`SPEECH DELIVERED BY HIS EXCELLENCY, BABATUNDE RAJI FASHOLA (SAN), ON OCCASION OF HIS 2300 DAYS IN OFFICE AT THE LTV AUDITORIUM ON SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 2013 I join the Honourable Commissioner for Information and members of his Ministry who have supervisory remit for this occasion to again welcome you all warmly to another 100 days briefing. This event, which is the 23rd in the series, commemorates the 2,300th day of our tenure as your elected representatives. I must say that these periodic 100 day briefings have helped to deepen our democratic experience in Lagos. Apart from its uniqueness, in the sense that I know of no other Government that has committed to a regular 100 day, town hall style meeting, we have never failed to hold it and we have never changed the date. It has been beneficial to you and to us because it keeps us on our toes to deliver and it reinforces how seriously we hold your mandate and value your support. Apart from the fact that we have remained true to it as a commitment we freely made, the unsustainable attempt by our competitors to sloppily copy it, in a very poor imitation about which they have now gone quiet, speaks volumes about the commitment of your Government. The credit for this certainly belongs to all our public servants and officers who work tirelessly to deliver the progress that I am always delighted to report. Because the budget is the article of faith of any serious Government, I will start by giving you a report of our budget performance. As at the end of the 2nd quarter of 2013, the State’s budget performance stood at an aggregate of 72% for the half year. The breakdown of that is a 61% performance in Quarter 1 and an 83% in Quarter 2. As you must also be aware we have presented two supplementary budgets since after the Quarter 2 report. The first was to enable us finance the building of more houses under the LagosHoms Scheme, by moving the provision in the Vote of Charge (not cash) for N7 Billion from the provision for Capital Receipts (because we have not yet started selling the houses) to Capital Expenditure to enable us pay our contractors. This supplementation did not increase the total budget size. The second supplementation which increased the overall budget size by N7.5 Billion was to enable us pay for the early acquisition of the Lekki Concession as provided under the Concession Agreement in a way that helps us to keep investor confidence and control any possible increase in the toll fees. We remain committed to implementing the budget for the benefit of our citizens; and at the end of September I will report the progress we have made when we announce the Quarter 3 results. For now, I can only summarize some of the impacts of the performance of Quarter 1 & 2 by reference to some projects such as the completion of the Trauma and Burns Centre in Gbagada, 2 (two) more flagship Primary Health Care Centres in Eredo Epe and in Itire, the Folarin Coker Health Centre for public servants in Alausa, the street light of Carter Bridge, the progress in our Technical and Vocational Education Colleges as reported during our Enterprise Day and the reports from the education sector at the Annual Governor’s Education Award. The results show that more students are getting into secondary schools from THE JSS 1 placement examination results which showed an increase in the number of candidates from 49,316 in 2012 to an almost doubling of 95,255 candidates in 2013. The results show a pass rate increase in these examinations from 67.01% in 2012 to 96% in 2013. If you recall that we have since 2011 reviewed conditions of pass from what was about 30% to a minimum of 50% pass in each of English and Mathematics in addition to a total aggregate average of an overall of 50% as the minimum pass, you will appreciate the progress that our children have made and the effort that your Government has made. I am also able to report that we have received the results for 2013 WAEC Examinations which show that out of 51,604 (Fifty One Thousand, Six Hundred and Four) students who sat for the examination, 21, 193 (Twenty One Thousand, One Hundred and Ninety Three) secured the 5 (Five) credits in Mathematics and English in one sitting. This represents a 41.06% pass rate, an improvement over the 39% of last year. If you recall that we started from a 7% pass rate in 2007 you will appreciate how far we have come, to now record an over 41% pass rate. For now, all I can say is that, as far as our children’s education is concerned, we are heading in the right direction and I see a brighter and rewarding future, even as our work remains unfinished. I also use this occasion to appeal for the co-operation of all school proprietors towards achieving a unified school calendar for our State. We expect all our schools, whether under Government or private sector control to open on the same day and close on the same day. There are many positive consequences for these, ranging from security planning, transportation planning, career development to mention a few. Because the security of lives and property of citizens is the primary task we have as a Government, permit me to quickly report on developments in this area over the last 100 days. Generally, we are seeing an aggregate reduction in crime from the number of reported cases as we reviewed at this month’s security meeting. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is getting increasingly complex and where no nation is crime free. As a daily growing State, we get more than our fair share of the problems and sadly too, some of our citizens become victims. But we remain resolute to fight crime and criminals with every resource that we have. This determination has yielded some noteworthy successes against crime and criminals. Some of those successes include the one against a notorious gang of 5 robbers who have been terrorizing the Lagos Island, and the apprehension of the kidnap gang that abducted a number of people including a Local Government Chairman. This was made possible by the dedication of the officers in the Lagos Command after almost a month of surveillance that eventually led to the arrest of the criminals. Another notorious gang leader who had been on the Police wanted list for 14 years, and who had been launching attacks on our citizens from outside Lagos is now in custody after a well-planned operation that led to his arrest in his hiding place outside Lagos. You will also recall that we once woke up to headlines that reported the kidnap of a foreign national in Lagos. The officers in the Lagos Command and the Police Commissioner were quick to respond and rescue the victim without any harm. I think it is instructive to share with you the impression of our officers as conveyed in a text message by their diplomatic representative after the rescue. This is what he said: “Your Excellency thank you. We were impressed with the work of the Police who did an excellent job tracking the gang and releasing our hostage. He’s now resting at my residence…we are very grateful for the co-operation” Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, our officers must be proud of themselves, and so must all of us be, not only for the work that they have done, but also the value they give for the support that we give to them from your taxes and your voluntary contribution to the Security Trust Fund. I will use this opportunity to urge you to continue to pay your taxes promptly, and to continue to support the Security Trust Fund with your donations. I will like to acknowledge and thank all individual and corporate donors to the Trust Fund, especially MTN Nigeria who just gave 25 new patrol values to the Fund. Within the last 100 days, your Government has also been very busy in the Law Courts; and I believe that some of these events are worthy of report. The first report is in respect of the verdict of acquittal of Major Al Mustapha for charges of conspiracy and murder by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which has generated some mixed reactions. Because our Constitution permits a further appeal to the Supreme Court, and because we place the highest premium on every human life and because the families of the victims deserve every right to agitate the matter to the final court, just as the accused would have been entitled, your Government has appealed on behalf of the people to the Supreme Court. Relatedly, you will re-call that I had promised in 2007 to challenge the 2006 Census results because of the danger their distortion posed to the planning and management of our State. I am happy to report to you that I kept my word. We filed 20 different petitions in the Census Tribunal to challenge the figures in the 20 Local Governments and we were successful in 14 of them, where the Tribunal made various findings that included the orders for recounts. From these findings, it seems fair to conclude that the Census returns were manipulated against Lagosians in an act of grave injustice to say the least. My final word for now on the census matter is advisory. No nation that wants to prosper and solve human challenges should ever be tardy or play politics with data collection projects such as population census. You cannot manage what you cannot measure. Still on a related matter, the Supreme Court recently pronounced on our case against the Federal Government, relating to the latter’s incursion in the area of tourism. Apart from the revenue erosion, the incursions made it difficult to grow that sector and create jobs, because the operators were caught between two governments; and understandably were often unsure of who their appropriate regulator should be, between the State and the Federal Government . This is now history. The Supreme Court was emphatic in affirming our position that it is only a State Government and its House of Assembly that have powers to regulate tourism, with the exception of tourist traffic which deals with issuance of visas, length of stay and immigration into Nigeria. This is victory for federalism and for all the 35 other States including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, who can now take their tourism destiny in their own hands. For our part, I have issued very clear directives to our officers that the judgment must not be a licence for any overzealousness on their part. It is our opportunity to develop our State and empower our people and I expect that the business operators will reciprocate this gesture by giving us their fullest co-operation. Finally on court related matters, I have had cause to request the office of the public defender to provide legal support for citizens in Ejigbo area of Lagos who were recently arrested by officers of the Nigeria Civil Defense on allegations of petroleum products theft. I must make it very clear that I support every effort that is made to apprehend and bring to justice those who steal petroleum products in every part of our Country. To put it mildly, such people are economic saboteurs. However the fact that wells in Ejigbo simply have petrol or petroleum products is not sufficient reason to remove people from their homes and detain them as suspects. It is common knowledge that Ejigbo, Baruwa, Alimosho, Ilado and some other parts of Lagos have been devastated by pollution arising from aging pipelines, vandalism, sabotage and other related issues. There has been correspondence from my office to Federal Government and her agencies on this issue and the need to come to the rescue of these people from the long term health and environmental effects of this pollution and I have also raised the matter in public with a committee of the National Assembly when they visited Lagos. Unless therefore there is more direct evidence of criminality by these citizens, it may seem that the energy to stop the theft of petroleum products is misdirected in the wrong area and at the wrong people. On other fronts we have been up and doing, in our service delivery initiatives. We have launched our E-ticketing platform for the BRT and we are working with the Union to implement a rigorous maintenance programme for the buses to make the project sustainable. The Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project, LMDGP, continues to impact our vulnerable communities in a positive way. The people of Ijora Badiya, Bariga, Agege, Somolu, Itire and Makoko to mention a few are beneficiaries of various projects such as schools, drainage, markets, roads and related infrastructure that have helped to improve the quality of life under the project. Specifically, the project has delivered:- a. 9 Standard roads and drains in Agege LGA b. 5 standard roads and drains in Orile Agege LCDA c. 12 standard roads and drains in Itire/Ijeshatedo, Mushin LGA d. 5 standard roads and drains in Ajeromi-Ifelodun LGA e. 2 canals (Alafia canal, Amukoko & Ogba drainage canal, Ogba) f. 12 Schools in the following locations (Ajegunle, Badia, Bariga, Gbagada, and Ilaje g. 4 Primary Healthcare Centres in Agege, Amukoko, Badia and Bariga h. 14 Transformers (Badia, Itire/Ijeshatedo, Makoko, Ajegunle and Amukoko) i. 3 Markets in Ilaje, Ashogbon & Asejere) j. 3 Citizens Mediation Centres (Agege, Amukoko & Bariga) k. 78 Boreholes across the blighted areas l. 3 Communal Waste Depot (Ikate-Olaogun, Agunlejika and Oworonshoki) During the period of the last 100 days, our sporting centres, hotels and transporters were busy as we hosted the Lagos State International Table Tennis Championship with 350 (Three Hundred and Fifty) participants from 13 (Thirteen) countries. It is the first of a ten Sport Championships now known as the Lagos Sports Classics. It is a fulfillment of my commitment to you at the closing of the 2012 National Sports Festival that we will keep our athletes busy and keep all the upgraded sports facilities in good and efficient use. Very soon we will be hosting the athletics events of the Sports Classics and the remaining other 8 (eight) sporting events. So to our sportsmen and women, get ready for a busy sporting calendar. And to our Ministry of Sports, coaches and all supporting agencies, I say keep up the good work. Our commitment to improving efficiency in public transportation is yielding results. Only a few days ago, we formally handed over the Ibeshe road, which is 7 kilometer road that we just constructed. Apart from the support this has given to businesses in that area, the journey time on this road which used to take about 45 minutes is now only about 10 minutes. Over 200 inner city roads across the State are in various stages of construction progress and as we complete work on a number of them this year, we expect to see improved connectivity and reduced journey times. The five ferries we revived from the lagoon are in various stages of repairs and we expect to see 3 (three) of them back in service later this year and the remaining 2 (two) to join early next year. This will add to the 59 (Fifty Nine) ferries we have licensed for 44 (Forty Four) operators who are already providing service. The monthly passenger ridership on our waterways is now 1,788,370 (One Million, Seven Hundred and Eighty Eight Thousand, Three Hundred and Seventy) passengers per month from 495,010 passengers per month in 2010 and the numbers are still growing. I am also pleased to report that work is moving towards conclusion of the Osborne and Mile Two Jetties preparatory to making them fully functional in a short while. Within the last 100 days, we also hosted the National Health Summit which is the largest decision making body on health issues in Nigeria under the leadership of the Honourable Minister for Health and the 36 State Commissioners for Health. The issue which I put before them was how to improve health coverage and accessibility for many more people who cannot access quality facilities or service and as a result create overcrowding in public hospitals. While preventive policies of clean environment, provision of potable water, and improvement of personal hygiene remain critical to us, and while our free health care policy remains a matter of non-negotiable commitment, the honest truth is that free healthcare does not cover every illness that afflicts our people. I remain convinced that there must be an answer for our citizens from beyond the point where our free healthcare policy stops which takes them to where the free healthcare policy is unable to reach. That answer is insurance. This is the way that I think we can unlock and optimize the idling capacity and specialties that exist in over 3,000 privately owned health facilities that ordinary people cannot access. It is something we must embrace and quickly too if we are serious about universal coverage. It is not a substitute for free healthcare. It is an honest addition to it. During the period under review, the implementation of our Traffic Law had gone on for one year on 1st September 2013. The reduction from 646 (Six Hundred and Forty Six) reported accidents in August 2012 to 118 (One Hundred and Eighteen) reported accidents in July 2013 and the reduction in motorcycle related deaths from an average of 12 (Twelve) in August 2012 to an average of 1 (one) over the same period justifies the commitment with which we intervened. However, our work is not finished. We are seeing more people resort to bicycles within the neighborhood and this is good and healthy, but I urge them to be safety conscious, to ride on the right side of the road and not against traffic. Furthermore, I urge those motorcyclists who still ride on the restricted roads either with the wrong motorcycle or without helmets or without registration plate or with more than one passenger to retrace their steps. Nobody will be allowed to act outside the law made by our House of Assembly. Our commitment to enforcement remains very high. I urge the Commissioner of Police and his men not to relent and also to be courteous, fair but firm in the process of enforcement. I must use this opportunity to say a word about the status of tri-cycles popularly known as “Keke Marwa” or “Keke Napep”. The first point to make is that they are not different from the regular motorcycles except that they have cabins. They are therefore subject to the same provisions of the Traffic Law relating to safety and the routes they can operate; mainly the inner streets and not on highways. However, we understand that our public transport policies are still developing and it is not our intention to inflict any hardship on our people who rely on them. This is why I gave clear directives last year that we will not seek to enforce the Traffic Law as it relates to them if they keep off the major highways. I hope that they will reciprocate our disposition because we are suddenly seeing a very high influx of them into our State. We expect them to operate in accordance with the Law. There are other safety policies under the Traffic Law that we will soon unveil to make motoring in our State a happy experience and raise standards to global competitiveness. On another positive and important note, I wish to report that we paid compensation to 5 (five) property owners who lost their property during the unfortunate Dana Air crash and some of whom gave up their land to build Cenotaph in honour of the victims. Ordinarily this is what we have done as a duty and as a matter of law in all places where we have acquired land in the larger public interest. But recently, some people who claim to love our citizens more than us, and who have no previous track record of seeing anything through, have sought to mislead the public on similar matters. It is therefore important to bring this matter up because this payment is consistent with what we have done and what we will always do. All I therefore wish to add is that it is driven by processes such as enumeration, verification, appropriation and so on before we can pay. As far as pending cases such as the Ijora Badiya matter is concerned, these processes are being undertaken. While still on the matter, let me use this opportunity to alert you of the latest designs of our opponents. Now that they have lost the argument on the issues and on governance, they are now spending their money on a project of character assassination against me. They are moving from one media house to the other with all sorts of unsustainable and false stories about me and our Government. Some very professional and responsible media houses have either asked for proof or simply refused to publish or print and asked them to take their dirty money away. For some others, money is everything and to those ones, I say that I will give them their day in court. For us, our politics remains driven by its noble purpose of service and development and rooted in a robust engagement of the issues. Because we operate on a political platform, a report of the last 100 days will be incomplete without a mention of the registration of our new party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) on July 31 2013 in what is now a watershed moment in Nigeria’s political history. This was a merger of 3 political parties and parts of a fourth party. When the journey started, the nay-sayers quickly reminded us about how since the 1950s no merger has been successfully concluded in Nigeria’s political history. But they did not reckon with resolve, they were disconnected from the realities of today’s Nigeria. They had forgotten about the word change that is so constant in its recurrence. They lived in their own reality created by themselves. They under-estimated the power of people with a resolve. Needless to reiterate, what they dismissed as wholly impossible became possible, it later became probable and finally happened. The All Progressives Congress was registered. APC was born. Change is on the way. In their disconnection they buried their heads in the sand. They failed to realize that unusual things can happen and that change is constant. Against the odds, the umbrella cannot provide cover again, because its many parts are breaking away. We now live in interesting times. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, let me conclude by assuring you all as a proud member of APC that, if in so short a time, that party has overcome a hurdle that had existed before Nigeria became an independent nation, it perhaps stands better suited and prepared to deal with and overcome the problems that were created after Nigeria became independent. But for now, while the political front bristles, we remain focused on service to our people. Accordingly I am pleased to report that we have started a Saturday service in Government departments such as Lands, Physical Planning, Motor Vehicle Administration and the Vehicle Inspection service from 10am to 2pm except on the last Saturday of the month in order to provide service to those who cannot access them during the week because of the nature of their own work. On behalf of our people, I express gratitude to those public officers who offer to serve on this scheme which has attended to 7,968 (Seven Thousand, Nine Hundred and Sixty Eight) citizens since it started in March 2013. Finally, our desire to improve the courtesy and service orientation of public servants is now having the desired impact as evidenced by a text message from one of our citizens who sent me this message. “My Dear BRF…I just left the secretariat now where I had a meeting with the PS Ministry of Finance and was pleasantly surprised at the level of transformation without noise. As a matter of fact, the conduct of personnel right from the gate is highly commendable, explaining carefully that because my car does not have a sticker, I would not be able to drive in. And to see the male receptionists on the ground floor of the Ministry impeccably dressed in suit and tie and they were extremely polite to visitors is to say with all sense of seriousness and responsibility that the Lagos State civil service has been taken to the highest level…” I have shared this message with the leaders of the Office of Transformation who drive this reform, because that word means something different to us here. I have done so also because although the message is addressed to me, it belongs to those public servants who have taken the message of change with them. Finally, I have shared it to let them know that the people we serve are watching and that when they see service they will acknowledge it, in the same way that they will complain when the reverse happens. Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, this is the character of the public service that your party and your Government are building – a public service that understands the meaning of service. I must also report that we are making progress on the E – C of O and we will soon start issuing the certificates, while the Lagos State Residents Registration exercise has commenced in pilot stages with the entire public service now registered and 100 (One Hundred) registration centres open in 57 (Fifty Seven) Local Governments as we head into a formal launch in a matter of weeks. We are also in the trial stages of dotting Is and crossing Ts on the LagosHoms Scheme, preparatory to formal launch and allocation of the first batch of houses. Against all the odds, real and contrived attempts to distract us, we remain focused and determined to deliver and fulfill on our promises to you. Your support, peaceful co-existence, religious and ethnic tolerance, discharge of your civic responsibilities such as payment of taxes and voluntary obedience of laws and regulations, keeping the peace are all that we ask for, to make your aspirations materialize. Thank you all. Eko o ni baje o! Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN Governor of Lagos State September 14, 2013.
Posted on: Sat, 14 Sep 2013 14:34:37 +0000
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