Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on Tuesday opened his quarterly Town Hall Meeting at the Lagos West Senatorial District, where he informed his guests that efforts geared towards stabilising the finances of the state has helped to save about N3bn monthly.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Habib Aruna, on Tuesday stated that Ambode said this while addressing residents, party chieftains, traditional rulers and top government officials at the Abesan Mini Stadium, Ipaja, Lagos.
The governor said one of his first key tasks on assumption of office was to stabilise the finances of the state.
He explained that his administration reviewed the revenue and expenditure framework of the state, adding that this move, coupled with the realignment of Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state, had saved the government almost N3bn every month.
“This has provided us with more funds to inject into capital projects and the initial funds to establish the Employment Trust Fund, which we promised our youths,” he said.
Ambode, who reiterated his vision to make the state globally competitive in all sectors, said his administration had mapped out long-term plans and programmes that would lead Lagos on the path to becoming a truly competitive city-state.
He explained that aside his initial period in office to set up an institutional framework to pilot the programmes and policies of government, the governor stressed that remarkable interventions had been made in the areas of road rehabilitation, health care, security, service delivery, transportation and education.
On road rehabilitation, Ambode said about N1.3bn had been allocated to the construction and rehabilitation of over 190 roads across the state, most of which were not catered for in the 2015 budget.
He listed some of the roads to include Agege Motor Road; Herbert Macauley Way, Yaba; Murtala Mohammed Way, Isolo; Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island; Dopemu Road, Agege; Akowonjo Road, Akowonjo; Obalende Bridge, Obalende; Isaac John Road, GRA, Ikeja; and Apapa Road, Ebute Metta.
Other roads, he mentioned included Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, Toyota-Charity area; Olufemi Street, Shomolu; Billy Street, Epe; Aswani Road, Isolo; Yekini Street, Shogunle, Oshodi; and Isawo Road, Ikorodu.
He noted that some of the roads were federal roads.
Ambode added, “As I speak, work has commenced on the Ago Palace Way-Okota Road. The state, in conjunction with your local governments and Local Council Development Area, are coming to your neighborhood soon.
“The Ejigbo–Ikotun Road, Okota-Cele Road, Metalbox Road and ACME Road in Ikeja are currently being rehabilitated, while work has started on Brown Street, Oshodi, Ladipo Street as well as Mushin Road.
“Till date, we have committed N1.386bn to road construction and rehabilitation. We will pump more funds into road infrastructure in this present quarter.”
On transportation, the governor said he was not unmindful of the challenges Lagosians faced daily, noting that in recent times, the menace of trucks on the roads had caused untold hardships and loss of man hours and revenue to residents.
He, however, restated his commitment to ensure that residents commuted within the state with less congestion on the roads.
