The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has commended employees of Airtel Nigeria for donating the sum of N20 million from their personal income to support indigent residents of Lagos State during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Sanwo-Olu, who spoke yesterday (25/01/2002) when the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Surendran Chemmenkotil, paid him a courtesy visit, said he appreciated the initiative and gesture of Airtel employees when they came forward during the heat of the pandemic to support the State government.
“I thank Airtel employees for their support during the heat of the pandemic and I am glad that we are now exiting the 4th wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. Although Lagos has been the epicentre of the Coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria, we will be able to eradicate the virus from Lagos,” he said.
The Governor, who wished the Airtel CEO a successful tenure, also noted that the Lagos State Government will continue to promote and leverage on technology to accelerate economic growth as well as create prosperity for residents and indigenes of the State, saying technology is very important and a strong enabler in realizing the government’s agenda.
“A priority is the Lagos Smart City project as we are very persuaded to push forward technology. Many young people see technology as a platform to create, innovate and express their talents and we have a role as government to continue to create the enabling environment for this to thrive,” he noted.
L-R: Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, CMC Connect, Mr. Yomi Badejo- Okusanya; Head Public Relations, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Erhumu Bayagbon; Director, Airtel Business, Ogo Ofomata; Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil; Lagos State Governor, Mr.Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Deputy Governor Lagos State, Mr. Obafemi Hamzat; Secretary to the Lagos State Government, Mrs. Folashade Sherifat Jaji and Vice President (VP), Retail Sales, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Dokun Oye during a courtesy visit to the Governor at the state house Marina, Lagos on Tuesday, January 25th, 2022
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil, commended Sanwo-Olu for creating an enabling environment for business to thrive in the State, noting that Airtel will continue to collaborate with the State government to create opportunities for residents and indigenes of the State.
“Historically, we have enjoyed a robust relationship with Lagos and we wish to continue to collaborate with Lagos State to empower more residents and indigenes of the State. Mr. Governor, Lagos is important to our operations in Nigeria. As major stakeholders, we will continue to seek collaborative opportunities with Lagos State just as we will continue to empower and support the indigenes and residents of Lagos State,” he said.
The Airtel CEO was accompanied by the company’s Enterprise (Airtel Business Director), Ogo Ofomata; Vice President, Retail Sales, Oladokun Oye and Head of Public Relations, Erhumu Bayagbon.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Friday signed the 2022 Appropriation Bill of N1.758 trillion christened ‘Budget of Consolidation’ into law.
Governor Sanwo-Olu, while signing the Bill at the Lagos House, Ikeja, said that the capital expenditure stands at N1.166 trillion, representing 66 percent of the budget estimates, while recurrent expenditure is N591 billion, representing 34 percent, to maintain the 66:34 percent budget tradition of Lagos State.
Speaking after signing the 2022 Appropriation bill, Governor Sanwo-Olu said the budget is to consolidate infrastructural development across the state in line with his administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S. developmental agenda to address issues on education, infrastructure, health, technology, social intervention, rail projects and other critical areas.
While explaining the rationale behind the increase in the 2022 Appropriation Bill from the initial N1.388 trillion budget estimates presented to the Lagos State House of Assembly on November 24, Sanwo-Olu said there is a need to capture all financing options for the Blue and Red line rail projects and other ongoing projects in the Budget of Consolidation.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu signing the Y2022 Appropriation bill into law at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, December 31, 2021. With him are Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget, Mr. Sam Egube (left), Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat (second left) and Chairman, Lagos House Assembly Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Gbolahan Yishua (right).
He said: “Let me state at this juncture that the difference between the budget amount presented by the Executive and the final amount passed by the Legislature is largely accounted for by the decision to further accelerate already existing infrastructure projects and bring them to substantial levels of completion.
“We have also decided to capture in the Budget, the financing being deployed towards the Blue Line and the Red Line rail projects by private sector consortia, up to a level that will not put pressure on our cash flow and debt sustainability.
“In addition, this 2022 Appropriation Bill recognises several other already-funded project transactions that are now being accounted for as corporate transactions. What this means is that we are now choosing to capture in the Budget the significant value already accruing to the State from these projects.
“As I said during the presentation to the House of Assembly, this will be the last full-year budget in the tenure of this administration. As a result, a major focus of this budget will be ensuring the completion of all ongoing projects that are critical to achieving our desire to build a Greater Lagos in line with the goals and objectives of the T.H.E.M.E.S development agenda.”
Commissioner for Economic Planning & Budget, Mr. Sam Egube; Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman, Lagos House Assembly Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Gbolahan Yishua and the Deputy Majority Leader, Hon. Noheem Adams during the signing of the Y2022 Appropriation bill into law, at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, December 31, 2021
He said the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube would present to the public the full details and breakdown of the budget in due course.
Governor Sanwo-Olu also commended the Speaker and members of the Lagos State House of Assembly for their cooperation and support, especially in ensuring the quick consideration and passage of the 2022 Appropriation Bill, which he presented on Wednesday, November 24.
The Governor also appreciated Lagosians for their support in ensuring the impressive performance in the implementation of the 2021 budget, against all odds, especially the continuous challenge posed by COVID 19.
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu signing the Y2022 Appropriation bill into law at the Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja, on Friday, December 31, 2021
“I believe very strongly that we, working together, and with everyone doing their part diligently, will achieve much more in 2022,” the Governor said.
Speaking earlier, the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudasiru Obasa, stated that the budget was given expeditious approval with proper scrutiny within five weeks to ensure that all projects are executed.
Obasa, who was represented by the Chairman of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Appropriation, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, said the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration is heading in the right direction in ensuring that infrastructural projects are put in place across the state in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S. development agenda.
He also commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for completing all the projects he inherited and providing funds for all the ongoing projects in different parts of the State.
Also speaking, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Sam Egube, commended the Lagos State House of Assembly for the speedy passage of the 2022 Appropriation Bill.
He said he was excited and grateful to all stakeholders for leading the process to the signing of the biggest State’s budget.
It would be recalled that the Lagos State House of Assembly on Wednesday passed the 2022 budget estimates with a slight increase of the grand total from the initial N1.38 trillion to N1.758 trillion.
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has approved free rides on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridors on Christmas and New Year days for all residents on Saturday, 25th December, 2021 and Saturday, 1st of January, 2022, in celebration of the festive season.
A statement signed by the Managing Director, Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Engr. (Mrs.) Abimbola Akinajo, said the free commuter bus services are being offered to Lagosians in the spirit of joy, love and peace which the festive season signifies.
According to her, the Sanwo-Olu led administration is committed to ensuring the execution of the Strategic Transport Master Plan via the Multimodal Transport System currently taking shape through water transportation and the ongoing Blue and Red Lines rail projects.
“The Governor has given his promise for the commencement of passenger operations on the first two phases of the State’s rail lines – Blue and Red. He has demonstrated his commitment to the completion of both rail lines by sourcing funds for their completion and provision of rolling stock. What is therefore expected of Lagosians is to support him towards the realisation of the Greater Lagos vision”, Mrs. Akinajo stated.
The Managing Director expressed the Lagos State Government’s gratitude for the patience and perseverance the citizenry has shown in the face of the discomfort accompanied with the construction of transport infrastructure, assuring that consistent and spirited efforts are being made to improve public transport and traffic management.
While extending yuletide compliments to all Lagosians, Mrs. Akinajo enjoined everyone to observe all extant COVID-19 safety rules and travel safely during the festive period.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has announced his administration’s readiness to support the Marketing Communications industry in Nigeria through the provision of improved infrastructure to give the scenic settings required for great television commercials and creative contents that meet global standards.
The Governor, who was the Star Awardee and recipient of Marketing Edge Outstanding Political Brand Icon of The Year Award, made this disclosure while giving his speech at the Marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Awards of Excellence held recently in Ikeja, Lagos.
In his words: “I am not unaware that there was a time many of you needed to fly to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg before you could shoot a good TV commercial for your clients. Today, the story has changed. Let me assure you, it can only get better from here. The infrastructures we are creating are gradually giving you the scenic settings you require for great television commercials that can earn more prestigious laurels from across the world.”
In March, the Federal Government had announced a fine of N100, 000 on local brand adverts broadcast on CNN and other foreign stations broadcasting in Nigeria, and on adverts of local brands that are created abroad. Due to lack of adequate infrastructure, the announcement came as a shock to both advertisers and practitioners in the Integrated Marketing industry as the NBC moved to also implement a regulation mandating exclusive licensees and broadcasters to share exclusive rights with other broadcasters.
However, Governor Sanwo-Olu in his speech noted that the government was fully developed to lend its resources to the imaginations of ‘creative rebels’ like Lanre Adisa, Steve Babeeko, Kelechi Nwosu and Israel Jaiye Opayemi, who lead a generation of fertile minds to create exciting campaigns that have put Nigeria on the global map.
He submitted: “You are the group of professionals who need to send files and folders in terabytes and gigabytes from one part of the world to another. With the laying of 6000 km of Fibre Metro Network across Lagos, our government is surely giving your operations the needed leg to show up at the appropriate places at the right time.”
“When we were crafting the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda, the Creative Industry where you play and the Technology sector were some of the sectors we had in mind at the conception of our Fibre Optic Project. Our readiness to support marketing-related initiatives is not limited to the Advertising sub-sector of the industry. It is open to various specialist areas that make up marketing. At the center of what we do as marketing professionals is creativity. And that is what our government is committed to promoting and encouraging.”
The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged marketing communications practitioners in the country to help in telling the story of Lagos through the brands they manage.
Sanwo-Olu made this plea at the Marketing Edge Brands and Advertising Awards of Excellence held recently in Ikeja, Lagos, where he proclaimed the “Outstanding Political Brand Icon of the Year”.
The elated Governor, who described himself as the Chief Marketing Officer of Lagos State while giving a resounding keynote address, expressed special gratitude to the veterans of the marketing profession whom he acknowledged have toiled to build and give relevance to reputable trade.
In his words: “Today is for celebrating ourselves, our craft and achievements as marketing communications professionals. Over the last 5 decades, the marketing communications profession has evolved remarkably to become a window for the world to see the creativity that resides within us.
“Our readiness to support marketing-related initiatives is not limited to the Advertising sub-sector of the industry. It is open to various specialist areas that make up marketing. At the centre of what we do as marketing professionals is creativity. And that is what our government is committed to promoting and encouraging.”
Speaking further, he said: “I am not unaware that there was a time many of you needed to fly to Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg before you could shoot a good TV commercial for your clients. Today, the story has changed. Let me assure you, it can only get better from here. The infrastructure we are creating are gradually giving you the scenic settings you require for great television commercials that can earn more prestigious laurels from across the world.”
After receiving the award, Mr. Sanwo-Olu said: “It was with deep sense of humility that I receive the “Outstanding Political Brand Icon of the Year” this prestigious MARKETING EDGE Brands and Advertising Awards of Excellence.
“Let me remind you that every year, at the annual Cannes Festival, the winning campaigns are not the ones who tell the stories of the commercial brands. Rather the winners are the ones who tell stories of people, places, and the triumph of the human will and spirit above adversity.”
Recall that the 2-in1 event which began with the Annual Summit themed: “Rethinking the Blue ocean Strategy In Uncertain Times”, had the global industry summit a day before the awards night.
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and the Commissioner for Insurance, Mr Sunday Thomas, inaugurated on Tuesday Heirs Holdings’ new insurance businesses – Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life Assurance.
Heirs Towers, a seven-storey headquarters of Heirs Holdings developed by Afriland Properties Plc, one of the investment companies of Heirs Holdings, was also unveiled at the inauguration ceremony.
Sanwo-Olu commended the pan-African investment company for its bold vision to democratise access to insurance.
The Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, introduced Dr Adaobi Nwakuche as the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Insurance Limited, and Mr Niyi Onifade as the MD/CEO of Heirs Life Assurance Limited.
Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life Assurance have a paid-up share capital of N10bn and N8bn respectively, and are backed by leading reinsurers, providing a second layer of security for clients’ insurance portfolios, according to Elumelu.
Sanwo-Olu said, “Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life are bringing insurance that is simple, accessible, and affordable – three strong words that businesses of today need to thrive in highly saturated markets.
“I am aware that both Heirs Life and Heirs Insurance are two of the most liquid and well-capitalised insurance companies in the country right now.”
He said the timing of the launch could not have been more auspicious, adding, “The insurance commission is currently rolling out different initiatives for national development.
“To Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life, I want to say thank you for coming into our industry, making a difference, impacting the economy, and helping us to deepen the insurance sector in Nigeria.”
Lagos State former Governor, Akinwumi Ambode, was conspicuously absent as his successor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; All Progressives Congress stalwart, Bola Tinubu; and other prominent politicians inaugurated the Agege-Pen Cinema Bridge on Friday.
Also at the event include Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat; Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa, monarchs, market leaders, and members of the Agege community.
The 1.7 kilometre-long bridge was started by the Ambode administration in 2017 but could not be completed by the administration as the former governor lost his re-election bid in 2019 due to intra-party wrangling in the APC within the state.
Ambode, though still a member of the APC as he was seen revalidating his membership of the party recently, has not been seen at any state function with Sanwo-Olu or Tinubu, his hitherto political leader, since he exited government in May 2019.
The discomfort suffered by motorists had moved the Ambode government to commence the project four years ago. The overpass ascends from Oba Ogunji Road and drops at the Oke Koto axis of Agege. The bridge also opens to the old Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway through Abule Egba.
The bridge is expected to end the pain experienced by motorists plying Agege-Abule Egba and Agege-Iyana-Ipaja axes.
Don’t copy vagabonds, destruction won’t help you —Tinubu
Speaking at the event, Tinubu urged youths not to copy “vagabonds”, saying destruction won’t help them reach their destinations.
The former Lagos State governor was making a veiled reference to the #EndSARS protests last October and the violence that trailed it. Lots of public and private assets were destroyed by rampaging hoodlums during the riot.
Tinubu said, “To all of you youths, if you see the kind of progress and economic resuscitation that is going on in this neighbourhood and Lagos State as a whole, you should be commended for cooperating with the contractor.
“But that is not alone, we commend you for maintaining peace and don’t copy vagabonds, don’t emulate those who are in thuggery. There is no development if there is no peace, we must embrace peace to have development.
“The government is doing so much to give you good foundation in education, that is an investment in your future…and that is giving you a tool to conquer poverty.
“Destruction and destruction will not help you reach the destination that you aspire to reach.”
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos is planning to phase out the yellow-coloured commercial buses, otherwise known as danfo, in the state.
The state Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde revealed this during a virtual meeting where he disclosed that the yellow buses will be replaced with blue buses.
He explained that the move is in accordance with the state government’s transportation masterplan.
“We are reforming the bus sector and over time, Lagos will phase out the yellow buses because the yellow buses are not conducive for a mega city like Lagos. That is why we are coming with blue buses you see around.
“We are inviting the private sector to participate in the provision of public transport services. We are also deploying technology just to ensure that we can up our game in terms of efficiency.”
Responding to questions raised regarding the Apapa gridlock, the commissioner said the government was committed to ending the traffic menace by committing hectares of land in Iganmu and Ogun as transit truck parks while relying on the Eto app which would be deployed on February 27.
He said, “Lagos State in collaboration with the Nigerian Ports Authority invited a concessionaire and that concessionaire developed an Eto app that will be deployed February 27.
“Lagos State has committed 31 hectares of land in Iganmu called the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Truck Park to complement what is at Lilypond and we are talking to the Ogun State Government to secure a land in Ogere.”
Similarly, Oladeinde said, the state had come up with a parking strategy named the Lagos State Parking Strategy. He disclosed that a parking authority had been set up with the mandate to regulate parking on the roads.
