#Covid19: Ogun To Begin Distribution of Palliatives To 20,000 Youths, Says Gov. Dapo Abiodun

...Commends Ooni of Ife

AgegePulse Magazine

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has disclosed the plans of his administration to provide palliatives to twenty thousand youths across the twenty Local Government Areas of the State.

Prince Dapo Abiodun, who made this known at the Arcade Ground, Governor's Office, Oke-Mosan, when he received the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who came to present two motorised modular fumigators - an initiative of the House of Oduduwa Machine Tools - to the State Government, said that the initiative to give palliatives to youths across the twenty LGAs is meant for the poor and vulnerable youths across the State.

"Our promise is that we will continue to provide for as many people as possible. We have decided that our next target is going to our youths because they are also vulnerable. They are not elderly, but many of them are poor and vulnerable, so we have decided that we are going to identify about a thousand youths per Local Government Area across the twenty LGAs, making it twenty thousand youths and we are going to provide palliatives  to them," he said.

Prince Abiodun, while describing the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi as a 21st century Monarch who is passionate about his people, noted that he was glad that the Monarch was able to empower the local economy through the motorised modular fumigator, which was locally manufactured.

Abiodun also disclosed that his administration had been able to flatten the curve of the spread of the virus through the setting up of its emergency operation procedure, incident action plan and its about 300-bed capacity isolation centers.

He added that the State has a high number of ventilators, while adding that his administration was able to purchase 11 ventilators, receive 2 from the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) and meet 10 from the facility built by the immediate past administration.

In his remarks, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi disclosed that the virus was indeed real, calling on the people of the State and Country to protect themselves against the spread of the virus.

The Ooni, who noted that the motorised modular fumigators which were locally made would be given to all 36 States, added that he is ready to deliver the fumigators to states across the Federation, but might be forced to ask for help if he meets with any form of obstacle.

Electricity: Lagos Assembly Charges distribution companies On Regular Power Supply

...demand better deal for constituents during and after the lockdown.

The Lagos State House of Assembly has tasked the power Distributing Companies within Lagos territory, to be more humane in the discharge of their statutory duties, ensuring Lagosians enjoy considerable power supply, within and after the COVID-19 pandemic period.

This charge was made through a Joint Committee of the House constituted by the Speaker, Rt Hon.Mudashiru Obasa to make an oversight visit to the two Distribution Companies; EKO and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company in order to fine tune means through which people can get power supply, while they comply with the stay at home directives in place.

The Joint Committee which comprised of House Committee on Energy and Mineral resources and; that of Information, Security and Strategy headed by Hon.Folajimi Mohammed with the mandate to visit the distribution networks (DISCO)in Lagos state.

Speaking after the visit, the Joint Committee Chairman Folajimi Mohammed appraised the situation, which necessitated the visit as peoples comfort need to be guaranteed while observing the stay at home order through steady power supply.

"During the COVID-19 period we have seen that there is an order for a lockdown, and this has caused a lot of discomfort to our constituents,to this end we were asked to visit the DISCOs and find out issues as to why there has been insufficient supply of electricity to most parts of Lagos State.



"One thing was pertinent about the meeting, they DISCOs accepted and admitted the flaws, however, they urged that we look at this holistically considering different value chains within the sphere of the departments, so as it is, we can't necessarily put most of the blame on the DISCOs.

"However, we have asked that they give us a road map as to how they want to ensure effective distribution of power to the people.

" I am glad that Ikeja DISCO has honoured the request by giving their words and promised to appoint people who would directly relate with us at the House of Assembly for onward transfer to our constituents whom we represent.

"We can't but appeal to our constituents to be calm at this time ,we understand these are tough times and from the reports and what we have been shown they have actually generated full capacity , but, they still have Infrastructural challenges, so we need to understand that without those infrastructure in place most things would not be done.

"So I would only try to appeal to the people and all constituents to kindly bear with them as they have been looking at the best way to profer solutions to this hardship.

Hon. Tunde Braimoh, the House Chairman on  Information,Security and Strategy in his own submission after the parley noted that it is of essence for the general public to own the available infrastructures as the energy theft is causing people a lot of needless stress.

"Government is about the people we are not just there for aggradisement or grandstanding of being in government,we must be purposefully useful and effective to the people that we serve.

"The supply of electricity power is one of the basic yearnings of our people because electricity remains the most important innovations of humanity in the last one thousand years and nobody  can joke with the importance of electricity.

That is why we have to come out to interact with the EKODISCO having inundated with a series  of complaints about; no electricity supply,excessive billings,outright disconnection and all of that and we need to be more sympathetic or empathetic rather to the plight of the people in this pandemic situation because people cannot go out to work,economic power is low and of course staying at home too should be as comfortable as possible and without electricity that will be a mirage.

That's why we are out here to interact with the Managing Director of EKODISCO and we have had a very useful discussion with him.

"He had been able to let us know what efforts they have been doing and I can say by and large they have been very altruistic and public spirited in their mode of operation.  I just need to appeal to our people to understand them because they too have a lot of limitations.

The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral resources Mr Olalere Odusote who was present at the two parleys enjoins Lagosians to comply with the stay at home order and remain safe, assuring that all their issues with power supply are being handled seriously by the state government.

"The people should be rest assured that the state government would continue to work with the electricity distribution companies,to ensure that their power supply is not adversely affected by any actions that the government is taking during the pandemic,especially due to restriction of movement.

"Electricity companies are committed to continue in carrying out their services as well as they have been carrying it before the pandemic .

"The Lagos state government will continue to support the distribution companies,Lagosians are enjoined to stay at home, if you don't have any essential business outside of your home,stay at home because the more you stay the less likely it is that you could contract or be infected with any COVID.

"Lagosians are urged not to worry about electricity supply because that is being taken care of as well as it was before the COVID and perhaps even better." Said Odusote .

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer EKODISCO Mr.Adeoye Fadeyibi, gave a clear cut view of how things are in the sector urging people to know that they are also with them in the situation at hand.

"I think estimated billing itself is something that is pressure on the system as a whole,so I think one of the things that we have done significantly which you can see is the ramp up metering. "The MAP initiative has been a good thing and try and just increase the number of meters that we install into the system to close the gap.

" Lagosians like to have the right information so when you look at it and look at our customer base it is probably more than 80 percent that has been metered already, so when you look at the remainder that we have is to continue to try and get this metering in place and also to get the distribution transformers metering done.

The Chairman Ikeja Electric Mr Kola Adesina,appreciated the fact that the lawmakers think of the vulnerables and poor masses in the society.

"Seeking solution for life during and after COVID is quite commendable, as an organisation we are quite aligned with the Honourable members and we would do everything humanly conceivable to ensure that not only we have light but we have light in a steady manner.

"The charge in energy will be made available but more importantly we would want our people to conserve energy, when you are not using any appliance please switch them off,that way you preserve the electricity but if you go beyond what you require and start to use electricity beyond your need then you are likely to cause system failure and the feeder will trip and you won't have electricity.

"So whenever you are not in a room or the house please  switch off appliances, that way, light can be made readily available to Majority of our people.

NERC working on alternative energy sources, says Chairman

The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, says it is working on alternative energy sources to boost power supply in the country.
Its Chairman, Prof. James Momoh made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Igarra, Edo.

“We are working on other options of energy supply so that we don’t have to always rely on power from Egbin, Afam or Sapele.

“That is why now, we are working and making sure there is network to transfer long distance power to other parts of the country.


“With respect to renewable energy, God has given us wind and solar energy in Nigeria, sunshine which can be turned into energy.
“We have investors, even Nigerians themselves who are interested in getting involved in the business of energy production, we have regulations that allow them to do so.

“So if you know somebody who wants to engage in distributing power, marketing power, making money, we are the people that will authorize such persons.

“Already some other states have taken advantage of that,” Momoh said.
The NERC chairman said that the commission is committed to ensuring that Nigerians have access to power and every home  is metered.
“First of all, we have sufficient power and accessible power for everyone who want to use power and buy.

“So we are metering, we are regulating; every Nigerian home must be metered so you don’t pay for energy you did not use. Nobody should be given estimated bills.

“We are a commission which solves problem legally, the law is in place to make sure every home is metered and if you are willing to access power, you need to be metered and pay,” he said.
On the power supply problem in Igarra, Momoh said the effort is on to enhance supply.

“We are working and making sure there is network to transfer long distance power to Igarra; that is what we just did in Okpella.
“Okpella had been in darkness, we have solved their problem, they will no longer be in darkness.

“Igarra too, we are going to solve their problem, we are going to make sure that power from Okpella gets to this place,” he added.

(NAN)

Punch

We'll Build Crime-free Society Through Education - Orile Agege Boss, Hon. JS Babatunde

...Distributes Over 150 GCE Forms To Orile Agege Scholars

AgegePulse Magazine

Aside from building infrastructure and construction of roads, the Executive Chairman of Orile Agege LCDA, Hon. JS Babatunde has taken education as a major area of consideration of his administration. Since assuming office, huge investment has gone into providing conducive environment for teaching and learning within his jurisdiction.

Having invested hugely in the rehablitation of Ideal Primary School and Zion Primary School, sharing of writing materials to school pupils, the council boss has also distributed over 150 GCE forms to scholars in the council as part of his commitment to improve and enhance literacy level in Orile Agege LCDA.

In a brief chat with AgegePulse, the council boss, stated that: "The annual GCE form distribution is meant to eradicate illiteracy, to make education as a priority and to reduce crime rate among the youths and more importantly to give opportunities to those that can't afford to buy the form. Education is a major tool to empower our youth and chide them away from societal vices. We'll continue to support this course."

Also,  Hon. JS Babatunde pledged to support Ogunshina Taiwo and Kehinde ( Beneficiaries) by paying their tutorial fees in order to encourage and boost their performances in the upcoming exams.   

The council's Vice Chairman who doubles as Supervisor for Education, Hon.Kafilat Akanni Pedro, commended Hon. JS Babatunde for his biased commitment towards given the people of Orile Agege an enabling environment to thrive when it comes to education.

The beautiful lieutenant urged beneficiaries of the GCE forms to take advantage of the chairman's gesture as an opportunity to plan for their chosen career. she advised them to make adequate preparation that will herald success during the examination period, adding that to whom much is given, much is expected.


Leader of the House, Hon. Wale Fayemi, Hon. Councillors and Supervisors, HoA, Mr Azeez Ademola and other management staff of the council marked attendance at the event.

Yuletide: Lagos set to commence sale of Lake Rice

...Available in Oko Oba Agege, Ikeja, Ojo, Ikorodu, Others

The Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Oluwatoyin Suarau has assured all residents in Lagos of the present administration’s commitment to continue the sale of Lake Rice, especially during the forthcoming yuletide through adequate production and a fair distribution of the rice across the State.

Speaking on the preparation for the sale of the Lake Rice recently in his Office, the Commissioner said the product would be made available to the masses at the various accredited centres during the festive period and beyond.

He said, “Residents can buy the product from the Lagos Television (LTV) Complex, Agidingbi-Ikeja; Farm Service Centre Odogunyan-Ikorodu; Farmers Mart Surulere; Lagos Agric Input Supply Authority (LAISA) Ojo; Agricultural Development Authority (ADA) Oko Oba, Agege; Farmers Mart, Ajah and Farm Service Centre, Temu-Epe.”

The Commissioner informed that the need to ensure that Lake Rice circulates into the nooks and crannies of the State is key in government’s drive to attain food sufficiency, adding that food production and self-sufficiency have been given priority attention in line with the State’s policy.

While noting that the prices for the different bags of rice have not changed, Suarau stressed that this administration will continue to maintain the publicised price of the product in order to make it affordable for the citizens.

He added that that monitoring mechanism has been put in place to ensure fair sales of the product in all centres on the basis of first-come, first-served, adding that the government is doing everything possible to ensure that residents get the products at the nearest designated centres without any problem and in an atmosphere devoid of rancour.