ALERT! Govt. Plans Punishment For Dirty Residents, Communities [DETAILS Inside]
The Lagos State Government has declared its readiness to clamp down on filthy communities within the state and residents.
This was made know when the Lagos Waste Management Authority, LAWMA, conducted a comprehensive clean-up exercise at Itedo Community, Lekki Local Council Development Area, in partnership with Lekki Peninsula Environment Community, Crusader Sterling Pensions and Itedo Community Development Association.
The clean-up exercise is in continuation of LAWMA’s efforts to clear black spots across communities in the state.
Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegeshin, the Managing Director/CEO of LAWMA, while commenting on the exercise, condemned the unhygienic habits of some residents, who indulge in reckless waste disposal in unauthorised locations, promising to wield the big stick on such erring individuals and areas, adding that the agency would stop at nothing, to achieve a clean and sustainable Lagos environment.
According to him, “Today, we hearken to the call of the people of Lekki Peninsula Estate residents, who deemed it fit to call our attention to inappropriate waste disposal practices in this area. It is a deep clean-up of gutters, corridors and median.
“First, we will address the issue of illegal occupants who operate businesses here; they will be relocated into the community.
“Nobody will invest in a filthy environment. We are using this opportunity to appeal to the people of Lagos, to embrace the right attitude to the environment for a healthy life.
“LAWMA will never condone filthy habits at homes and public spaces and will stop at nothing to achieve a clean and sustainable environment.”
Gbadegeshin said further that the Authority was open to collaborations with stakeholders on environmental issues, to complement the Authority’s effort.
“We are ready for partnership opportunities. Waste management in Lagos has always been driven by private sector participation. The state cannot do it alone. Residents and citizens own the state. We want you to support this initiative and stop littering the environment.
“This exercise will continue for three days and LAWMA will keep monitoring for enhanced result,” he stressed.
Mr. Yomi Idowu, the chairman of the Environment Committee, Lekki Peninsula Community, noted that the committee became worried, about the heap of refuse deposited by recalcitrant residents and traders on a daily basis, necessitating the call for LAWMA’s intervention.
He said: “Our environment should be in a clean and hygienic condition always, if we want to be free from diseases and sickness.
“Indiscriminate waste dumping around this community is alarming and we felt this cannot continue. Most of the residents are in support of this clean up and they have been participating. We will ensure there is proper sensitization after this exercise”.
Mr. Olufemi Dada, the executive director of Crusader Sterling Pensions, on his part, appreciated the Authority for the partnership, noting that the LAWMA helmsman has demonstrated the agency’s vision, through a proactive delivery, following proper planning and execution with his team.
While thanking the Authority for its prompt response, the chairman of Itedo Community Development Association, Mr. Rapheal Oroiale, promised that the community would employ community police, to man the area and ensure defaulters were apprehended and prosecuted.
Also present at the clean-up exercise were LAWMA operations team, advocacy team, special duties, enforcement team, street sweepers, market waste team, marine waste team and celebrity artiste, Bankole Wellington, among others.
In other news, the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has disclosed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, would require about N2.77 trillion to complete 149 ongoing projects nationwide, an amount bigger than the entire budget of the ministry this year.
A statement in Abuja by the minister’s spokesman, Bolaji Tunji, stated that Adelabu who spoke during a budget presentation at the National Assembly, also disclosed that the completion of the projects will help to markedly improve the country’s electricity supply.
Besides, he informed the lawmakers that approval had also been given for the commencement of the second phase of the Siemens power project under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) with 95 per cent completion of the pilot stage in 2024.
Aside from the pilot segment, Phase 1 of the Siemens of Germany deal focuses on quick-win measures to increase the power system’s capacity to 7,000mw, including upgrading and refurbishing existing substations, and installing new substations. The phase also includes installing transformers and mobile substations.
In addition, Phase 2 will address network bottlenecks to increase the power sector’s capacity to 11,000mw, including upgrading existing transmission substations, transformers, and transmission lines.
In the third phase, the partnership will focus on developing Nigeria’s power sector’s capacity to 25,000mw, with the upgrading and expansions to generation, transmission, and distribution.
According to Adelabu, the project will energise power supply as it would involve the construction of five substations across the nation and permanently address the issue of grid collapse.
“I am happy to appear before you today to address you on what we have been able to achieve since last year and what is expected of us as a ministry this year. For the TCN alone, we will need about N2.779 trillion to enable us to execute the about 149 projects we are currently engaged in all over the country.
“Our total budget as a ministry is not even up to this, but as the saying goes, half bread is better than none. I’m telling you so that you can be aware of the kind of money that is needed in the ministry for us to address our electricity challenges.
“We need your cooperation and collaboration in achieving the mandate of Mr. President in electricity supply to Nigerians,” the minister said.
Speaking further on the Siemens project, Adelabu said the substations to be built across the country would address the nation’s fragile power infrastructure, occasioned by obsolete and outdated equipment.
“The federal government is fully determined to address these challenges and issues that have been blocking our progress in our effort to provide electricity to Nigerians and our consumers. Of particular note is the grid collapse, which has to do with the obsolete and outdated equipment around our power stations.
“To practically address this, the Siemens project will come on board in the first quarter of this year. We have almost concluded the take-off of the project and it will involve building five substations across the country.
“This will energise our supply so that the issue of grid collapse will be a thing of the past. By next week, we will begin the contracts for the substations to come on board,” Adelabu said.
Moreover, the minister stressed that when he was appointed, power generation was just about 4100mw but that within a year, the capacity increased by over 1000mw, and had even reached a peak capacity of 5270mw.
The improvement in generation capacity, he said, was due to improvements in the operation of existing power plants and the commissioning of new plants, partly driven by efforts to ensure more efficient use of existing infrastructure and completion of some power projects.
He also informed the lawmakers of the need to address the issue of vandalism as it concerns the electricity asset across the country.
“One other critical thing I want to draw your attention to is the issue of vandalism as it concerns our assets. It is important we sensitise our people against this act. We must be involved in serious advocacy on this issue.
“We must jointly address the issue of protecting the power assets. A damage to one is a damage to all, especially the transmission assets, they are so interwoven and a damage to one is a damage to all.
“In this case, we need the cooperation and collaboration of all our security agencies, the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Police and the Civil Defence. But more importantly, we need the cooperation and collaboration of the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA).
“We are not just dealing with those who steal cables but bandits, who use dynamite to blow up towers and transmission lines. There is no amount we can vote for this either as a ministry or in TCN that can solve this.
“I want to assure you that on our part, the federal government is fully ready to address the issues hindering the electricity sector this year, 2025 and we hope the year will be a better one for us in the ministry.
“As I said before, I want to reiterate that we will focus on this Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) in ensuring that our grid is stable and does not suffer collapse and when it does, within the very shortest time, it is restored and brought back on board,” Adelabu added.
The minister also disclosed that the ministry will be working with local contractors in the government’s procurement plans for the year to encourage local content, grow the economy and save foreign exchange.
“I also want to let you know that we are encouraging our local contractors in providing our materials such as cables, poles and so on. This will help us to conserve our foreign exchange and reduce the transaction cycles we often face while we import. This will save us time in our procurement this year,” he pointed out.
