We have talked about Ogongon Road and the need to have a general hospital, which is now under construction. We have not abandoned the project and the contractor is on site and they will finish the project.
I also know that between Lekki and the Island, there is no general hospital in that axis. Government is also concerned about putting that in place. Also awarded by the government is the Lekki-Epe road from Abraham Adesanya to Eleko Junction.
Other roads remaining depends on the tax being paid by Lagosians as we cannot afford to put all revenues to just road construction. What we have decided is that we would rehabilitate Abraham Adesanya to roundabout, which is almost 32km and provide street lights.
We will try to balance our revenue with the needs of the people. We are also waiting for the rains to subside in August so that we can go ahead and fill pot-holes and complete other on-going projects in the state. We also believe strongly that we need technical and vocational colleges. Lekki and Ibejulekki have been marked out for one of such schools.
Concerning question asked by Olumide Henry on the dualization of Eleko-Epe road and bridge, we must dualize Eleko and the T-junction at Epe but everything depends on our limited resources. It is in the plan and if we are lucky enough to have it in 2018 budget then we would dualize it.
Another of our focus is erosion taking place at the coastal axis, especially Ibeju-Lekki and we are going to find protection for it. We have started this in Victoria Island and we have passed Goshen and we are currently at Elegushi axis. We intend to take it down to water ways and the project is very expensive. We would continue to protect our land shores.
We are going to construct a lane in Ojota, Agege, Iyana-Ipaja, Iju-Ishaga and also to introduce BRT between Ajah Bus Terminal and here (Ojota). We will commence the construction of the Oshodi International Airport road by next month and that’s a ten-year plan, which we have already awarded. Our cleaner Lagos initiative would start in full swing next month, September and Lagosians would experience new dimension in sanitation, solid waste collection and disposal.
We have also commenced the removal of illegal structures building the drainage and free-flow of water in the metropolis. We need to clean-up Obalende because that is part of the problem we are having along the five channels. We have to do it now and we shall no longer tolerate any breach of our environmental laws and regulations.
In other areas also, we are going to run a rice-mill that would provide 32 tones per hour in Imota, Ikorodu. We believe the will would create 32,000 jobs directly and two hundred thousand jobs indirectly along the rice-value-chain. We would need 32 hectares of farm land for rice cultivation and there would be people cultivating rice at the 32 hectares land space. All the south-western space would be in position to cultivate rice and we would also be in a position to employ more people. We will also supply the stocks we need for our rice mill to operate.
By doing so, we would also be helping other south western states to reactivate their economy. It is all in line with our vision to integrate western part of the country concerning Mrs. Ganiat Sanni who said she was denied access to her hand, if you have the certificate of ownership of the land you bought, you can bring it to me so that I will give it to someone who would resolve the problem. I want to say a big thank you to Iya Afin Abiodun Dina, I share in your pain.
The villa that you talked about was once the best Estate on this axis in the past but the pressure of the population is the cause of what is happening there today. I am equally concerned about the bad state of the Badore road. We are going to repair the road. The ultimate solution to what Kabiyesi alluded to, we need an alternative road because all of us cannot be facing Badore road because the population is high in this area. We think that it is time we do Oke-ranla road that takes us to the express way and to pass through the villa. It is not in our budget this year.
But I promise you, all that would be put in the budget for 2018. I also want to thank Alhaji Ariyo. He has given me early warming and my agencies are listening to the fact that landlords living around the canal, which is disturbing the free-flow of water around that axis were planning to work against us because we gave them an order.
There is no going back on the decision regarding the canal just like any other canal in the state disturbing the free-flow of water we are assuring you that we would clean them but if there are structures along the way I have given express approval that such structures must go.
We have to clean Lagos and make sure we deal with few ones that are disturbing the free-flow of water. This is also a directive to the agencies. People put their dirt in the canals or drains hoping that water would wash them away. They are going to be provided with enough bins or places where they can put their dirt.
For effective waste disposal, we need to have compactors and other equipment. But we also need to increase our taxes. Because the population of Lagos is increasing, the amount of waste generated is increasing as well. If we don’t increase the revenue to be able to buy the equipment, how then do we do it?
At the same time, I am being careful not to over tax you. There were some people that were helping us do these things but we can see the nature and level of equipment we are using to clean the state and it can never do it right.
If we say we want to be globally competitive, we must use the approach that allows us collect waste in a globally competitive way without increasing our taxes. We have a partnership that provides us with five hundred brand new compactors without paying for it yet. I am in a partnership that will provide twenty seven thousand and five hundred (27,500) sanitation workers for all our works across the state who would be informed. They will also clean Ikorodu, Ayobo, and Badagry the same way they cleaned Victoria Island. They will provide bins where people would throw in their dirt instead of the canal and drains.
The new Chairmen of Local Government have been advised that their first priority was to clean their community and their environments
I thank Simiat Lawal, you came out sometime in the Last Town Hall meeting and raised an issue about your salary and others. We have been able to do it for all of you. I want also to say a big thank you to Kabiyesi for talking about alternative road in this axis and I am going to look into that.
The road from Elegushi axis and also to let people know, there is a regional road that we have awarded in this axis from Admiralty to Freedom, is being constructed quietly from the Ajah-Lekki road takes you from freedom road to U.G.C
This project is a 7km road and it is a joint partnership that we are doing with a private company. The project is starting next month. The Kabiyesi, also talked about creating Primary health care in this axis. The population has increased and we need government facilities that would support the population and we are looking at the issue.
We will make sure that all the promises we made, we will go back and implement them. Again, let me start from the comment of Obateru of Egbin. I want to talk about this jetty. He was speaking about one part of the transportation system and air together to allow people connect from one point to another in Lagos. The Ikorodu Jetty and this particular Jetty are undergoing work presently.
Part of the expectation of this jetty is that, it will provide standard ferries that can take two hundred people. There is also the need to have a BRT terminal to connect those disembarking from the boats. Those projects would be completed in the next twelve months.
To what Alhaji Fowosere said concerning road from Ikorodu, Imota, Epe, being rehabilitated, there is a comprehensive plan that all the potholes and bad roads would be patched up after the rain in August. There is also a greater plan of dualizing the roads.
The only road that have not been dualized include those from Ikorodu, Imota, Itoikin and Epe, which have been that way since 1967 but we have a partnership that will make the road an eight lane road. So, we will have three lanes on both sides and two reserved for a fast track rail system.
However, the road is important considering other projects that would be undertaken along that axis like the fourth mainland bridge, international market at Agbowa being relocated from mile 12 and the Rice Mill at Imota.
If we have a free-trade zones at Lekki and we plan to have an airport there, then we would not like trucks or trailers to come in to inner Lagos. They can stop at Imota and go toward Ijebu-Ode. We want to protect the infrastructure that we have in the city. We would also not want trucks going from Apapa taking the Ojuelegba and Western Avenue to destroy our roads.
The future of port activities is at Badagry and Lekki. So, if we are able to do a good deep sea port at Badagry and Lekki, then we would close down Apapa because it is a residential area, which we must recover.
But we must provide alternative on both Eastern and Western axis to make the central axis free. This takes a lot of thinking and planning but that’s where we are going. If the PPP works, by this time next year, there would be a lot of construction going on from Ikorodu.
We should be able to enter Ikorodu with ease, so there should be a flyover