LAGOS ADMINISTRATOR-GENERAL EMPHASISES IMPORTANCE OF WRITING WILLS

The Lagos State Administrator-General, Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, has called on all residents to embrace the culture of writing their Wills while they are still hale hearty and save their families from avoidable legal cases and family acrimony after death.

The Administrator-General, who made the call recently while featuring on a Lagos Television (LTV) programme, titled “Oro To Nlo”, specifically pleaded with family breadwinners, who are 40 years of age and above, not to trivialise the issue of writing their Wills.

She noted that the acrimony and disharmony that families experience, when the breadwinner of the family dies intestate, can be avoided if individuals are proactive and put their houses in order before they answer their maker’s call.

Rotimi further admonished women contemplating marriage in the State to ensure that they enter into statutory marriages, stressing that the law of the State only recognises a legally married woman.

In her words, “when a husband dies, his legally married wife is entitled to 1/3 of his estate but that is not the case for women without a statutory marriage. However, the law does not discriminate between children born legitimately and those born outside the marriage. Where there is paternity issue about children, this can be resolved through DNA to confirm the true paternity”.

While encouraging residents, who have challenges on issues that border on the Will and its execution, to take advantage of the Office of the Administrator-General and Public Trustees in the Ministry of Justice, Alausa Secretariat, Rotimi disclosed that the Office will not only serve as the Executor of the Will but also as the Administrator of estates, which includes when the beneficiaries are minors or in the diaspora.

Ikorodu stand still for Mr Tokunbo Abiru, the former Group MD Polaris Bank Plc and APC Lagos East Senatorial District Aspirant as he paid Courtesy Visit to Prominent Leaders in Ikorodu.

HE Abiodun Ogunleye ( fmr Deputy Governor of Lagos State), Asipa Kaoli Olusanya ( APC State Vice Chairman Lagos East) and Baba Cubano proudly played host to Mr Tokunbo Abiru and his entourage .

Charity surely begins at home, the Ikorodu born Politician received massive supports from home as all known institutions in Ikorodu came out and endorsed their Son for the race.

LASWA TO INTENSIFY SAFETY SENSITISATION, ENFORCEMENT DURING ‘EMBER MONTHS’

As part of efforts to continue sensitisation and the enforcement of all waterways rules and regulations, the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), is set to commence a holistic safety awareness campaign and strict monitoring for the remaining four months of the year 2020.

A statement issued by the General Manager of the Authority, Mr. Oluwadamilola Emmanuel, disclosed that LASWA plans to carry out an all-inclusive Safety Advocacy programme targeted at all waterways stakeholders, including Boat Captains and Deckhands, Fishermen, Dredgers, Loggers as well as Ferry passengers across all jetties and terminals in the State.

Emmanuel said, “During the planned Safety Awareness programme, Boat Captains will be educated and cautioned about the rainy season, overloading, consumption of alcohol or drugs, night travels and over speeding, among other safety measures. Other waterways users will also be enlightened on the importance of using standard Life Jackets with emphasis on what is expected of them when a boat is in distress and other survival skills during an emergency situation”.

Advising Boat Operators to always put the safety of their passengers above all other considerations by regularly going for a boat hull while engines undergo regular and routine maintenance, the General Manager emphasised that the Agency’s enforcement team will continue to patrol the waterways to ensure that all operators comply with best practices on design, construction, operations and safety.

While asserting that violators will be apprehended and prosecuted, Emmanuel maintained that as a responsible agency of government, LASWA will continue to adopt the carrot and stick approach by sensitising the populace at all times while also enforcing all waterways rules and regulations.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said that the State withstood the attendant effects of the Coronavirus pandemic through strategic planning and rejigging of the economy to meet the demands of its residents.

The Governor made the submission on Thursday, through the Honourable Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Sam Egube, at the 10th Annual Public Lecture of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN), Lagos State Public Service Chapter, themed: “The Global Economic Realities of COVID-19 Pandemic: Lagos State as a Case Study”.

According to him, “The State Government realised early that the pandemic was not going to be about health alone in the long run but that of the economy. We understood that the economic pandemic, which COVID-19 will be bringing was going to outlast the health pandemic, as such, we had to make necessary adjustments where necessary”.

“Our administration had already taken cognisance that the world economy is going to be affected as a result of the pandemic, as supply chain and production was going to be adversely affected, which will in effect put a clog in the wheel of the government’s drive to keep up employment”, he added.

Sanwo-Olu stated that the government had to intervene by ensuring that food security was tackled as a strong candidate response to the pandemic, creation of safety nets, economic intervention in the area of businesses as sources of livelihood are going to be hit and the empowerment of vulnerable, among others.

He stated that the administration had to review the budget in order to stimulate the economy and mitigate the effect of the pandemic by focusing more on infrastructure development as construction requires labour, which encourages employment as well as massive investment in the agricultural sector.

The Governor said the review of the budget was not a direct cut down of budget but redirecting the budget to create an effect and outcome to stimulate employment, to support small and medium businesses and to ensure that the pandemic is being tackled effectively.

Also speaking at the event, the Accountant-General and Permanent Secretary, State Treasury Office, Dr. Abiodun Muritala, noted that the State Government was already proactive before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, stressing that the administration of Governor Babajide Olusola was very forward-looking and strategic in its positioning and plans.

He added that the State Government already had a contingency plan in place in case of any emergency, hence the impact of COVID-19 was minimal on all the sectors of the State.

In his words: “The level of preparedness on the part of the present administration enabled the government to make a lot of quick decisions, with the aid of technology and the full backing of the cabinet members, to salvage the State’s economy”.

The President of the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN), Dame Joy Adewuyi, in her goodwill address at the lecture, stated that the theme of the public lecture is timely as it will help to readjust to the economic realities of COVID-19, adding that it might take a long time for business to return back to normal.

The Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of ICAN, Mr. George Olaniyan stated that the lecture will afford members the opportunity to enhance their skills in conformity with global best accounting practices.

NIDCOM BOSS LAUDS ADESINA ON HIS RE-ELECTION AS AFDB PRESIDENT

Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), Hon Abike Dabiri-Erewa has joined Nigerians and the Global Community to congratulate Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, as he runs another five-year term as the 9th President of the African Development Bank (AfDB).

In a statement by Gabriel Odu of Media, Public Relations and Protocol Unit of NIDCOM, the NIDCOM Boss describes the re-election of Akinwunmi Adesina President of the Continental Institution as the right thing to do given his plethora of achievements stressing that many Nigerians are mostly known for their integrity, dexterity, innovation and drive; making them most suitable candidates for international accolades and leadership roles, and not criminals as most people are quick to project the country as.

She said ” I hoped that his coming back as the regional Chief of the Bank, will pave more grounds and strategies to develop Africa in various sectors.”
Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina became the 8th elected President of the AfDB on May 28, 2015 by the Bank’s Board of Governors at its Annual Meeting in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. He assumed office at the Bank’s headquarters in Abidjan on September 1, 2015.
The 60-year-old Adesina is a notable development economist and agricultural development expert with 25 years of international experience. He is the first Nigerian to serve as President of the Bank Group, and first also to be re-elected
He has to his portfolio, served as Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development from 2011 to 2015, which saw radical policy reforms in the fertilizer sector and implemented innovative agricultural investment programs
Dr. Adesina was previously Vice-President (Policy and Partnerships) of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). He was also Associate Director (Food Security) at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York (1998-2008) and its Regional Office Director and Representative for Southern Africa.
The AfDB Head was Principal Economist and Social Science Research Coordinator for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Principal Economist and Coordinator of the West Africa Rice Economics Task Force at the West Africa Rice Development Association (WARDA) and an Assistant Principal Economist at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). In addition, he was the President of the African Association of Agricultural Economists from 2008-2010.
Adesina is a multi-recipient of international awards in leadership and work in agriculture. In 2010, Former United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appointed him as one of 17 global leaders to lead the Millennium Development Goals, along with Bill Gates, the Spanish Prime Minister and the President of Rwanda. He was named “Person of the Year” by Forbes Africa magazine in 2013.
Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina holds a first-class honours Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Ife, Nigeria in 1981. In 1988 he completed a PhD in Agricultural Economics at Purdue University in the US, where he won the Outstanding PhD Thesis Award for his research work. He also won the prestigious Rockefeller Foundation Social Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship in 1988, which opened his international career in global agricultural development. He was born on February 6, 1960, and speaks French and English, fluently.