Fashola Commissions Automobile Services, Skill Acqusition Centre

Fashola Commissions Automobile Services, Skill Acquisition Center

Jul 17, 2012 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Tuesday commissioned an automobile sales, services, training and skill acquisition centre in Ikeja saying the biggest achievement of the Government from the centre would be the qualified personnel that would be produced there from. The automobile sales, services, training and skill acquisition centre named CG – Eko LLP Automobile Centre, is a Public Private Partnership arrangement between Messrs Coscharis Group and the Lagos State Government which has revamped the old Eko Engineering Ventures Limited into an ultra modern centre for the sales and service of automobiles which will also provide training and skill in automobile engineering for young artisans. In his remarks at the ceremony, Governor Fashola said the concept and successful execution of the project underpinned the philosophy of his administration that Public Private Partnerships are very strategic tools for achieving its objectives in the State. Governor Fashola, who gave credits to his predecessors for their initiative in establishing Eko Engineering Ventures Limited, however, said the failure of the venture to achieve the objectives for which it was established probably validates the popular thinking today that there are businesses that government should not be involved in. "The concept of ownership necessarily requires that we should rethink and rework our models. It is not who owns the land; it is whether or not we can get skilled and qualified men whose core business is automobile sales, automobile maintenance and automobile re-fleeting to work for us, to give us what we want", the Governor said.

Fashola Unveils Co-Operative College, 60 Refrigerated Meat Vans

Fashola Unveils Co-Operative College, 60 Refrigerated Meat Vans Jul 10, 2012 - The Lagos State Government on Tuesday received the commendations of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina for using agriculture and food security to mitigate the social security challenges associated with the state's mega city status, just as the Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) declared that Nigeria cannot develop until her people go back to the farms. Speaking before the official commissioning of the Lagos State Cooperative College, Oko-Oba, Agege, launch of 60 Eko Refrigerated Meat Vans and the flag off of the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme which took place at the Johnson Agiri Complex, Oko- Oba, Agege, the Minister said the road map policy document –titled Strategic Programme for Accelerated Agricultural Growth (SPAAG) which relates all the key agricultural sub-sectors with the singular objective of improving agricultural output, productivity and emphasis on wealth and job creation bears eloquent testimony to the state's commitment. "Lagos State's plan to create jobs while addressing food security is highly commendable. The "Rice for Job" which is the pioneering rice initiative for Lagos State has moved area of rice cultivation in Lagos from less than 20 hectares to its current 250 hectares and counting. In a sector that is experiencing aging workforce, Lagos State has done well to attract youths and sustain their interest. Employment record from the State has shown an increase from 300 youths benefitting from the State Agricultural Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES) project in 2007 to 1500 in 2010", Dr Adesina stated. The State Governor, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) noted that now is the time for Nigerians to think very simply but deeply that the country must tailor its demands to meet its economy because each time the people hold a party and consume foreign food items to the detriment of locally produced items, a foreign economy is being boosted. The Governor said the nation already possesses the land, water, men and now the policy to let her embrace agriculture and restore it to its pride of place, adding that even when anyone makes money the first urge to be satisfied is hunger. The Governor supported the Minister's position that the rice that are imported from Malaysia and Thailand are stored rice with no nutritional values to Nigerians, adding that those who export it do not eat such extensively preserved rice but depend on the equivalent of the Ofada rice which Nigerians have abandoned.

Collective Responsibility, A Must For Societal Growth - Fashola …Urges restraint, patience on the roads as winners emerge in 2012 Traffic Safety Advocacy competition Jul 5, 2012 - Pupils drawn from primary and secondary schools in the state on Thursday displayed their vast knowledge about how the roads could be made friendlier for the physically challenged at the finals of the 2012 Be Road Friendly (BRF) Competition with Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) asserting that the way forward lies in having a responsible and collective leadership from everyone. The Governor who spoke at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa venue of the event organised by the Lagos State School Traffic Safety Advocacy Programme added that this is not a time for finger pointing as to who should carry the can for the current state of things but to have a responsible leadership where everyone plays his part. He noted that it would require the participation of every member of the community to build the kind of state that they want as well as ensure that the people build the kind of City- state where the children can go out in the same way the generation of children before them could safely go out. The Governor said going by the content of the various presentations by the children they have spoken loudly and in unison that the parents are hurting them and are resolute about what they want in terms of road safety and would go to any length to achieve it. He added that the question to the adults should be: "Do we want to be part of this or we want to be left behind by them?".

Fashola Visits, Offers Scholarship To Students Of Vocational Centre For The Blind As He Turns 49

un 28, 2012 - As has been his tradition since the last five years, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Thursday celebrated his 49th birthday with students of the Nigeria Society for the Blind's Vocational Training Centre in Oshodi offering annual scholarships to the students and support for the development projects of the school. In his remarks at the occasion, Governor Fashola said the State Government would give yearly scholarships to the full capacity of inmates in the school as a way of showing appreciation to the founders, the Board of Trustees and management of the institution for the selfless service they render to the society. Governor Fashola said in the last five years, his administration has not only put in place a legislation to protect the physically challenge in the society, it has taken concrete steps to show a consciousness of the needs of the group. Among others, he said, Government had made it mandatory to include ramps and walkways while building hospitals, schools, courts and roads especially for the use of the physically challenged as a matter of law enacted by Government which sets guidelines about what it should do to give the physically challenged the opportunity to live a useful and fruitful life. The Governor, however, expressed dismay that some of the walkways have been turned to trading posts. He hinted that Government would continue to enforce the law to check those who fail to comply with the directive to keep the walkways strictly free for the purpose for which they are built. "It is not the money. It is the consciousness that they have abilities and we support them in living useful and fruitful lives", the Governor said adding, "Therefore, when we build roads, we must have walkways and this is what you see in many of the roads that the Lagos State Government is building today; pedestrian walkways to separate them from motorists". Appealing to the private sector to also contribute in making life more meaningful for the physically challenged, Governor Fashola declared, "Almost all the public structures we have built in the last five years – courts, hospitals and schools - have ramps where we cannot provide lift".