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Sanwo-Olu’s development agenda for Lagos

Published

6 years ago

April 30, 2020

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.

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Update : Adeyemi Matthew Is a Fraudster Plotting to Implicate Chief of Staff, Says Onanuga

Published

10 hours ago

July 1, 2026

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…says Gbajabiamila first reported fake presidential agency to DSS, Police

…adds police file eight-count charge against suspect, two accomplices

The Presidency on Wednesday described Adeyemi Adeniyi Matthew as a con artist with a long record of elaborate scams, warning politicians and the public against using his claims to falsely implicate the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila.

In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Matthew had been parading himself as Director-General of a fictitious Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council, also referred to as the Presidential Economic Advisory Council.

Onanuga said the Office of the Chief of Staff to the President was, in fact, the first to alert security agencies to the activities of the illegal body after complaints from the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council that another so-called government agency appeared to be working at cross-purposes with it. NigeriaCurrent Affairs

According to the statement, the Chief of Staff had, in a letter dated October 17, 2025, asked the Department of State Services and the Police to investigate “fraudsters and impostors” forging appointment letters purportedly issued from his office.

The forged documents, the Presidency said, carried fake signatures, reference numbers and seals, and were being used to claim appointments into non-existent bodies, especially the so-called Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council.

Gbajabiamila’s petition also alleged that Adeyemi Matthew operated from an office at the Federal Secretariat Complex, Phase III, Abuja, held meetings with Nigerians and foreigners, and requested a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate United States visas for some of his purported staff.

The Presidency said the Chief of Staff warned the security agencies that the development constituted a serious criminal act capable of undermining the integrity of the Presidency and official government communication.

The statement said the petition was accompanied by copies of the forged appointment letter, a request for a note verbale to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and pictures of engagements obtained from the illegal agency’s website.

It further added that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had also raised concern about the fake agency after Adeyemi Matthew held a meeting with ambassadors at Wells Carlton Hotel and Apartments, Asokoro, on October 10, 2025, without recourse to the ministry.

In a letter dated October 15, 2025, signed by Ambassador Anderson Madubuike, the ministry wrote to the Office of the National Security Adviser and the Chief of Staff requesting clarification on Adeyemi Matthew’s agency, describing his action as a breach of diplomatic practice.

“This act contravenes extant rules and regulations guiding diplomatic practices globally”, the ministry stated.

The Presidency said the Office of the National Security Adviser later wrote to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on October 20, while the OSGF, on October 29, wrote to the Chief of Staff seeking clarification following inquiries from government and non-governmental bodies.

The statement explained that Gbajabiamila had already sent a clear rebuttal to the Foreign Affairs Ministry two days earlier, stating that he never issued any appointment letter to Adeyemi Matthew as Director-General of the fake council.

He said the Chief of Staff could not have appointed anyone into a non-existent agency, adding that appointments and appointment letters are the responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not the Chief of Staff.

In another response to the OSGF on November 5, 2025, Gbajabiamila again denied knowledge of Adeyemi Matthew and the fake agency, saying Matthew and the so-called Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council were unknown to his office.

The Presidency said the Police, acting on the Chief of Staff’s October 17 petition, arrested Adeyemi Matthew on October 27, 2025, at the Abuja office where he allegedly operated the scam.

Police investigators also searched the office and Adeyemi Matthew’s residence in Suleja, recovering documents and exhibits.

In his statement to the Police, Adeyemi Matthew allegedly claimed that one Dolapo Babatunde Tanimola assisted him in procuring the fake appointment letter. Police later discovered that Tanimola had died in a fire incident at Kachi Hotel, Abuja, on October 22, five days before Matthew’s arrest.

According to Onanuga, the Police established that Adeyemi Matthew’s purported agency was fictitious, that he forged his appointment letter and other recovered documents, and that he falsely paraded himself as a government appointee.

The Police also found that he falsely solicited a note verbale from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to secure United States visas for himself and his purported staff.

The statement further disclosed that Adeyemi Matthew operated 34 bank accounts, including nine opened in the names of fictitious agencies identified as FCT Investment Promotion Agency and Public Private Partnership, FIPA-APP, and FCT Investment Promotion Act.

It said Adeyemi Matthew allegedly used fake documents to fraudulently open a Central Bank of Nigeria account by misleading the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, though no government money had been transferred into the account. NigeriaCurrent Affairs

Quoting the police investigation report by Assistant Commissioner Kabir Mogaji, the Presidency said Adeyemi Matthew’s conduct amounted to criminal forgery, impersonation and obtaining by false pretence, bringing the Office of the Chief of Staff and the Presidency into disrepute before the public and the international community.

Based on the investigation, the Police filed an eight-count charge against Adeyemi Matthew and two alleged accomplices at the Federal High Court, Abuja, on November 27, 2025. He is expected in court on July 27.

The Presidency said Adeyemi Matthew was on police bail when he recently claimed that the Chief of Staff appointed him as Director-General of the fictitious agency, a claim Onanuga said contradicted his statement to the Police in November 2025.

The fresh claim, according to the statement, prompted the Chief of Staff to issue a disclaimer on June 8, 2026, consistent with earlier advisories that Adeyemi Matthew was an impostor.

“The case of Prince Adeniyi Adeyemi Matthew is a clear case of a con artist who appears to have built a web of false claims to deceive unsuspecting government officials and the public into playing by his scam book,” Onanuga said.

He added that Adeyemi Matthew had a history of fraudulent misrepresentation, recalling that in November 2016, he allegedly paraded himself as an ambassador and President-General of the World Youth Organisation, which he claimed was affiliated with the United Nations.

The statement said Adeyemi Matthew claimed to have been elected in New Delhi, India, and was celebrated by local media until the United Nations denied the existence of such a body.

The Presidency advised politicians and members of the public to disregard Adeyemi Matthew’s claims against the Chief of Staff rather than accepting his narrative without scrutiny.

It urged them to await the trial of Adeyemi Matthew and his alleged accomplices, as well as the court’s judgment, warning that public comments on the matter are sub judice.

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Update : NIMC Records Facilitate Arrest of Seven Boko Haram, ISWAP Commanders – Ojo Reveals

Published

5 days ago

June 27, 2026

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‎NIMC database helped arrest seven Boko Haram, ISWAP commanders returning from Hajj – Minister

‎The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, said on Friday that Nigeria’s integrated identity management system led to the arrest of seven suspected Boko Haram and ISWAP commanders returning from the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage.

‎Tunji-Ojo disclosed this at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, shortly after President Bola Tinubu signed the National Identity Management Commission Act 2026 into law, as contained in a statement signed by the President’s aide, Bayo Onanuga.

‎According to the minister, the suspects were arrested last Thursday at the Katsina airport after returning from Mecca and were subsequently handed over to the Department of State Services.

‎He said the arrests were made possible through the integration of the National Identity Management Commission database with the Nigeria Immigration Service database and its connection to Interpol.

‎”I know, sometime ago, the Senate President was alarmed by how some terrorists went on pilgrimage, wondering how they crossed our borders. We inherited a fractured system.

‎”But I’m happy to tell you that even last week, Thursday, seven of the known commanders of Boko Haram and ISWAP at the point of coming back from Mecca were arrested in Katsina at the airport and were handed over to the DSS.

‎”This is only possible because NIMC’s ID is already connected with the immigration database, and it’s already speaking to even the Interpol 24/7, and we have been able to automate this,” the minister said.

Tinubu signs NIMC Act into law
‎Tunji-Ojo said the newly signed NIMC Act would further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture by accelerating the harmonisation of identity databases and improving inter-agency collaboration.

‎According to him, the law will enhance the integrity of the National Identity Number system while boosting the country’s capacity to combat identity theft, terrorism, financial crimes and other security threats.

‎He said that before the current administration, identity management systems were fragmented, noting that services such as passport issuance and driver’s licence processing were disconnected from the national identity database.

‎”When Mr President came on board, we had a disconnected system within our identity data management system. At that time, getting a passport and getting a driving permit were completely disconnected from our identity database.

‎”But today, you can’t get a Nigerian passport without pulling data from NIMC,” he stated.

‎Tinubu signed the NIMC Act 2026 on Friday in the presence of Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu and other senior government officials.

Post Views: 50

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Ozekhome Ordered to Stop Using SAN Rank Amid Forgery Allegations

Published

1 week ago

June 24, 2026

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Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mike Ozekhome, has been barred by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) from further parading or referring to himself with that title pending the conclusion of ongoing disciplinary proceedings and other cases involving him.

“This action was taken pursuant to Paragraph 26(6) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria and All Matters Pertaining to the rank, pending the final determination of the disciplinary proceedings, presently before the Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee of the LPPC and other proceedings.

“Accordingly, Chief Mike Ozekhome shall refrain from parading himself, presenting himself, or otherwise holding himself out as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria pending the final determination of the disciplinary proceedings,” the LPPC said in a statement issued on Wednesday evening by its Secretary, Kabir Akanbi.

Besides the “disciplinary proceedings” which the LPPC said are pending before its Disciplinary and Ethics Sub-Committee, Ozekhome and another defendant, Ponfa Useni, are currently being prosecuted before a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Maitama.

Ozekhome and Useni are being prosecuted by the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) for, among others, allegedly forging documents, including an international passport and an irrevocable power of attorney, and engaging in impersonation to lay claim to a property in London allegedly acquired unlawfully by the late Jeremiah Useni, former Minister of the FCT.

Alleged forgery: Court AGF takes over Ozekhome’s case from ICPC
Fed Govt charges Ozekhome with forgery over UK property
The statement by Akanbi read, “The Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC), at its 173rd general meeting held on 23rd June 2026, approved the suspension of Chief Mike Ozekhome, from the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

“The suspension is intended to safeguard the integrity, dignity, and prestige of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, while due consideration is given to the matters under review.

“The LPPC remains committed to upholding the highest standards of professional ethics, integrity, and discipline within the legal profession and to ensuring that the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria continues to command public confidence and respect.”

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