Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, announced the fulfillment of one of the key promises of his electioneering campaign – the execution of 377 projects across all the wards in the State in front of a modest crowd at the Adeyemi Bero hall of the state Secretariat.
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, will lead the implementation of the program tagged “Operation 377”, which is said to be the first of its kind in the state, with over 250 roads to be built while 23 power projects will be done.
At the brief but symbolic ceremony at the Adeyemi Bero Hall, Government Secretariat, Alausa, were some members of the Executive Council, All Progressives Congress Local Council chairmen, councilors, and scores of party stalwarts, led by the State’s chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Hon. Tunde Balogun.
Governor
Sanwo-Olu said the intervention was initiated in response to the series of requests by the various communities across the State to address specific challenges and added that the execution of the projects will change the narrative about grassroots development and the Government’s responsibilities.
These projects according to him are not universal but diverse, reflecting the needs of each ward across the state with implementation to commence immediately after the official flag-off, as contractors have been fully mobilized to move to sites.
He urged residents who are the ultimate beneficiaries of the projects to take ownership of them by monitoring the implementation process and ensure that the jobs conform to the quality and standards specified in the project designs.
Sanwo-Olu said identifying the needs and the design of the projects was in line with the concept of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and participatory governance in which the people are considered as key stakeholders.
He described the grassroots as “the bedrock of development”, stressing that the projects were strategic in promoting the wellbeing of the people across communities.
Dr Hamzat, who is the Chairman of the Projects’ Implementation Committee, said all contractors will move to their sites next Monday, noting that the intervention was in demonstration of the Governor’s campaign promise to run an inclusive administration.
He said the projects’ selection followed a meeting between the Governor and all 377 councilors across the State during which Sanwo-Olu asked them to name specific projects they wanted to be executed in their wards.
After identifying the projects, Hamzat said, the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget and professionals in public service evaluated the cost of the projects.
This effort, the Deputy Governor said, was followed by a re-evaluation by an independent consultant.
Giving the breakdown of the projects, Hamzat said the Government would be building 257 community roads and drainage.
He added that 86 public buildings would be rehabilitated. Two jetties, nine water projects, and 23 power projects will be installed across the wards.
All the projects, the Deputy Governor said, are distributed across the three senatorial districts. Wards across Lagos Central will be having 94 projects, Lagos East will have 99 and wards AND Lagos West 184 projects.
For his part, the APC Chairman, Tunde Balogun, described the projects as “grassroots-focused”, confirming that the Sanwo-Olu administration was the first to embark on such massive projects across wards in a single move.
By directly engaging the councilors in the execution of the projects, the party chairman said. the Governor has established a strong connection with the grassroots.
Chairman of APC in Ikoyi-Obalende Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Prince Abiodun Abu, who spoke on behalf of all the party chairmen across councils, described the intervention “a new dawn” in the history of governance in Lagos.
