The sprawling megacity of Lagos, with over 20 million residents, is the cultural and economic heart of Nigeria. For over two decades, the state has embarked on audacious infrastructure renewal projects that are capital intensive. The execution of ongoing projects alone, let alone the challenges of urban sustainability in the context of Lagos make governing the state a herculean task. In this article, Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat unfolds the agenda of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration.
news
Sanwo-Olu’s development agenda for Lagos
At the outset, the perception of many Lagosians about the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration was not entirely a positive one. Based on the performance of his predecessors in office since 1999, Lagosians were not convinced that he could step onto their shoes.
Given the mountain of work in all sectors in Lagos somehow Governor Sanwo-Olu’s gentle mien did not fit into the mold of a performer in the eyes of some residents.
But, almost one year after, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos has once again proved critics wrong.
Since the inception of the administration, Governor Sanwo-Olu has been working quietly in several sectors; to continue from where his immediate processor in office, Akinwinmi Ambode stopped, and also to initiate new policies to up the ante in the development of Lagos.
Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat recently unfolded some of the blueprints of the administration, sector by sector, in an interview with the editorial team of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
In the education sector, for instance, Dr. Hamzat said the administration has embarked on a policy reform, which is dubbed ‘Eko Excel’, the state is re-engineering its teaching methods and also adopting a holistic approach to tackling challenges in the sector, to bring out the best in the pupils.
He said: “We started with 300 schools. What that means is that all the primary school teachers will have a tablet that allows them to concentrate on teaching so that they do not need to do all the teachers note that needs to be done and schedule of work.
We have trained them in knowing the essence of teaching. Just changing the essence of teaching and even how they talk to the children/address them. Even if a child does something wrong, there are ways of correcting them.
“Around the world, the focus has always been on the provision of equipment for the classrooms and to have a great classroom for learning but those things don’t teach children as it does not mean the children will come out well. You might have a great classroom but it does not make anything.
So over time, what the state government has done is to focus on the teachers as they are the common denominators. It means we must concentrate on the teachers. They are the common denominator.
“After six years the children will go but the teachers remain over and over again. So we realise that the best thing to do is to concentrate on the teachers, their welfare, skills, their training and the way they approach it. That is what Eko Excel is doing.”
The deputy governor said it is too early to assess the impact of the scheme. He added: “In two to three years’ time, we would see how the teaching method has changed. We would see how it has affected the culture of our education, the children and everything.
We would also be able to gather information better through the equipment that will help us to geo-reference. So, we can know, for instance, in class 4A in Agidingbi Primary School, 20 students came to class or 21 children came at 9 am. – so why are they coming to school late? Is it that they are living far from school?
“All this information will help us to plan well. Also, it has helped us in monitoring the time the teachers resume work.
Also, if a teacher is coming late to school, why is it so? For example, a teacher teaching in Ikorodu and living in Oworonshoki, so why can’t we just move the teacher to around the place he or she lives for convenience and good delivery on the job.
“We are also finding out that some schools have only seven children while in some schools they have up to 60. So it tells us that in some cases, maybe we are building in the wrong places.
So, maybe we need to build more classes in such areas because, in some local governments, the number of children in school is extremely small compared to some others.”
Another component of Eko Excel, the deputy governor said, would address malnutrition among school children. He said primary education is the foundation of development and that it is important to fix it.
He said studies show that 52 per cent of children under five years of age in the northern part of the country are malnourished. He said in the south the percentage is about 20.
Hamzat said while it is necessary to build roads, provide amenities and other things that it is equally important to take care of the younger population by addressing malnutrition among children between the ages of zero to five because, as doctors have told us, this is the time the brain develops.
He said: “So we have a committee on nutrition and also a department on nutrition but what is surprising is that study shows that it is not the children of the poor that are mostly malnourished. The children of the rich and middle class can actually be malnourished as well if they are not eating right because as children they like to eat anything.
“If we can reduce that number, it would be a fantastic achievement even though it is not something that people like to talk about but the impact will be good because we would now build children that are healthy and intelligent thereby the future of our country will be secured.”
On the health, he said the Lagos State Government has increased the budget to the sector by almost 70 per cent and are planning to build new hospitals across the state.
He said: “We want to make sure that every part of Lagos is covered in terms of healthcare delivery services. For instance, we are planning to build a General Hospital in Ojo; that axis doesn’t seem to have any at the moment. We are also planning to build a spinal injury hospital somewhere in Gbagada.
We are also getting people to help us design as we have been made to understand that a lot of our General Hospitals needs to be redesigned.
“For example, you go to UCH, Ibadan at night without air conditioner (AC) you feel cold because of the architectural design. It is designed so that air can pass through… that is cross ventilation. We have gotten people that design hospitals for the tropics.”
Hamzat said the government is not just interested in building new structures, but building ones that are easier to maintain and allows for ventilation.
He added: “Part of the challenge in most hospitals is that you go for the treatment of one ailment and later get infected with another thing.
So these are the questions we asked our medical team. We are not medical doctors but we know these things happen. So, we are redesigning our hospitals.”
On the hardship imposed on residents by the ban on commercial motorcycle and tricycle operators, otherwise known as Okada and Keke by the government, Dr. Hamzat said the underlying motive behind the policy is to reduce accidents on the roads and thereby preserve the lives of Lagosians.
He said: “The most important thing for us is that people must be alive before they can do anything. When life is lost, then there is really nothing else. It’s the dead end.
So for us what is important is how do we secure this society? There are details and information that the government sometimes has that you can’t even share with citizens because they won’t be able to sleep if you divulge such information.”
The deputy governor said critics of the policy have been insisting that alternatives ought to have been put in place before the ban came into effect.
He said: “But, I disagree because it will have been too late if we delayed further; if we failed to secure the lives of our children we will be very irresponsible. That is why it was restricted in certain areas where we saw the upsurge.”
On the menace of members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) on Lagos roads, the deputy governor said the challenge is that it is a national union recognised by law.
He said like the Association of Academic Union of Universities (ASUU), there are many things that members of the union do that the state government does not support, “but as a union recognised by law in our country, we will keep engaging them in dialogue.”
He said: “Whether we like it or not, they have some roles that they play in the transportation sector because you know what, the transportation sector is not something that private people go into without subsidy from government all over the world.
But they are doing it without such assistance, so we must find a way to make it better for them and for us as a people. The engagement must continue for us to have a peaceful society.”
The deputy governor spoke extensively on the traffic gridlock in Lagos, attributing it, for the most part, to the breakdown of vehicles, which impede the free flow of traffic.
The Lagos number two citizen also attributed the traffic gridlock to ongoing road constructions in various parts of the city. He said: “For instance, at Ojota, we are replacing the whole stretch of Ikorodu Road with concrete. At Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, we are also doing concrete.
The problem is that on that corridor, we are doing 300 metres every day but it takes 14 days to execute it properly.
So, because it takes 14 days, no vehicle can pass within those number days. It means that for a long time, that corridor would continue to experience traffic while the project is ongoing. a challenge about there.
“In fact, it is one of the reasons that we are talking to the company that maybe we should use reinforced bitumen rather than concrete, particularly as the construction work approaches Oworonshoki.”
Alaka, he added, is also experiencing a similar traffic gridlock because of the expansion project also ongoing there, it is a problem.
Because a lot of these things are happening, there will be (gridlock). “But, I think it is better to do it once and in another six or seven months, everybody will be okay,” he added.
Hamzat said the administration is taking advantage of the body of water that surrounds Lagos, by developing water transport. He said 14 boats were recently purchased and are being used to convey people in a most comfortable way.
He urged many residents along the coastal line to take advantage of the waterways to get to their destinations, and thereby reduce pressure on the roads.
His words: “We need the water not just to farm but also for transportation. The Lagos State Government just procured those 14 new boats. The beauty of it is that all those boats were built in Nigeria. Of course, we brought the engine, but we have been able to build that capacity to build boats.”
Hamzat said Lagos deserves a special status because of the nature of the responsibilities it is shouldering within the Nigerian federation. He said the state is pursuing it through a bill on the floor of the Senate initiated by Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
He said: “We are pushing it; maybe we are going about it in a different way. It might not be in the newspapers. It is by talking to everybody that is involved in the process. It is really going on but in a different way. If something is not working in a particular way, you try another approach.”
On the perceived heavy borrowing in Lagos and the debt profile, he said there is no way the government can meet up with the huge infrastructural deficit without borrowing. He said: “There is a musician in Epe in the 1970s; he is dead now.
His name is Ligali Mukaiva; he was not educated, but he said something profound that has stuck to my memory since. I was in primary school then.
The man sang a song that any businessman that doesn’t use other people’s money will not succeed. So, the reality is, where do you get resources to build for today?
“I remember during Asiwaju Tinubu’s government when they took a bond of 15 billion. The opposition said Oh; he has mortgaged the lives of the young people.
That loan has been paid. During BRF government, we took 375 billion bonds, that bond has been paid. Without that, we cannot build the Lekki Link Bridge.”
He said Lagos gets only N8 billion or N9 billion monthly from federal allocation. “By the time you pay salaries, you only have N1 billion left. What can you do with N1 billion? So, the reality is, how do you source the find for infrastructural development?” he said.
Continue Reading
……Era of shared prosperity begins, Tinubu assures
Nigeria has reached a turning point in its economic recovery, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu declared.
He said the period of painful reforms has accomplished its purpose, and the country is now entering what he described as an “age of prosperity”.
Tinubu, in his Independence Day address to Nigerians marking the country’s 66th anniversary this morning, said the central task of his administration would henceforth shift from correcting structural economic distortions to ensuring that the gains of the reforms translate into lower living costs, jobs, increased production and broadly shared prosperity.
“The age of reform has done its work. Now begins the age of prosperity.
“An age in which the promise of this great nation must finally become the lived experience of Nigerians from all walks of life”, the President said.
He said the government’s immediate priority in the new phase would be to bring down the cost of living by reducing the cost of producing and transporting food and other goods consumed by Nigerians.
Tinubu, who likened the state of the economy his administration inherited in 2023 to a cancer patient requiring painful treatment, said the government had completed what he called the “emergency treatment” of the economy and repaired its foundations.
“My fellow Nigerians, we have reached a turning point.
“The emergency treatment is over. The foundation has been repaired. The central economic task before us has changed. For three years, our overriding purpose was to correct our nation’s course.
“Now, our purpose is simple: shared and widespread prosperity,” he said.
The President said the prosperity being envisaged was not merely about headline economic growth or improved statistics, but about creating conditions under which Nigerians could afford food and transportation, access education and healthcare, secure productive employment and confidently plan their future.
He said his administration would pursue increased agricultural production through mechanised irrigation, dry-season farming, improved access to seeds and fertiliser, greater mechanisation and investment in storage and transportation.
According to him, ongoing investments in roads, railways and ports would also reduce the cost of moving produce and manufactured goods from farms and factories to markets.
“Our logic is simple. When a farmer produces more cheaply, when fewer crops are lost between the farm and the market, when a manufacturer spends less on electricity, when a truck reaches its destination faster, and when the business environment fosters fair competition, all those savings will ultimately find their way into the price of goods in the market,” he said.
Tinubu said job creation, enterprise development and industrial expansion would also be placed at the centre of government policy, with greater emphasis on gas-powered industries, revival of manufacturing centres, digital connectivity and improved access to infrastructure and finance.
The President said the country must convert its huge youthful population into an engine of economic production by equipping young people with skills demanded by employers and creating conditions for Nigerian businesses to expand.
“I want to see more Nigerians making things. I want to see more Nigerian farms feeding our cities and supplying our factories. I want to see Nigerian businesses selling Nigerian goods to the whole world. I want young Nigerians building unicorns and creating opportunities for others here at home,” he said.
Defending the economic reforms undertaken since his assumption of office, Tinubu rejected calls for a reversal of some of the policies, particularly subsidies, arguing that the measures did not create Nigeria’s economic weaknesses but were introduced to confront them.
The President compared previous economic management approaches to administering painkillers to a cancer patient instead of treating the underlying disease.
“For too long, Nigeria’s leaders chose morphine while praying for a miracle that never came.
“They focused on symptoms while allowing the disease to take hold deep within the fabric of our society. We spent enormous sums sustaining inefficient arrangements that were never intended to last. We hid from difficult truths and passed the consequences from one generation to the next,” he said.
Tinubu acknowledged that the reforms imposed hardship on Nigerians, saying their “side effects were real,” but insisted that Nigerians must distinguish between what he described as the medicine and the disease.
“Our reforms did not create the weaknesses in our economy. They confronted them.
“Now, as certain influential but regressive voices would have us abandon the treatment and return ourselves to the abuse of addictive subsidies, we must resist their siren song. We must remember why we began this journey and how far we have already come,” he said.
The President said three and a half years after the reforms began, the country’s economic outlook had improved, citing economic growth of more than four per cent this year, contributions from both oil and non-oil sectors, declining oil theft, falling inflation, improved foreign reserves and greater stability in the foreign exchange market.
He also said Nigeria recorded its highest non-oil export revenue in 2025, exceeding $6 billion, adding that increased foreign direct investment and private sector activity reflected improving confidence in the economy.
While acknowledging that millions of Nigerians were still struggling with food, school fees, healthcare, transportation and other basic needs, Tinubu said the government would continue strengthening support for vulnerable households while pursuing policies capable of lifting people permanently out of poverty.
He said the National Social Register was being improved to ensure assistance reached those genuinely in need, while programmes such as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation, CREDICORP, were designed to broaden access to education and essential assets.
According to him, the government would also work with states and local governments to strengthen primary healthcare, basic education and other public services relied upon by low-income Nigerians.
“These programmes are not substitutes for prosperity. They are a bridge to aid our nation’s citizens on their path towards it. Our objective is not to manage poverty more efficiently.
“We will defeat it,” Tinubu declared.
He admitted that reversing decades of poverty, low productivity, inadequate infrastructure and weak institutions would take time, discipline, sustained economic growth and the creation of millions of productive opportunities.
“We cannot erase in four years what accumulated over generations. But we can change its course. We can build an economy that steadily lifts people out of poverty while ensuring that those who remain vulnerable are not abandoned along the way,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s 66 years of independence, Tinubu paid tribute to generations of Nigerians who had kept faith with the country despite war, military rule, economic crises, insecurity and political upheavals.
He also praised farmers, traders, teachers, entrepreneurs and members of the Armed Forces and security agencies, saying their sacrifices had sustained the country through difficult periods.
The President said Nigeria’s founding fathers fought not merely for a flag, anthem or international recognition, but for Nigerians to have the freedom to determine their destiny and build a country capable of providing opportunity, dignity and a better life.
He urged Nigerians not to retreat from the difficult choices already made, expressing confidence that the sacrifices of recent years would eventually translate into improved living standards.
“Nigeria has corrected its course. We have passed through our own Red Sea. This is not the time to look back. Let us go forward together, with faith in ourselves, faith in our country, and faith that the sacrifices we have made will yield their reward,” Tinubu said.
Describing the country’s desired destination as a “Promised Land” of abundance, opportunity and broadly shared prosperity, the President said the foundations for that future had already been laid.
“Our destination is in sight. Our foundations are strong. Our direction is clear. So let us go forward. No looking back,” he declared.
President Bola Tinubu has returned to Nigeria after spending about four weeks in Europe. Government
The presidential aircraft carrying the President landed at the Presidential Wing of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport at about 6:22 p.m. on Tuesday.
Journalists at the airport were restricted from taking visuals of the President’s arrival as the aircraft made its way to the terminal.
Tinubu departed Nigeria on August 30 for London, then travelled to Paris, where he held engagements with French President Emmanuel Macron, including a dinner. Government
His return marks the end of his extended stay abroad; the President is expected to participate in activities marking Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary on October 1st.
President Bola Tinubu has unveiled an investment package of more than $7 billion for the development of the Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone and the Gateway Deep Seaport, describing the projects as a major step towards strengthening Nigeria’s maritime economy and attracting foreign investment.
In a statement by his Spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, the President spoke in Paris, France, during the signing of Memoranda of Understanding between the Ogun State Government and DP World, a global ports and logistics operator, for the development of the projects.
Tinubu assured domestic and foreign investors that the Federal Government would continue to provide regulatory clarity, policy stability and a predictable business environment to support long-term investments in Nigeria.
“The agreements before us bring together vision, expertise, capital and execution capacity. I particularly welcome DP World, one of the world’s leading port and logistics operators,” the President said.
He added that the Federal Government would provide the necessary regulatory and institutional support to ensure that the projects moved seamlessly from agreements to implementation.
According to the President, the agreements are expected to attract an initial investment of more than $7 billion into the Nigerian economy and create over 50,000 direct jobs when fully developed, alongside additional indirect employment opportunities.
Tinubu said the projects would also generate non-oil export earnings and contribute to Nigeria’s economic diversification.
“This is economic diversification made tangible. This is industrialisation made visible. This is Renewed Hope in action,” he said.
The proposed Gateway Deep Seaport at Ogun Waterside will have a four-kilometre berth and an 18-
metre draft. The facility is expected to help decongest the Lagos port corridor and ease pressure on the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports.
The president said the deeper draft would enable the port to accommodate larger vessels while providing a competitive gateway for trade within Nigeria and across the African Continental Free Trade Area.
He noted that the proposed Ogun State Blue Marine Special Economic Zone would cover about 10,000 hectares and would be integrated with the deep seaport to support manufacturing, processing, exports and logistics.
“The Gateway Deep Seaport is the critical infrastructure that will support the zone’s viability. A port moves cargo; a port integrated with a special economic zone helps to build an economy. Each reinforces the other,” Tinubu said.
He said the Federal Government would facilitate road, rail and power connectivity to the projects, while strengthening investment security and the maritime domain and removing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles.
The president also linked the projects to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, describing the Ogun section of the road as a critical transport connection for the emerging industrial and maritime corridor.
“The Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway is central to this corridor’s commercial viability,” he said, adding that the 28-kilometre Ogun section of the 700-kilometre highway was scheduled for completion before the end of the year.
Tinubu said the port and industrial zone would also form part of a wider strategic corridor linking the proposed Nigerian Navy Operating Base and Dockyard with the OK LNG Project.
The President commended Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun and his administration for securing the land and structuring the investment framework.
“I commend Governor Dapo Abiodun and the government and people of Ogun State for securing the land, structuring the investment framework and reducing project risks for global investors,” he said.
Governor Abiodun led the Ogun State delegation at the signing ceremony, which also included state commissioners and other senior officials.
Senior representatives of DP World, the Nigerian Ports Authority and SkyKapital were also present at the event.
Tinubu urged Ogun State and the investors to maintain the momentum created by the agreements and move quickly towards implementation.
“Nigeria lies at the heart of West African trade. Yet, our strategic advantage has been constrained by port congestion, inadequate draft capacity and logistics bottlenecks that increase the cost of doing business. These projects respond directly to those constraints,” he said.
-
news6 years agoUPDATE: #ENDSARS: CCTV footage of Lekki shootings intact – Says Sanwo – Olu
-
lifestyle6 years agoFormer Miss World: Mixed reactions trail Agbani Darego’s looks
-
health6 years agoChairman Agege LG, Ganiyu Egunjobi Receives Covid-19 Vaccines
-
lifestyle5 years agoObateru: Celebrating a Quintessential PR Man at 60
-
news1 year agoBREAKING: Tinubu swears in new NNPCL Board
-
health6 years agoUPDATE : Nigeria Records 790 new cases of COVID-19
-
entertainment2 years agoAshny Set for Valentine Special and new Album ‘ Femme Fatale’
-
health6 years agoBREAKING: Nigeria confirms 663 new cases of COVID-19