environs.

In the last 100 days, we have successfully handed over a block of 21 classrooms to Birch Freeman High School, Surulere and a block of 12 classrooms at Adegoke Primary School, also in Surulere. This is part of our efforts to restore physical infrastructure and create a conducive learning environment in our public schools across the State.

We will not relent in this effort because we are mindful of the significance that education; and by extension the environment in which that education is provided, has, in building our future generations.

At the tertiary level of education, we are also making inspiring progress, inspite of challenges of managing changes that we have to make.

On the 1st of November 2011, Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa, was appointed Vice Chancellor for the Lagos State University (LASU). He is gradually settling down in office and has dedicated himself to the noble idea of restoring the past glory of the institution.

Time was when LASU was a reference point amongst universities. LASU exploded onto the tertiary education scene in the mid-eighties and shot straight to the top.

Despite its relatively young age, LASU was only the second university in Nigeria's history to appoint a female Vice Chancellor – the erudite law professor, Jadesola Akande of blessed memory.

Some of you may remember that the very first year that LASU law graduates attended the Nigerian Law School, the only first class certificate awarded that year was to a student of LASU – Mr. (now Dr.) Ige Bolodeoku.

That is the Lagos State University we knew. That is the Lagos State University our people deserve. And I make you my solemn vow - that is the Lagos State University you will get.

We have already started. A number of projects aimed at transforming the learning environment into a world class institution of higher learning are in various stages of completion – namely:

• The School of Transport;
• The 1000 capacity Faculty of Law Library;
• The Main Auditorium; and the
• LASU International School block of classrooms

Additional contracts have also been awarded in the last 100 days for the construction of:

• The Senate Building;
• The Central Library;
• The Faculty of Management Sciences Complex;
• An ultra-modern 3-in-1 Lecture Theatre; and
• The Students Union Arcade.

Recently we introduced a new fee structure for new intakes of students starting from the beginning of the next academic session. Not unexpectedly, there have been outcries; mainly from people who erroneously believed that the increase was to take immediate effect and from others who think that the increase is deliberately discriminatory against citizens who cannot afford the fees.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. The new fee structure was part of the recommendation of the Visitation Panel demanded by the students in order to arrest the rapidly deteriorating image of LASU and position it for greater academic excellence.

Our students are entitled to enjoy the right of studying in the very best environment and to compete against themselves, in an atmosphere where children of the rich and poor interact.

It is in our view a very dangerous time bomb, to continue to perpetuate a segregation of our children in a way that a university such as LASU becomes attractive only to the children of the poor.

What we have done to mitigate the impact on the poor and to guarantee access to them, is first to ensure that sitting students do not pay the new fee regime throughout the remainder of their course, and secondly to increase the 2012 budget provision for scholarship to cover every indigent child that applies.

We are also re-constituting the Scholarship Board to make it more efficient and accessible to deserving indigent studnets without discrimination.

In our view, the only problem posed by the adoption of the recommendation for a fee increase is that of access.

We are mindful of the public concerns about this and we think that the provision of scholarships and bursaries as I have stated provide a credible remedy to that problem, even as we do not foreclose other alternatives by well-meaning and concerned citizens, such as the option of instalmental payment which I have also approved.

I must also report to you that, pursuant to the notice that I gave during the presentation of the Year 2012 Budget, the tolling on the 49 kilometre Lekki – Epe Expressway commenced on the 19th of December, 2011.

The commencement marked a turning point in public-private partnerships in infrastructure development in Nigeria and is the first toll road of its kind in sub Saharan Africa, outside of South Africa.

The road represents a major investment of ultra-modern road furniture including covered drainage channels, excellent streetlight illumination, pedestrian pavements and medians, directional road signs, well marked lanes, 24-hour security, maintenance and emergency patrol and overhead pedestrian bridges, amongst others.

The toll plaza is technologically driven, with payment options of cash, electronic and bulk payment.

This infrastructure has brought on a series of complimentary business and real property investment that has silently helped to cement a major slum regeneration of an area like Maroko, that used to be a sore for Lagos and Nigeria.

Whilst acknowledging some hitches experienced at commencement, I express my heartfelt thanks and congratulations to all Lagosians.

Majority of them endorsed this project, which has put us on the international investment map as a people with whom foreign investors can do business because we respect the sanctity of contracts.

The international finance community is watching and we have not been found wanting. With the successful progress recorded with this project, it is clear to foreign investors that Lagos is open for business.

For this I am grateful. For it is only with the benefit of such partnerships that we can provide this magnitude of infrastructure for the benefit of our people.

I am aware of the disagreement and discontent of some residents along the Lekki axis who are opposed to the toll.

Our officials have been in consultations with many of the interest groups in that axis for over a year before tolling commenced and we remain committed to continuing engagement with them.

I must however also acknowledge with gratitude, the various groups – residents, religious leaders and traditional rulers, who made representations and useful recommendations.

I want to assure you all that we are working diligently on them to see how we can continue to improve on the service and respond to those concerns.

I would like to reiterate that I accept that our actions can never be without question. However we must at all times remain within the bounds of lawful conduct, which I am glad to note that most citizens did.

It is in that light therefore, that I condemn in its entirety, the irresponsible reporting by the Nigerian Tribune and the Compass newspapers of the alleged killing of a protester by security agents.

I thank the police for their swift response in investigating this incident and their subsequent unearthing of the fact that both newspapers carried entirely false and baseless reports.

The alleged victim soon arose from the "dead" so to speak, to robustly proclaim that he is alive. To ensure that this sort of conduct is not allowed to mar the noble profession of journalism; I have directed that a petition be forwarded to the Nigerian Press Council for redress, and the Lagos State Government will seek legal redress for the malicious damage to its reputation and goodwill.

Distinguished Ladies and gentlemen, this is a modest summary of what we have been doing with your time and your resources for the last 100 days which incidentally coincided with the end of the Year 2011.

These also represents some of the impacts and outputs of the committed implementation of the Year 2011 budget, whose overall performance stood at 77%.

The impact is also evident in the rice mill and irrigation projects that I mentioned earlier, the road repairs and construction, lane marking of our roads and improvement of road infrastructure such as traffic lights and street lighting, the Island power IPP project, the additional provision of patrol vehicles and equipment for security agencies, to mention but a few.

As I mentioned earlier, the change in the pump price of petrol has resulted in a movement of price indices which calls for a review of some of our project estimates.

This impact also affects citizens across sectors and we have commenced meetings with stakeholders such as transport workers with a view to seeing what Government can do through negotiations and intervention to mitigate the impact of these price changes on the citizens.

Ultimately, it is consultations that will promote the sense of restraint that is needed to ensure that we all do not inflict unnecessary pain on one another.

From time to time, as we progress, you will be briefed about the outcomes and any agreements that these consultations produce; and about other policies that Government will implement, including the deployment of more high capacity diesel powered buses on the expanding BRT routes.

Dear Lagosians, I must not end before I seize the opportunity to express, on behalf of my colleagues in the Lagos State Executive Council and the entire public service, my profound appreciation to you all for your cooperation and understanding.

Some of our policies may be uncomfortable, but sometimes it is difficult to avoid some discomfort in our quest to build a better society, community and State for the next generation and for posterity.

Whenever we all ask for better roads, hospitals, schools, markets and even wages, we are asking for change. That change comes at a cost but at the end of the day if we keep the faith we will all reap the benefits.

Dear Lagosians, this is where you have chosen to live, work and play and this Government will do its best to make it as comfortable as possible for you all, irrespective of your faith and ethnic origin and will continue to lay a solid foundation for the next generation.

I thank you enormously for the patience and attention.

Eko o ni baje o.

Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN
Governor of Lagos State