Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Lagos to compel landlords to paint structures on highways
Property owners whose structures are on major highways in Lagos State are now required to put them in good shape by regularly applying coats of paints on them in order to complement the government‘s environmental beautification programme.
By way of courtesy, the government, through the Ministry of the Environment, has written letters of appeal to the owners of structures, which exteriors are considered not to be in ideal states to give them a facelift.
Speaking at a press conference on the second year anniversary of the Governor Babatunde Fashola‘s administration on Wednesday, the Commissioner for the Environment, Dr. Muiz Banire, said that the government decided to take this action because of its belief in persuasion and collaboration with members of the public to achieve maximum goals with minimal enforcement.
He said that sections 1, 5, 6, 34 and 36 of the Certificate of Occupancy had placed the responsibility of maintaining both the interior and exterior of properties on the owners, noting that it had expressly implied and consented to and had to be carried out for such property owners to continue to enjoy the right of ownership.
The painting exercise, according to him, had commenced and it is expected that significant change will be noticed in the next 90 days when the first set of notices would have expired.
Speaking on the ministry‘s efforts to encourage the turning of wastes into useful products, Banire said that the suitability of the compost being produced by Earthcare Nigeria Limited at the Odogunyan, Ikorodu waste-to-wealth facility had been confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives after composition analysis by a research institute, noting that the product was now being aggressively marketed to farmers and contractors handling beautification projects across the state.
To facilitate the establishment of more waste-to-wealth plants, Banire said that a standing technical committee comprising representatives of the ministries of Environment, Works and Infrastructure, Economic Planning and Budget, Agriculture and Cooperatives and the New Towns Development Authority, Office of the Surveyor-General, Lagos Waste Management Authority and Lands Bureau had been inaugurated.
The commissioner said that the committee had concluded the appraisal of about 67 proposals and invited 38 proponents of waste-to-wealth plants for technical presentation, noting that the recommendations of the committee to process agreements with four companies and sign Memorandum of Understanding with eight companies, three out of which should be allocated land for the proposed projects had been approved.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Lagos IGR hits N14bn monthly. Eko O Ni Baje Lai Lai.....
LAGOS — The Lagos State Government has beefed up its internally generated revenue from N10 billion to a monthly average of N14 billion.
| Written by Jude Njoku | |
| Wednesday, 13 May 2009 |
The State Commissioner for Finance, Mr Rotimi Oyekan, who disclosed this at a press briefing to mark the second year of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s administration, attributed the increase to the restructuring of the former Lagos State Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) as an autonomous Lagos Internal Revenue Services (LIRS) and the resultant increase in the number of tax paying adults in the state.
The Commissioner explained that the revenue potentials of the state were being extended to reduce the number of tax evaders in the professional and informal sectors of the economy, adding that government’s target is to internally generate N15 billion monthly within the next one year.
Noting that the revenue increase came solely through the enforcement of existing tax laws, Mr Oyekan urged all Lagos residents to pay their taxes promptly to enhance the accelerated implementation of the 2009 budget.
“The financial stability being enjoyed by this government is as a result of this visionary step of developing a finance model for the state.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lagos Set to Build Refinery
Lagos Set to Build Refinery Ekene Okoro
14 May 2009
Lagos — Lagos State Government is to build a modular refinery capable of processing between 12,000 and 15,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
State Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Adesegun Oniru, who disclosed this during a ministerial briefing to herald the second anniversary of the Babatunde Fashola administration, added that his ministry is understudying similar projects in other states of the federation to understand the modalities involved.
He added that the step was in anticipation of the discovery of oil and gas in Lagos State.
He said the project would gulp about $10 million and that it would have capacity of providing employment for over 5,000 workers when completed.
Oniru did not give details of the quantity of oil and gas deposit in the state but assured that a consultant, Moban Limited, has been engaged to monitor and assess the status of the state.
According to him, the consultant is saddled with the task of monitoring oil block allotments within the jurisdiction of the state and ensure that the operators fulfil their statutory obligations, create a geological/ geophysical databank for the state and source for indigenous/foreign technical partners that will work with the state government in timely exploration of the vacant blocks.
He stated that his ministry was poised to make Lagos a mineral producing state soonest.
While commenting on the activities of his ministry in the last one year, Oniru said 51 persons were arrested for illegal dredging activities along Badagry, Ikorodu and Ajah axis and prosecuted accordingly.
He reiterated the state government's embargo on illegal dredging and issuance of permit for dredging activities, just as he added that Governor Babatunde Fashola has endorsed an enabling law that empowers his ministry to arrest and prosecute anybody engaging in dredging along the waterfronts without permit.
The commissioner, who also spoke on the extent of work at the "Eko Atlantic City", said once completed it will accommodate about 250,000 people while 200,000 commuters are expected to flow daily to the city to work.
He added that the city will combine residential, commercial and financial tourist accommodation and would be serviced by state-of-the-art and high-tech infrastructure.
On plans to arrest the activities of illegal extension beyond allotted space by allotees on shoreline, Oniru said a proposal has been made for a new policy on waterfront land administration.
Copyright © 2009 Daily Independent. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
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