AMBODE VOWS TO TRANSFORM LAGOS TO TOURISM, ENTERTAINMENT HUB IN AFRICA

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Friday assured residents that the State Government will not collect any toll at the completed second Toll point on the Lekki- Epe Expressway.

The Governor who spoke at an interactive session with journalists at the Banquet Hall of the Lagos House, Ikeja, said more importantly, his concern is about ensuring the road is completed.

“We must start thinking of the future concerning that road. We said we will have an International Airport in Epe and an Export Processing Zone in Lekki and a Deep Seaport also in Lekki. What does that mean for that road?

“When you take your freight from the Deep Seaport and the Export Processing Zone (EPZ) are we going to make them to start passing through that same road. So what is the future? We missed something between Oshodi and Murtala Mohammed International Airport, there is no fast track rail that can take goods straight to the Airport. Should we also miss that here? Those are the issues that we are looking at”.

“Should we not start thinking about how we would improve and create a 10-lane road between Ikorodu, Itoikin, Epe and Ijebu Ode so that people can go out from there? So those are some of the things that we are looking at. There is no point constructing the road, paying tolls and in five years time, the road is gone”, Governor said in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Habib Aruna.

On the Lagos-Badagry Expressway which is being expanded into a 10-lane road, the Governor said once the road is completed, the neighbourhood and the axis would be opened up as a business hub for the whole sub region.

He said his administration will make careful efforts to grow the tourism potentials of the state noting that a summit will be conveyed with stakeholders in the sector to explore the potentials that abound in the state.

The Governor said as a way of tackling the housing deficit, the state is considering adopting the Rent-To-Own Policy which would be a follow up to the Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme which was about owning homes through mortgage after 30 percent initial payment.

He said it was unnecessary for a bachelor to own a three bedroom flat, emphasizing that it was better for those in this category to rent studio apartments and later upgrade to more spacious accommodations when they are married and having children.

“There are some people who cannot afford the initial payments but who can move from rent to buying the homes when things improve for them. That is the area where we want to lay more emphasis to allow access for our younger people and lay emphasis on studio apartments for those who have not got married” ,he said.

He reiterated his readiness to improve upon the multi modal approach to tackling the problem of transportation in the State stating that presently 236 operators are licensed on the waterways conveying over one million people per day but is not integrated with the roads same as the rail system.

“As more means of transportation come on board, the more than 600,000 private car owners and 120,000 motorcycles that are being put on the road in the State on a daily basis will reduce in number”, he said.

He said his administration has decided to scale up governance by rearranging the civil service through the realignment of some ministries, agencies while scrapping some and creating a new Ministry of Wealth Creation and Employment.

“We would set up an Office of Overseas Affairs directly under the Governor’s Office. We want to take advantage of our position to improve on commerce and on trade and we will increase the GDP of Lagos and will create more jobs”, he said.

He also spoke of the readiness his administration to bring more people into the tax net of the State to shore up its revenue base, stating that presently less than 50 percent of the taxable adults are paying taxes to the State coffers.

“People should be ready to come and pay their taxes willingly and that is why we are speaking to agencies like LASTMA that we have to be civil in our dealings with members of the public. We can even apply technology also to deliver services”.

 “Yes we have said this is a government of continuity but it is continuity with improvement. It is about making life easier for the people. We are receptive to new ideas and that is why we are going to be creative, innovative, thinking out of the box”.

While seeking the collaboration of the media managers, the Governor said, “I will appeal to you that in areas where we are not getting it right, please be bold enough to tell us because you are representing the larger population that don’t have a voice”.

“We are in it together, we are not perfect, we want to run a government of inclusion. We don’t want to leave anybody behind. We want everybody to have a voice. Speak to us truthfully”.

Speaking earlier, the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello said the meeting was convened to express appreciation to the media gatekeepers for their contribution during the last elections through robust reportage of events before, during and after the elections.

He added that it is also an avenue for the editors to know what the present administration in Lagos was doing and what it intends to do going forward.