Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has given his approval for the implementation of a 20% pay increment for state employees.
This comes after a pledge he made during an interactive session with civil servants at the local government level on Monday, March 6, 2023, at the Adeyemi Bayero Auditorium within the Alausa Secretariat, in Ikeja.
He approved that the payment process begin immediately through a circular dated MondayMarch 20 2023 and signed by the Head of Service, Hakeem Muri-Okunola.
Commencing on January 1st, 2023, the new pay system will be in place, the arrears for January 2023 will be paid along with the payments for March 2023, while the arrears for February 2023 will be paid along with the salaries for April 2023.
The Lagos State governorship election was won by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, according to the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC.
Sanwo-Olu of the All Progressives Congress, APC, defeated Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party with a total vote total of 762,134.
Whereas Abdulazeez Adeniran of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, received 62,449 votes, the LP candidate received 312,329 votes.
The results were announced by the Returning Officer, Prof Adenike Temifayo-Oladiji, Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA.
The number of valid votes were 1,155,678; rejected votes – 17,953; total votes cast – 1,173,631; accredited votes – 1,182,620.
Before the declaration, Rhodes-Vivour called the election a sham, alleging “collusion between the ruling party and electoral officials”.
The flagbearer said what the people witnessed was “a slap on the face of democracy” and everyone who came out to vote for the LP on Saturday.
“In the light of this, I am convinced beyond any doubt that the results being released by INECdo not represent the wishes of the majority of peaceful Lagosians.
“More so the results from our field agents and situation room indicated that we won this election,” Rhodes-Vivour added.
LP Chairman in Lagos, Mrs. Dayo Ekong had asked INEC to cancel the poll, citing electoral malpractices, intimidation, violence, among others.
After a train struck a public bus in the nation’s commercial center on Thursday, killing six people and wounding scores more, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said that he is temporarily suspending his reelection campaign.
According to a statement from Lagos state emergency services, the tragedy occurred at a bus stop in the Ikeja neighborhood of the city of around 20 million inhabitants.
Sanwo-Olu tweeted on Thursday that there were 85 passengers on the bus, including state employees.
“Lagos is in a state of mourning and for the next 3 days, I am suspending all campaign activities. All flags will be flown at half mast and tomorrow all civil servants will work till 12 noon before returning home to be with their loved ones during this trying time,” the governor further said in a series of tweets while calling for blood donations to treat the injured.
Also on Thursday, the country’s President Muhammadu Buhari described the accident as “distressing and extremely sad.”
“The accident at the level crossing involving a train and BRT staff bus is distressing and extremely sad. I pray for the souls of the deceased and quick recovery of the injured,” Buhari said while commending Lagos authorities for intervening swiftly at the scene of the collision.
Security guard Ubong Okon witnessed the aftermath of the crash, which happened from about 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. local time (0600 to 0700 GMT).
“I came out to open the gate, then I saw the train and the bus, I looked inside the bus, there were lots of passengers inside, I went inside and saw people with injuries, there was blood everywhere, then I started to help get people inside the bus out.”
Traffic jams are part of daily life in Lagos, where most people drive with little regard for road and safety rules.
In Africa’s most populous nation, many roads are poorly maintained and riven with potholes, leading to accidents that claim thousands of lives every year.
Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika said in a statement that he has directed Nigeria’s safety investigation agency to look into the cause of the accident.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Thursday reiterated the need for creation of state police in Nigeria.
Sanwo-Olu reiterated the call when the Commissioners of Police Service Commission (PSC), led by the acting Chairman, Retired Justice Clara Ogunbiyi, paid him a courtesy visit at the Lagos House, Marina.
He said this would help governors to protect the life and property of their residents, which they had sworn to, as well as ensure peace and tranquillity within their states.
The governor said that his administration would continue to provide adequate first-class security for the entire local and foreign residents within the state.
”We reiterate and seek your cooperation on our collective agitation for a State Police. This is my view and the view of a lot of my colleagues and citizens.
”Giving the age of our democracy, policing at the community level is not only desirable, but it is also important and it is what should be done and what we require.
”We will continue to advocate for State Police. We have said that State Police is not in any form to retrench or reduce whatever the Nigerian Police is doing now.
”There would still be clear responsibility that would be federal in nature; they would still have direct responsibility and oversight to continue to address.
”We also know that if you look at the ratio of policemen to our huge population, we are still far from what it should be.
”So, for us, it is really another level of employment generation; providing what we are sworn to do, which is the protection of life and property; ensuring there is peace and tranquillity within our state,” he said.
The governor said the move was constitutional and has been pushed at various stakeholders’ levels.
”The population is growing on a daily basis and we need to be proactive to be able to respond and be able to ensure that we don’t have space for criminal-minded people or people that have other intentions within our own territory,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu, who commended the work of the Lagos Police Command led by the State Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, said his administration would continue to encourage the Police to do what was right at all times.
Speaking earlier, Justice Ogunbiyi commended Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration on the issue of security, as security remained top-notch in Lagos State.
She called on other states in the country to emulate Lagos’ security situation, which he said was top notch, as ”Lagos is a model of how to handle security situations”.
”The Police are doing a good job in Lagos and they could also replicate in all other states and parts of the country.
“This is basically why we are here, to appreciate the governor and that he should continue with the good work,” Ogunbiyi said.
She said that the Police Service Commission would ensure that the Nigeria Police worked within the ambit of the law and ensure that they were well looked after.
Ogunbiyi, however, said that the commission would make sure the community had confidence in the Police.
