Month: <span>September 2020</span>

Lagos State House of Assembly through its committee on Commerce and Industry inspects the new Rice Mill at Imota in Ikorodu area of the State.

The Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon noted that the essence of the inspection is to ascertain facts by ensuring that money expended by the government on projects is spent judiciously and tax payers get value for their money.

Hon. Okanlawon while highlighting some of the benefits, noted that the new Rice Mill will stimulate the economy by providing lot of benefits to Micro, Small and Medium Entreprises (MSME) and the essence of the Industrial park is to bring entrepreneurs and MSME into the hurb so they can enjoy the benefits in localisation of Industry.

He therefore charged the Ministry to ensure there is adequate provision for industries displaced at Yaba, Matori and Isolo park in the new site.

It would be recalled that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and CIBA Construction company had paid a courtesy visit to the Committee.

The Chairman while expressing his satisfaction with the quality of materials used for construction, commended the Construction company for doing a layman’s job even in the face of economic strangulation, adding that government will enjoy taxes that will be accrued from entrepreneurs who will also have financial Independence.

Lagos State House of Assembly through its committee on Home Affairs has resolved the brewing crisis at the Hausa community central mosque in Agege area of the State.

The crisis emanated from the renovation and custodian of the mosque between the Sarkin and Arewa united foundation groups in the community.

The Spokesperson of Sarkin group, Alh. Musa shuaib Bala stated that the Hausa community central mosque; Hausa community Eid praying ground and Hausa community burial ground, jafojo-Markaz are all under the custody and statutory right of Sarkin Hausawa and has no prior knowledge on any renovation because no individual or State agency had served him any notice on the said renovation.

The group further alleged that since the title of Jagaban of Agege was withdrawn from Arch. Ahmed Abdullahi Bala he has used his emergence as the Commissioner for waterfront and Urban Development and also his position as the head of the Arewa group to meddle in the affairs of the mosque.

Alhaji Sanni Yahya, A member of the Arewa community stated that the mosque which was built by the generality of people in 1942 aimed solely for religious purposes until the emergence of Shugaba sherif Imam Habib (A leader in the mosque), the mosque hall has been turned to a commercial area, the mosque harbours hoodlums; and funds raised from friday prayers can no longer be accounted for amongst several other irregularities. The roof of the mosque is dilapidated and other structural damages can be seen on the mosque, hence, their obligation to renovate the mosque.

In his own defence, Hon. Ahmed Abdullahi stated that series of allegations have been levelled against him and he has been under incessant attack by the other group. “I do not have any issues with the shugaba or the mosque community.” He said.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Muslim Affairs, Hon. Jebe Abdullahi stated that the mosque was locked based on Mr. Governor’s directive for violating the lockdown procedure and after the mosque was fumigated and sealed, the Ministry of Home Affairs invited the mosque officials for lighter discussions in a view to finding a lasting solution to the issues emanating from renovating the Mosque.

Hon. Olarenwaju Layode, a member of the Committee urged the group to join forces in the renovation process and set aside their differences by embracing peace as it is preached by the Noble Prophet (SAW).

However, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Setonji David condemned the attack on the Commissioner and in a bid to solve the crisis, constituted an 8-Man committee between the two groups. The committee is to be Chaired by Bala Mohammed Ali with the Chief Imam and Noyibi as the Head of Issue.

Other Members of the committee are Munir Zain Seriki, Sherif Ismail, Ibrahim Garba Tfida, Sanni Yahya, and Lawal Ahmed Yaro.

Hon. Setonji thereafter charged the constituted committe to oversee the renovation of the Mosque and solicit for peace in Agege and Lagos in general.

All members of the Hausa community present at the meeting unanimously agreed with the resolution and promised to abide by it.

Lagos State House of Assembly as part of its statutory responsibilities through the Public Accounts Committee (State) sort for a relief for the people of Badagry on the state of the roads in Badagry.

The Committee made the plea during the Year 2019 Consideration exercise of Auditor General’s Report of the Account of Lagos State MDA’s.

A member of the Public Accounts Committee (State) Hon. Setonji David representing Badagry II, called on the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to urgently find palliative measures on Lagos- Badagry Expressway. According to the Lawmaker “it took me four hours from Badagry to Ikeja despite the fact that i left home at 5am to beat the traffic”.

Hon. Setonji said the roads are no longer motorable and it is becoming unbearable to the people of badagry. He therefore urged the Commissioner for Transportation Mr.Fredric Oladeinde to prioritise the badagry axis in the list of roads to work on.

The Commissioner for Transportation Mr. Fredric Oladeinde while responding to the plea of the House, assured Lagosian through the Commitment of the Babjide Sanwo-olu’s led Administration to tackle the bad Roads in Badagry.

The Commissioner said that Roads leading to Badagry and within Badagry have been awarded to contractor and made a promise that positive changes will be recorded in that axis of Lagos State.

The Commissioner also stated that the present Administration is looking at all the possible options of road, water and eventually rail transportation on the Badagry axis. Mr.Oladeinde further said the BRT lane is already in the pipeline and will come to fruition in no distant time.

Chairman of the Committee, Hon.Saka- Nurudeen Solaja commended the Ministry of Transportation for the performance in the budget. He However urged them to endeavour that all parts of Lagos benefits from the three options of road, water and Land transportation and further urged that the reward for good work is to do more.

Recall that the House Committee on Public Accounts began the 2019 Auditor General’s Report Considerations earlier this week.

Lagos State House of Assembly’s Committee on Judiciary, Human Right Public Petitions and LASIEC held A-Day Public Hearing on a Bill for a Law to provide for the prohibition of unlawful societies and cultism in Lagos State and for other connected purposes.

The Bill which states that a person shall not form, organize or belong to any named, unnamed or yet to be named society within the State whose objective is illegal, destructive, unlawful or contrary to public policy, safety and peace of the society shall be regarded as unlawful.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Obasa who was represented by his deputy, Hon. Sanni Wasiu-Eshinlokun, in his keynote address said the bill is germane to curbing all probable threats to our social tranquility.

This scourge which hitherto is usually found in our higher institutions has now encroached into the secondary schools and vastly gaining momentum against those that are not even in schools.

Cultism and unlawful societies have become a bane, ravaging our communal virtues and challenging our social fabric.

He added that hardly has a week passed in recent times that you will not hear or read cult related stories of this blood thirsty youths inflicting pains and agonies on law abiding residents of the state. “We may have noticed the alarming increase of this trend whence our children are initiated into different confraternities and being armed with dangerous weapons and abusing assorted illegal drugs to terrorize our neighborhoods”. He said.

During the overview of the Bill, the Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Sannai Agunbiade noted that the bill provides for presumption of membership of unlawful societies. Any person who by means of intimidation, harassment, blackmail, or threat of violence, compels another person to join an unlawful society commits an offence and is therefore liable on conviction to a term of fifteen years.

The bill also provides that “Any person that is in fiduciary relationship with any student as the student’s teacher and influencer, who knowingly and unlawfully protects cultism in any guise under this Law, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a term of fifteen years.

He assured the stakeholders that all contributions would be considered at the next stage of the amendment of the bill and it would be presented at the floor of the House.

Hon. Victor Akande, Chairman of the Committee also implored stakeholders to contribute their opinion, observations and comments in respect to the Bill, while assuring them that their input would be considered and put into use.

Stakeholders’ in attendance made contributions and comments concerning the Bill; Mrs. Ariyike Ipaye Nwachukwu Chief Magistrate, Deputy Chief Registrar, High Court of Lagos observed that some undefined interpretations and called for clarity.

In the same vein, the Committee also held a Public Hearing on a Bill for a Law to Amend the Administration of Criminal Justice Law, CAP.A3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015.

In an overview of the Bill, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade stated that the Law seeks to amend Sec 4 of the principal Law and a new section will be inserted to read that a person shall not be arrested in lieu of any other persons in a criminal matter and where any person is arrested in place of another, the court shall order immediate release if it finds that the person ought not to be arrested.

Also, a police or law enforcement officer making an arrest or to whom other persons hand over the persons arrested shall record and sign an inventory of the particulars of all the items or properties recovered from the person arrested. The copy of the inventory shall be given to his legal representative in order to retrieve his properties when found innocent of the allegations. Any person, who is arrested, may volunteer to make a confessional statement in the presence of a legal practitioner or other representative acceptable to the person making the statement.

Dr. Titilayo Akaba commended the efforts of the House in respect to the various Sections of the bill which she described as innovative.

Mr. Asade Abdul Basit, the Student Union President of Lagos State University observed section 6 (4) and requested that the section should be amended as a way to attain justice.

In response, the Deputy Speaker commended all Stakeholders in attendance and reassured them that all comments will be reviewed by the Committee, adding that acceptance of Memoranda will be on till Wednesday, 30th September, 2020.

Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have adopted the report of a Bill for a Law to establish the Lagos State Lotteries and Gaming Authority Bill, 2020 from the Committee on Finance.

The Bill provides for the regulation and control of all gaming activities in the State.

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It would be recalled that the Committee on Finance chaired by Hon. Rotimi Olowo held a Public Hearing on Friday, 14th August, 2020 in order to get inputs from all stakeholders and the public.

Hon. Rotimi Olowo while presenting the report on Monday, stated that the Stakeholders at the Public Hearing observed that the relevant registered Association/Stakeholders’ and licensee in the lottery business should be carried along by the Governor in the appointment of members of the Board; also, that a person without subsisting license or authorization from the authority shall not operate, conduct or deploy any equipment, manage, accept wages or make advertisement for any gaming activity in the State amongst others.

The following recommendations were therefore made by the Committee: that the members of the Board shall be appointed by the Governor subject to the confirmation of the House; that the Authority shall submit to the Governor through the Commissioner an annual estimate of its expenditure for the next succeeding year in accordance with budgeting guidelines in the State.

The Committee also recommended that pool betting activities should be excluded from the stringent provisions of Section 23 (1) (a) as it is a game that is nearing extinction and needs to be encouraged since the activity is done once a week and mostly patronized by the elderly.

The House through the Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Obasa, thereafter adopted the recommendations as the resolutions of the House.

In another development, the Lagos State Real Estate Regulatory Authority Bill, 2020 and the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency Bill, 2020 scaled through first readings.

The Lagos State House of Assembly under the leadership of Rt.hon. Mudashiru Obasa, has urged the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) to ensure strict enforcement of the state waterways laws to reduce incessant boat mishaps in the state.

The Chairman, House Committee on Transportation, Mr Temitope Adewale (Ifako-Ijaiye I), made this known during an oversight tour to LASWA and the Lagos Ferry Services (LAGFERRY), in Lagos on Wednesday.
He said: “Enforcement is key because most of the boat mishaps we have seen are caused by the local operators.

“At the end of the day, it gives a bad name to the state government but these boats are not run by the government agency.
“In terms of enforcement, LASWA needs proper rescue boats and you need to strengthen and enforce the operation of our waterways to reduce incessant mishaps on our waterways.

Adewale noted that LASWA was created to serve as a regulator and to provide the enabling infrastructure in the waterways transport sector.
He said “the establishment of the authority was because there was need to transport people daily from point A to point B, which could not be done strictly by vehicular movement.”

Hon. Adewale, therefore, said that there was need to create an enabling environment that would be lucrative and at the same time attractive and provide security for people to use the waterways.

“You are saddled with this responsibility of water transportation because the state government is looking for alternatives to road usage and, at the same time, encouraging mass transit of waterways has to improve in the state.

“There is also need to look for a means to have a Public Private Partnership (PPP), where investors will come with their own boats; but what is most important is that there should be enforcement on the waterways.

“Once you put the right infrastructure in place, we will definitely see investors coming to invest in our waterways system.

“This will even increase the life span of our roads and we will also have a reduction in accidents we see on our roads; therefore the incessant trailers (articulated vehicles) falling on our roads will reduce because even the Containers will have to use the waterways”.

Hon. Adewale, however, said the major problem the authority was having was improper channelisation of the waterways and this should be done by the agency because it understood the routes better.

He said the exclusive right to channel the waterways routes would be added to the ongoing amendment of the Transport Law.

Hon. Adewale noted that for the safety of the state’s waterways, there was the need for LASWA to have a certification centre for boat operators and boat owners.
According to him, I want you to set up an effective and robust certification centre where boat operators, deckhands and captains are properly trained, mentored and monitored so we can have a safe ride on our waterways.

Earlier, the General Manager of LASWA, Mr Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, said the water transportation in the state presently contributes two per cent of total traffic in all motorised public transportation mode in the state.

He disclosed that road contribute over 80 per cent, hence the cause of congestion of the road network in the state.

He, therefore, called for diversification from road transportation as it would be important for the development of the state’s economy.

Mr.Emmanuel highlighted the challenges of LASWA to include the overlapping functions with the Federal Agencies and other state government agencies.

He said “Others are the inadequate budgetary allocation, unpriotised channelising of routes, control over the waterways, abandoned wrecks on the waterways.

“Also, the lack of infrastructure, awareness and fear of using the waterways, the pollution on the waterways, the water hyacinth and debris on the waterways”.

The committee also visited the Lagos Ferry Services (LAGFERRY) at Mile 2, Lagos.

Other members of the committee are Hon.Ganiyu Okanlawon (Kosofe I), Hon. Lanre Afinni (Lagos Island II), Hon. Sylvester Ogunkelu (Epe II) Hon.Surajudeen Tijani (Ojo II)

Lagos State House of Assembly on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, has proposed the amendment of the State Procurement Agency Law, 2015 with a view to raising the advance payment from 20 to 40 percent.

This was made known during the public hearing on a bill titled, ‘The Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (Amendment) Bill, 2020,’ which took place at the Lagos House of Assembly Pavilion.

In his keynote address, the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa who was represented by his Deputy, Hon Wasiu Sanni-Eshinlokun said, “Procurement is very important. It has to do with the delivery of goods and services. We felt we should do what is needed to set the state on the part of progress.”

According to him “the idea of public hearing affords the policymakers to hear from the masses. It is meant to build public confidence in the government. Good legislation must not be the yearnings of the populace alone, it must be the aggregated interest of the people.”

“We are here to discuss important issues, which is public procurement. Procurement is broad, encompassing, and covers all aspects of government activities. Lagos State is proud to be one of the states with one of the best procurement policies in Nigeria.”

He however stated, “We must never rest on oars towards the provision of better democracy. We can make remarkable progress and improvement through our contributions today.”

 

The Chairman, House Committee on Public Procurement, Hon. Rauf Age-Sulaimon said the purpose of the amendment is “to ensure that the society is regulated. When you are talking about development, procurement is the most important because if, government projects are not properly executed, of course, you will not see the result.”

“We have been talking about the money needed for projects and the economy is not smiling at all and for us to support contractors there is a need on the part of the government to encourage them. The essence of this is to increase from 20% to 40% so that the person involved would be able to do the job effectively.”

“We will ensure that the contractors adhere strictly to the terms of the contract. It will benefit the masses because it will not be the winner takes it all. It will not be the survival of the fittest because the fittest might not be capable. It is open to everybody. Once you have the requirement you will be allowed to bid.”

While giving the overview of the Bill, the Majority Leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade said, “the law as it stands today has 83 sections, out of which we are proposing to amend 38 sections. The reason for the amendment is to simplify the narration.

Agunbiade explained, “Amendment of section 63, advance payment of not more than 40 percent of the contract sum may be paid to a supplier or contractor.

“Provided that advance payment above 40 percent shall be subject to the regulation prescribed by the agency.

“Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, any person, company or authority who accesses mobilization fee and absconds or does not carry out the services or works commensurate to the fee paid commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for two years or a fine equivalent to the fee paid or both “

In a bid to resolve all the challenges relating to land matters including Certificate of Occupancy, Consents, Allocations and other related matters; the Lagos State House of Assembly through its Lands Committee met with the Permanent Secretary; Mr. Bode Agoro and the Special Adviser; Mrs. Lolade Adetunmobi of the Ministry of Lands to brief the House on the present state of Land matters, so as to find a lasting solution to the myriads of petitions sent to the Assembly.

Hon. Adedamola Kasunmu, Chairman, House Committee on Lands directed that the Ministry of Lands delegation, furnish the House with the list of existing schemes with reference to all the existing categories, hand over notes from predecessors, list of government consent, revocations, excisions and other related documents.

Hon. Noheem Adams and Hon. Rotimi Olowo who were also at the meeting enjoined Mr. Agoro and Mrs. Adetunmobi to feel free in offering other documents that can help in proferring lasting solutions to the cause.

“We are in the same Government, feel free to give us documents that will make our oversight functions easier to perform.” The Committee directed.

Mr. Agoro promised to bring the required documents on Thursday, slated for the next meeting in accordance to the 48hrs directive the lawmakers gave.

The Lagos House of Assembly has passed into law the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission( Amendment) 2020.

The bill which is an amendment to the Lagos State House of Assembly Service Commission Law of 2015 was unanimously passed into law by all members present at the plenary session of the assembly on Monday, September 14, 2020 after the Third reading.

The law is to give legal backing and operational modules to the new financial autonomy granted State Legislatures and Judiciary in the Section 121(3) of the 4th Alteration of the 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,which Mr President issued Executive Order upon in May 22,2020 for its immediate implementation.

The newly amended law which is now waiting for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s assent consists of 12 amendments and seven new sections.

Among the new amendments is Section 4 which deals with the tenure of the Chairman and members of the commission.

According to the amended Section 4, “The Chairman and members of the Commission shall hold office for a term of five(5) years and may be eligible for re-appointment for a further term of five (5) years only”.

Section 21 deals with the tenure of the Clerk of the House.
Section 21 states inter alia; ” The Clerk shall hold office for a period of four years and may be eligible for re-appointment for a further term of four (4) years only”.

Section 22 creates five Deputy Clerk positions They are as listed below:
1. Deputy Clerk (Legislative Matters)
2. Deputy Clerk (Legislative Drafting and Legal Services)
3. Deputy Clerk (Publication)
4. Deputy Clerk (Administration and Human Resources)
5. Deputy Clerk (Finance and Accounts).

Among the newly created sections of the law are Sections 24 and 29 which deal with fund of the commission and payment of salaries, pensions, other remuneration and allowances payable to members, and staff of the House of Assembly respectively.

The two items are now domiciled in the budget of the House of Assembly.