HIGHLIGHTS
- Nigerians, here are your ministers and their portfolios
- Ministerial portfolios: I ensured round pegs in round holes to avoid non-performance – Buhari
- Full Text Of President Buhari’s Address At The Swearing-In Ceremony Of Ministers
- Buhari’s 11 requirements for the newly inaugurated Ministers
- Under my watch: ICT will become next alternative to oil – Shittu
- Fashola Reports for Duty, Pledges Continuity
- Inauguration day remarks by Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu
- IG: Insurgency Claims 90,000 Police Officers in 4 Years
- Lagos Govt. replies The Economist.
The 36 new Nigeria Ministers and their portfolios
The full list include:
2. Aisha Alhassan – (Taraba) Minister of Women Affairs
3. Ogbonaya Onu- (Ebonyi) Minister of Science and Technology
4. Kemi Adeosun – (Ogun) Minister of Finance
5. Abubakar Malami – (Kebbi) Minister of Justice & Attorney-General
6. Barr. Adebayo Shittu – (Oyo) Minister of Communication
7. Suleiman Adamu – (Jigawa) Minister of Water Resources
8. Solomon Dalong – (Plateau) Minister for Youth and Sports
9. Lai Mohammed – (Kwara) Minister of Information
10. Dan Ali (Zamfara) Minister of Defence
11. Muhammadu Bello (Adamawa) Minister of Federal Capital Territory
12. Rotimi Amaechi – (Rivers) Minister of Transportation
13. Sen Hadi Sirika – (Katsina) Minister of State, Aviation
14. Chris Ngige – (Anambra) Minister of Labour & Employment
15. Barr James Ocholi (Kogi) Minister of State, Labour & Employment
16. Kayode Fayemi- (Ekiti) Minister of Solid Minerals
17. Abubakar Bawa Bwari (Niger) Minister of State, Solid Minerals
18. Babatunde Fashola -(Lagos) Minister of Power, Works and Housing
19. Mustapha Baba Shehuri (Bornu) Minister of State, Power
20. Audu Ogbeh – (Benue) Minister of Agriculture
21. Heineken Lokpobiri (Bayelsa) Minister of State, Agriculture
22. Udo Udo Udoma – (Akwa Ibom) Minister of Budget & National Planning
23. Zainab Ahmed (Kaduna) Minister of State Budget and National Planning
24. Geoffrey Onyema (Enugu) Minister of Foreign Affairs
25. Hajia Khadija Bukar Ibrahim- (Yobe) Minister of State, Foreign Affairs
26. Amina Mohammed – (Gombe) Minister of Environment
27. Ibrahim Usman Jibril – (Nasarawa) Minister of State, Environment
28. Okechukwu Enelamah (Abia) Minister of Trade, Investment & Industry
29. Aisha Abubakar (Sokoto) Minister of State, Trade & Investment
30. Adamu Adamu (Bauchi) Minister of Education
31. Prof Anthony Onwuka (Imo) Minister of State, Education
32. Isaac Adewole (Osun) Minister of Health
33. Osagie Ehanire – (Edo) Minister of State, Health
34. Pastor Usani Uguru (Cross River) Minister of Niger Delta
35. Cladius Omoleye Daramola (Ondo) Minister of State, Niger Delta
36. Ibe Kachikwu – (Delta) Minister of State, Petroleum
* President Muhammadu Buhari- Minister of Petroleum
Ministerial portfolios: I ensured round pegs in round holes to avoid non-performance – Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday said he ensured round pegs were placed in round holes to avoid non-performances as regards designation of portfolio’s to the newly sworn-in 36 ministers who are to form his cabinet.
The swearing-in, which was done in nine batches at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa , was witnessed by two guests of each of the appointees, some governors and chieftains of the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The president, who also takes charge of the Ministry of Petroleum as substantive Minister, described the event as a milestone and added that since his inauguration in May, he had been optimistic of bringing high quality persons into his cabinet.
He said the choice was deliberate to appoint square pegs in square holes to avoid the mistake of appointing those who would not perform.
“We are optimistic that bringing these set of ministers into the service of our country today, is a step in the right direction and timely move towards realising our positive goals for our country.
“Since we assumed office in May, I had been mindful of the need to ensure that the appointment of new ministers translate into a round pegs in round holes while showing sensitivity to our diversity as a people and our various positions as groups of stakeholders of our country.
“I have also been conscious of the need not to repeat such mistakes of the past where the right people were allocated the wrong portfolios which translated into their performing poorly to our collective detriment despite their obvious capability,” he said.
The president said the government would continue to implement its policies decisively.
The president said the government was determined to diversify the economy to make the agriculture and solid mineral sectors major revenue earners.
“The primary aim is to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of rice, wheat and to become a major consumer and exporter of those items as well as solid minerals,’’ Mr. Buhari said.
He said the administration would pursue policies that would generate employment, improve security, tackle corruption and rout Boko Haram insurgency and other social vices.
The president said his administration had made progress in its short period, which should be taken as indication that more could be achieved through common resolve and patriotism by all.
He said the introduction of the Treasury Single Account had conserved foreign exchange and made money available for governance.
The president added that the Central Bank of Nigeria had implemented specific policies to strengthen the naira and preserve foreign reserves.
He said the administration was poised to sustain economic growth through transparent governance, which had led to a reduction of “cynicism” about government.
After the inauguration, the Federal Executive Council held its inaugural meeting.
Full Text Of President Buhari’s Address At The Swearing-In Ceremony Of Ministers
Your Excellency, The Vice President;
Professor Yemi Osinbajo;
The Senate President, and the Hon. Speaker, House of Representatives;
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Justice Mahmoud Mohammed;
The National Chairman, All Progressive Congress, Chief John Oyegun;
National Leader of APC, Chief Bisi Akande;
Other APC Executive Committee Members here present;
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation;
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation;
Honourable Ministers;
Members of the Diplomatic Corps;
Members of the Press and Invited Guests.
Today we have reached another milestone in the evolution of our new government which Nigerians overwhelmingly voted into office in the March 28th, 2015 general elections. Today we witness the swearing-in of new ministers of the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
2. Since our inauguration on May 29, 2015, the Vice President and I have been mindful of the need to constitute a cabinet that will best deliver our expectations of a better country than we inherited. We want to work towards a prosperous nation respected for the right reasons, and whose citizens can hold up their heads anywhere in the world. And we are optimistic that bringing this set of ministers into the service of our country today is a step in the right direction, a timely move towards realizing our positive goals for our country.
3. Since we assumed office in May, I have been mindful of the need to ensure that the appointment of new ministers translates into putting round pegs in round holes while showing sensitivity to our diversity as a people and our various positions as groups of stakeholders in our country.
4. I have also been conscious of the need not to repeat such mistakes of the past where the right people were allocated the wrong portfolios, which translated into their performing poorly to our collective detriment despite their obvious capabilities. Also, I have responded to the counsel to consult as widely as possible, given the need to build a stable and all-inclusive government by reaching across our various ethnic and political divides.
5. With the inauguration of ministers, our government shall continue more decisively to implement its policies in respect of the economy and in other areas. While working hard to maximise revenue from oil in the face of a sharp decline in the price for the commodity, we are determined to diversify the economy in agriculture to enhance employment and explore solid minerals as a major revenue earner.
6. The primary aim is to achieve self-sufficiency in the production of such staples as rice and wheat and to become a major consumer and exporter of both items as well as solid minerals. We intend to pursue policies that will generate massive employment for millions of our youth.
7. We shall also continue with greater determination and focus to pursue our goal of ensuring improved security for our country and its citizens, and without letting up on our fight against corruption. Our commitment to defeat Boko Haram and all the threats it constitutes remains as strong as ever. So is our resolve to root out vices such as kidnapping and neutralise the various forms of criminalities that threaten the social peace of Nigerians.
8. While recognizing the challenges we face and the need to surmount them, let us not fail to note the progress we have made in the short life of this government, as an indication of how much better we can do as a people driven by patriotism and a common resolve to do things right.
9. On the moral sphere, trust is slowly but steadily being re-established between the government and the people. Now, when the government speaks, the people listen; and when the people’s expectations are not met, they appreciate that it is not for lack of commitment or trying on the part of government. In effect, government business is now being conducted with transparency and cynicism is waning as a result.
10. Our adoption of the Treasury Single Account has resulted in the blocking of financial leakages in the public sector, making more funds available for the business of governance and ensuring the welfare of our citizens. The Central Bank of Nigeria has also assisted more than 30 States of the federation with concessionary loans to offset salary arrears for their workers. On the monetary side, the CBN has also implemented country-specific and innovative policies that have helped to stabilize the exchange rate and conserve our reserves.
11. Finally, our new ministers must proceed to work speedily and do their utmost to justify the confidence we have placed in them not only by their conduct but also by their performance in their various positions.
12. Over all our economy is poised for sustained job creation, poverty reduction and inclusive growth. Regardless of the present challenges we are confronting, I believe all Nigerians will keep hope alive and sustain their optimism about the future of our economic well being.
13. The Ministries have been rationalised and reduced to twenty-four. These are the Ministries and their Ministers.
These are the Ministries and their Ministers
S/N NAME MINISTRY
1 ABUBAKAR MALAMI (SAN) JUSTICE
2 GEOFFREY ONYEAMA FOREIGN AFFAIRS
3 KHADIJA BUKAR ABBA IBRAHIM STATE MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
4 BRIG. GEN. MM DAN ALI DEFENCE
5 ADAMU ADAMU EDUCATION
6 PROF. ANTHONY ANWUKAH STATE MINISTER OF EDUCATION
7 MRS KEMI ADEOSUN FINANCE
8 OKECHUKWU ENELAMAH INDUSTRY, TRADE AND INVESTMENT
9 MS. A’ISHA ABUBAKAR STATE MINISTER OF INDUSTRY, TRADE AND INVESTMENT
10 DR. (SEN) CHRIS NWABUEZE NGIGE LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
11 BARRISTER JAMES E. OCHOLI STATE MINISTER OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
12 MUHAMMADU BELLO FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY
13 ABDULRAHMAN BELLO DANBAZAU INTERIOR
14 UDOMA UDO UDOMA BUDGET AND NATIONAL PLANNING
15 ZAINAB SHAMSUNA AHMED STATE MINISTER OF BUDGET AND NATIONAL PLANNING
16 EMMANUEL IBE KACHIKWU STATE MINISTER OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES
17 BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA (SAN) POWER, WORKS AND HOUSING
18 MUSTAPHA BABA SHEHURI STATE MINISTER OF POWER, WORKS AND HOUSING
19 CHIEF AUDU INNOCENT OGBEH AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
20 HEINEKEN LOKPOBIRI STATE MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
21 CHIBUIKE ROTIMI AMAECHI TRANSPORTATION
22 SENATOR HADI SIRIKA STATE MINISTER OF AVIATION
23 ISAAC FOLORUNSHO ADEWOLE HEALTH
24 DR. OSAGIE EHANIRE STATE MINISTER OF HEALTH
25 SENATOR A’ISHA JUMMAI AL-HASSAN WOMEN AFFAIRS
26 PASTOR USANI USANI UGURU NIGER DELTA
27 CLAUDIUS OMOLEYE DARAMOLA STATE MINISTER OF NIGER DELTA
28 BARRISTER ADEBAYO SHITTU COMMUNICATIONS
29 LAI MOHAMMED INFORMATION
30 AMINA MUHAMMED ENVIRONMENT
31 IBRAHIM USMAN JIBRIL STATE MINISTER OF ENVIRONMENT
32 ENG. SULEIMAN ADAMU WATER RESOURCES
33 BARRISTER SOLOMON DALONG YOUTH AND SPORTS
34 KAYODE FAYEMI SOLID MINERALS
35 ABUBAKAR BAWA BWARI STATE MINISTER OF SOLID MINERALS
36 DR OGBONNAYA ONU SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Best of Luck
MUHAMMADU BUHARI
Buhari’s 11 requirements for the newly inaugurated Ministers
1. Foreign travels must be duty-related
2. Ministers must operate within lean resources;
3. No more flamboyance
4. Strict adherence to the rule of law
5. Compliance to Civil Service Rules
6. Living above board;
7. Co-operation with Permanent Secretaries
8. No more rancour between ministers and ministers of State
9. Appointment of some aides should be from the civil service
10. Drastic reduction of vehicles in convoys
11. All decisions must lead to change.
Under my watch: ICT will become next alternative to oil – Shittu
The Minister of Communications Technology, Mr. Adebayo Shittu, says he is committed to make telecommunications and Information Technology (IT), the next major source of revenue for the economy.
Shittu made the pledge Wednesday, while addressing directors and staff of the Ministry of Communications Technology on assumption of duty in Abuja.
The Minister said the plan was based on the continued dwindling fortunes of the oil and gas, which is the main stay of the nation’s economy and promised to turn the situation around by exploring the untapped potentials of the ICT sector as an alternative source of revenue to the economy.
” Well, we can tap on agriculture to recover lost ground in terms of revenue generation and finances, but this takes time.
“But God has help us in this country with our large population that use telecommunications and IT in their daily lives.
“That means that telecommunication will serve as the new cashcow for the country and I’m going to pursue this and I want all of you to in the ministry to join me in evolving policies that will make us have the best that we can in terms of income generation from telecommunication technology.”
Shittu who promised to run an open and inclusive government, said his administration will all the existing bureaucratic bottlenecks in the administration of the Change agenda of President Buhhari.
“I want to interact with everybody in the ministry and I want assistance by way of ideas and quality suggestions. I have always been a no respecter of the cut and dry type of bureaucracy. I’m ready to run an exemplary leadership.”
Read the rest: VANGUARD
Fashola Reports for Duty, Pledges Continuity
The new Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola on Wednesday reported for duty at the federal secretariat, seeking to continue with reforms in the power sector.
The former governor of Lagos State was received at the ministry with jubilation from staff. He was subsequently received by the Director, Human Resources of the ministry, Mrs Grace Papka and immediately went into a meeting with the directors of the ministry.
Fashola however refused to address the press but a statement from the media head of the ministry, Timothy Oyedeji, said that he stated at the meeting his thoughts on how to bring together activities of all the ministries now under his supervision for effective service delivery.
He was quoted to have said: “We are here to work with you, in solving problems on ground as quickly as possible. We want to know if some of those problems are man-made or systemic.
“We want information on what has been done, what remains to be done, and what are the future plans. We want to continue from there.”
Inauguration day remarks by Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu
… (As Transcribed)
The work in this ministry is going to be intense. There is a lot to be done. Those of you who manage to follow my antecedents at the NNPC, will find that I go at a fairly fast rocket pace. But I do understand that the civil service is also cautions one to be careful, and that is where the permanent secretaries come into play.
She will put the blinders. It is not racing for racing sake, but racing to change the direction. We have lost a lot of momentum in the sector by virtue of the past goings on couple on with the difficulties in the international environment. We now need to begin to sit down and map out very clear deliverables for us. I will imagine that in the first couple of months we will let the MDs of various parastatals work with us to understand what the agenda of this administration is.
But very quickly, we will be able to sit down and see if they have the capacity to deliver those results. I want to put that on the table. I am not saying I am going to change people, but we would absolutely require them to show an ability to deliver the sort of change mantra that we are looking for.
A lot of that is going on in the NNPC and part of the reason I might be straddling on both portfolios for a while is to help finish some of the change process that we are undergoing and then fairly quickly, hopefully at some point in time, hand that over. Which means that one’s responsibility is going to be enormous in terms of size and I am going to be relying on the permanent secretary too, sometimes can hold the forte here when I’m not.
Clearly, this cannot be done by person and the beauty of human associations is that once you get everybody join an inclusive relationship, everybody delivers.
I do not have the magic wand. I might have some good ideas, but those ideas will have to come from all of us and all of us will have to buy into it. One thing is certain, and we can be sure of whichever time I spend here, it is going to be spent with a lot of respect for the dignity of people. I am a very respectful person and I give as much as I expect to have.
So you wouldn’t have anybody treating you with some level of disrespect.
My direction would also be clear. I don’t believe in fringe directions, it will be very clear and very transparent and we will have a clear line of sight in terms of where we are going to.
As far as the president is concern, I think they are very key substantial deliverable. One is that the working environment and the perception about this ministry must change. We are working hard to do that in NNPC and the ministry that have supervisory powers of the NNPC must even do more.
That whole change processes must begin to come from you, you are the leaders and if you do not show this essence of change, in terms of speed, in terms of skill sets and in terms of behaviourial norms, then we are wasting our time, expecting that the junior ones are going to deliver on those.
Secondly is that we have dwindling resources and yet the whole nation depends on this ministry to provide the resources, so we must be able to begin to put on the cap on how do we cut cost? How do we improve on earnings, how do we meet federation account requirements? How do we put controls that are essential to prevent leakages? How do we develop new income streams? How do we develop investments?
So, grow income, cut costs, help the federation stabilize, those are very key. I think that once we take these, we have probably gotten a basic element of where we are headed.
The third is people must be happy where they work. We most times spend most part of our lives in work centers and if we are not happy where we work, no matter how much we are paid, it is not going to make a difference, one is going to be a sad difference and a sad person never delivers good end results.
I like to be able to, hopefully, do what we have done in just three months at the NNPC, which is create an environment where people can come home to work and feel at home. Which means it takes respect, clear line of sight and duties and it also requires working affiliatively, like brothers and sisters.
If you do that, you create an environment where everybody is happy to come to work.Everybody is important in the stream of things and we all have to put hands together take them along and make sure they are comfortable.
Today, I want to begin a change in this place and tomorrow when I come to work, it would be a different ministry.
The basic rules, I like to respect processes and systems.
There are reasons why the civil service processes are in place. I will challenge those processes to change and be fast and not to crawl, but I will not go outside the system. I don’t do that. I also respect hierarchy. The permanent secretary is the most senior civil servant in this room; I will expect her to be respected accordingly because I will also respect her.
It would be a bumpy ride, let us join the race, it is going to be exciting also.
The direction for me and this administration is straightforward; find more oil, find more gas, monetize them, put money in the hands of the government. Every other thing we do is around those and obviously we have to worry about what we do and how we do with environmental issues so that oil producing communities do not feel left behind and their environment destroyed.
That is the simple policy; every other thing we do is hedged around these policies.
On PIB, government believes in PIB still. Government wants to see the PIB come through. However, Government has indicated that there is a need to look at the PIB as was submitted to the sixth assembly and try and tinker with it.
They are all kinds of issues, one of those is whether we need to yank out the fiscal terms and develop them into a different law relying on existing laws or amend those, or whether we do that as a separate component of law. I have having dialogue with the senate, who are moving fairly fast in some analysis of this.
But key is engagement. What made the previous one fail was that a lot of sectors did not feel they were sufficiently engaged. I think that one of the things that the senate is actually is doing is to make us co-own the Bill so that we spent the energy that is required to do the seed work of engagement and amendment so that we all have a Bill that we are all not going to fight about in the national Assembly, but one that have everyone wrap their hands around.
On the current fuel crisis, the money approved by the by the president has not reached physically because there is a process that our constitution requires in terms of approving those sorts of expenditures. They are extra budget, so the president is taking time to write to the assembly to appraise some of the need to do this because when you don’t do this some of them their factories will be closed, their capacity imports are almost zero and their staff has not been paid for some months.
Read the rest: VANGUARD
IG: Insurgency Claims 90,000 Police Officers in 4 Years
The Inspector General of Police (IG), Mr. Solomon Arase, Wednesday said about 90,000 police officers and men lost their lives since the insurgency started four years ago.
Arase made the disclosure to newsmen shortly after addressing men and officers at the Police Command headquarters in Sokoto.
He stated that the Police had a record of about 90,000 widows who lost their husbands since the insurgency began in the North-east.
According to him, the Nigeria Police Force had initiated a scheme to cater for the families of officers who lost their lives while on duty in the North-east.
The Inspector General disclosed that a scholarship scheme had been set up to take care of the children of slain officers.
"We have incorporated a scholarship scheme for the children of our officers who lost their lives in the North-east. This is to ensure that they will continue with their studies so as to enable them achieve their potential,"Arase stated.
He noted that the total number of men and officers in the Police Force were currently inadequate to effectively protect the lives and property of the citizens.
Read the rest: THIS DAY LIVE
Lagos Govt. replies The Economist
The Lagos State Government has taken note of an article in the latest edition of The Economist magazine entitled “Paralysed: Why Nigeria’s largest city is even less navigable than usual” and has considered a rebuttal necessary, in view of the bile and bias contained in it.
The said article has since gained frenetic, orchestrated spread in both social and traditional media in Nigeria, helped in part, ostensibly, by a push from a recalcitrant legion of traducers still struggling with the reality of a new helmsman whose idea of progress in Lagos State factors in electoral promises and respect for human dignity.
If we excuse the fact that the offensive article in The Economist came out last weekend just about the time that Lagos State Government has added some bite to its security and traffic management efforts, what shall we call the curious ‘culling’ of the said article by some local media? For only last Friday, the media had widely reported Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s comprehensive enforcement effort on traffic management, which in a matter of days has already started yielding positive results and wooing converts to the Ambode cause.
Is it not painfully obvious that fifth columnists have hijacked this one-sided reportage in The Economist that failed to take into account the bigger picture of an emerging reform policy, designed to address the larger concerns in the management of security, traffic and the environment? If we were to conclude hastily, like the article did, we would have described the magazine’s effort in the same words it once famously used as “an unpleasant nose-to-stranger’s-armpit experience.”
But we won’t necessarily query the original motive by asking “what is it about foreign correspondents that makes them believe they are the ultimate authority” on a city they have only covered for a few years, as India’s Swarajya magazine did last year in taking The Economist to the cleaners when it ran a harsh report on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appearance at Madison Square Garden in the United States.
However, because the magazine got its report on Lagos wrong on every score, what is important is to deconstruct the fallacies therein:
Firstly, The Economist claimed Governor Ambode cut the powers of “traffic controllers by banning them from impounding cars” and “officers have refused to enforce the rules.” This is inaccurate and preposterous.
In July, what the Governor did was to task the officers of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) to release to the owners hoards of impounded vehicles that had clogged LASTMA offices for several months or years without claims or retrievals. What’s the use of turning a government agency into a junkyard thereby blocking space for other offending vehicles that could be taken in?
The Governor also enjoined them to choose booking offenders through a ticketing system backed by the same type of technology used in licensing and tracking vehicles instead of impounding the vehicles as first option. If technology could work for vehicle licencing and tracking, why should we be timid of exploring a similarly convenient option that saves time and money and shows a more people-friendly approach to law enforcement?
Both considerations, of course, arose out of the campaign promises that the governor made to voters. But to The Economist, this is inadequate and anything that falls short of a show of force and dehumanizing traffic offenders is unacceptable to this international magazine that used to stoutly stand for human rights and civic engagements.
That The Economist sees nothing wrong in recalcitrant officers refusing to carry out a directive by their employer is as surprising as it is shameful. Shockingly still, the veil finally came off this curious article when it states that by choosing a compassionate approach to enforcement, Governor Ambode is less competent and has deviated from his predecessor’s template. But what legacy has The Economist bequeathed to former Governor Babatunde Fashola? “Cars were terrified into order by a state traffic agency, LASTMA, whose bribe-hungry officers flagged down offending drivers.”
This is clearly an uncharitable summation of traffic management under the last administration. It is disrespectful, even more condescending to the officers of LASTMA and to Lagosians in general for whom the magazine purports to be fighting. In any case, if indeed some officers were corrupt in LASTMA, by The Economist’s damning verdict, should Governor Ambode continue to maintain such a tainted template? Is this the magazine’s idea of the end justifies the means or it is negligible because this is Africa?
Secondly, the magazine dismissed as mere excuses Governor Ambode’s explanations that the rains and the unprecedented influx of ‘internal economic migrants’ and escaped insurgents from the North-East were major causative agents of worsened gridlock and a slight rise in crime in traffic within the metropolis. It is curious how a magazine of this stature would ignore weighty intelligence reports from both the Assistant Inspector General of Police of the Zone 2 Command and the Lagos State Police Commissioner.
While the latter said at a press conference last month that as military intervention intensifies in the beleaguered North-East of Nigeria, insurgents are escaping and finding their ways into Lagos and a few other states, the latter said Lagos has witnessed an unprecedented influx of ‘migrants’ from other states in the last six months as harsh economic realities in the country bite harder, leaving 27 states struggling with payments of workers’ salaries.
In a May 3, 2014 article, The Economist in ‘The Tube Strike’ publication had no qualms linking incessant tube strikes with disruptions in traffic situation in London, it even examined it along the larger socio-economic reality of the city. The magazine agreed that “in the past decade, passenger journeys have risen by 29%. As jobs became concentrated in central London, more people are traveling from outer suburbia…and that between 2003 and 2012 the average number of people entering the underground system in zone one – the most central – on a weekday morning rose by 23%, while the number entering in zone six rose by 41%.”
But it refuses to accept that as the economies in many Nigerian states face sustainability challenge, the first point of call for internal migrants is Lagos where civil servants’ salaries are not owed; the Internally Generated Revenue is larger than those of 31 states in Nigeria combined and the Gross Domestic Product is larger than those of 42 African countries combined.
Changes in demography could necessitate incessant strikes in London without The Economist recommending a “terrified into order” treatment that the magazine celebrates as the only language of enforcement in Lagos.
Is the magazine advocating different standards for treating people in London and Lagos? If it is called traffic management in London, why is The Economist advocating a show-of-force treatment for Lagosians?
Also, it alleges that “the biggest concern is that the gridlock is a sign of a breakdown in relations between security forces, government agencies and the new governor.” Not only is this assertion unprofessional, it is equally reckless and slanderous.
The bile in this is unmistakable.
But it came a tad late as the Governor has since rolled out an effective, comprehensive security and traffic management solutions with the active participation of every security stakeholder like the Police, the Directorate of State Services (DSS), Army, Navy and Air Force.
On this solution that has since rolled out against every form of impunity on the roads, critical stakeholders like tank farm owners, and association of trailer, commercial motorcycles, tricycles, taxi and commercial bus owners have all pledged compliance to this method that favoured consultation and advocacy over force. Lagosians have since seen the difference and are full of commendation that the Governor they elected will get the job done without being a brute or playing to the gallery.
For the avoidance of doubt, the monthly Security Council Meeting, which has the leadership of every security agencies in attendance, has never failed to hold since Governor Ambode became governor five months ago. The Security Trust Fund under him is well embraced by the corporate partners. The Governor certainly has a most cordial relationship with all the security forces in the state and is in firm control of all of its enforcement agencies.
President Muhammadu Buhari won the April Presidential election in Nigeria in spite of The Economist’s reluctant, tongue-in-cheek endorsement of his candidacy. We are also aware of how Boris Johnson, the Conservative London Mayor, won his reelection in 2012 in spite of The Economist’s campaign that ‘London deserved better’ and the virulent accusation of the Mayor for dealing a blow on what the magazine called “London heritage and individual liberty” after Johnson decided to do away with some of his predecesor’s mass transit and traffic policies.
Perhaps, it is high time that this vaunted magazine learnt to restrict itself to strict journalism rather than seeking to impose jaded views in a volatile political climate where, we dare say, the gluttonous lot can choke on their own bile, almost hoping that the elections leading to the emergence of the governor could be held over again.
Governor Ambode won a hard contest, at the polls and at the tribunal…up to the Supreme Court. He enjoys the full backing of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and majority of Lagosians who see in him a compassionate leader and competent manager of resources.
He has demonstrated his mettle by first getting the finances of the state back in shape, restructuring a choking debt exposure from 18% interest rate to 12.5%, thereby freeing N3bn every month for the state to put into other pressing use. He has paid out N11bn in pensions to those neglected since 2010; signed 2.500 C of Os; constituted a forward-looking cabinet that has hit the ground running; fixed more than 200 roads across the state in what he calls Operation Zero Tolerance for Pot Holes and has flagged off a remarkable initiative with Local Governments that will have 114 roads (two per each of the 20 Local Government Areas and 37 Local Council Development Areas) constructed with standard drainages, walk-ways and street lights.
This Thursday November 12, he is declaring open the BRT corridor that links Mile 12 to Ikorodu, which in itself is preparatory to the launch later this month of an ambitious roll-out of 450 new set of mass transit buses and a dedicated special BRT service that will be direct from Ikorodu to Victoria Island. He is lighting up the entire metropolis in a matter of weeks and is finalizing on a major waterways expansion project. All these and more at a time that he is fortifying the security apparatus with a set of brand new patrol vehicles and power bikes as well as three helicopters to assist in surveillance.
Governor Ambode’s great plans for Lagosians are not in doubt and are already being unfolded. He will get on with it while insisting that like Londoners, Lagosians too deserve good things of life…with some respect!
STEVE AYORINDE
COMMISSIONER FOR INFORMATION AND STRATEGY
LAGOS STATE
NOVEMBER 11, 2015
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